Weekend in Guangxi, 廣西

I have never been on a long-distance bus trip in China before and on Friday 8pm I was baffled to see a bus divided into sleeping quarters and have minimal room for storing luggage. There was no set schedule and the us drivers are willing to circle the city until full-capacity and also get into small alleys to pick up their buddies from their homes. It was a grueling 9hr trip with chain smokers, loud local movies, and bumpy roads. Nonetheless, it was a new experience.

I was at Cenxi visiting a co-worker’s hometown. Here is the traditional breakfast with noodles, soy sauce, and fried duck.

The oldest stretch in the town, some of the houses are almost 200 years old! It is really neat to see the engravings and artwork in the window sills, door frames, etc.

Some of the walls still have paintings and idioms from the cultural revolution.

An abandoned school. Each classroom had a unique message to the student!

The local resident like to congregate outside their houses to chat, nap, sort vegetables, patch up clothes…

A view of the farms from a mountain top, due to the hilly landscape farmers try to take advantage of all the arable land.
Our driver was extremely good at driving twisty, bumpy mountainous roads and he was also familiar with 4 different local dialects to get us good tips and directions.

I was fascinated with all the variations of taxis and mopeds. This one is a 3-wheeler built on top of a motorcycle frame, very popular during rainy days. Apparently the rates are understood and if you try ask or bargain they will charge you a higher rate.

The town square where the people gathered to watch the Olympic games, children can rent chinese-brand Power Wheels, there are dancing in the corner, musical fountains….etc

This palace was built about 400years ago, it does not have a single nail, all the pieces are held together by well-crafted
wooden joints.

Last and not least, me pretending to drive the motorcycle with a side-car!

Took the 7pm bus on Sunday and arrived back in Dongquan at 4am. I was glad I survived the tire blow-out and the repeated body slams from the bumpy roads.