Private: 31st August 2006
August 31st, 2006 - Posted in UK to NZ - by Sarah|
By Brendhan
Back again but don’t get too used to daily updates, there is just easy Internet access where we are for lunch! Went for a really nice bike ride this morning after getting up at 6:30am in order to catch the morning light. The countryside around here is really beautiful and perfect cycling country for a non mountain biker! The roads are all flat but you ride through what are called around here ‘Karsts’ and are really big hills with sheer sides kind of like fingers pointing at the sky. We rode out to one called Moon Hill and I took the 30min hike to the top where I shot off a couple of dozen photos! Of course all the way I was accompanied by a drinks seller twice my age and half my height who was always a few paces in front with plenty of spare breath for chatting – I think she does the climb half a dozen times a day!
We watched some cormorant fishing last night which is basically Chinese fishermen on a bamboo raft who use the birds to do what comes naturally to them and fish. To stop the cormorants from eating all of the fish they catch, the fishermen tie string around their necks and when their throats swell up drag them on board and ‘empty’ them. A strange way of fishing but I guess it works! It was very interesting but I don’t think the cormorants enjoy it much!
Had a fantastic meal again last night at a restaurant called the Green Lotus Vegetairian restaurant. Braised mushroom in bean curd baskets, stir fried cashew nuts on a bed of lily bulbs (lovely and sweet) and steamed brocolli on bamboo skewers. It was all superb in a beautiful restaurant and all for less than a fiver!
Anyway must run, we have a cooking lesson at 3:30pm.
Enjoy the picture of Sarah and I in the middle of our bike ride.
