Hey Hey N a Big G'Day to you

Hope you are all as healthy and happy as I am. All is well and HOT here in Tianyang. I think my throat dried out so much on my ride this afternoon that I may have scorched it a little. No matter how much water I drink it still feels warm and dry. I guess that will teach me for not taking enough water with me.

I've learnt a few new things this week. I found out that a week or so ago when everyone was complaining how hot it was that it was well over 40 degrees. Silly me thought it was about 31 and still went riding. I arrived home with the same dry throat. Some lessons I learn from and others it takes me a little longer. Must take more water! Tonight I found out how many kilometres I ride each night. I finally got myself a speedo several weeks ago in Nanning and last night whilst watching 'Stuart Little' with Lilly I made time to attached it and my new light to my bike. Only took ten minutes but has taken weeks to get around to.

I thought I was riding about 25 kms each night but I now find it's a tad over 35 kms. Not as much as I was riding back in Australia but I had more time then. It was so hard to judge as my first hill takes nearing half and hour to ride. Then when riding through the villages the tracks are sometimes so bad that I have to ride at a snails pace or I'm sure my bike would fall to bits. All up, it takes me around two hours for my normal nightly ride.

Now that the hot weather has engulfed us there are, I would like to say thousands but I'm sure it's more like millions of bugs around. Bloody swarms of them all along the tracks and roads. When the sun begins depart out skies I then have to ride with my head down or I get eyes, nose and mouth full of bugs. This is hard to do in China when so many other people use the side of the road. There have been many very near misses with farmers carrying strange but very sharp looking hand tools! I keep telling you, it's a tough life here in Tianyang!

The weekend was pretty cool. Friday night I didn't get up to much. Lisa was at her parents so I spent some time on Travelpod and then headed to the market place where I had dinner with my friends father and his friends as my buddy Hersher wasn't there. As I approached they all began barking like dogs so I knew the menu was Fido. Dog meat is called (say) 'Gow Row (goa ro as dog is goa)'. They then began yelling Gow Biajio, Gow Biajio...yes, it was going to be a long night!

Saturday I went for a walk in the morning and then to the market place for a round of Charades and won tons. Around four I jumped on a road side bus and headed to Tiandong to visit Judy for the night. We went out for dinner with one of her friend Emily. She's from Hong Kong and is working in the Tiandong area for the next 2 years. Being from Hong Kong means her English is much better than her Chinese. They speak Cantonese in Hong Kong. I was surprised that in school they are taught English and Cantonese and Chinese is a 3rd subject or a foreign language. I'm sure the Chinese government has it on their agenda to change this over the next many years.

Anyhow, Emily works for World Vision and her job is to go to the little villages in the mountains and find out what they need in the way of roads and running water etc and then find sponsors and get it all going. Whilst we were all eating two Middle School students (aged 13/14 or so came and sat with us. Their English was pretty cool, much better than my grade 6's. I have a feeling they are very well off and have many extra lessons than most. After dinner Judy and I grabbed a road side table and sat for some beer and chat whilst trucks and buses made their way to and from Kunming and Nanning

Sunday we headed to Baise for the day. I took Judy through the tiny little streets of old Baise. I love walking through here so much. It makes me feel as though I'm in China many decades ago. We come across the back of the local market place. Here is where all the chickens and poultry are plucked, boiled and cleaned. It was filthy. Feathers were stuck everywhere. I tried to get a decent photo but they didn't like being photographed. So mine is quite blurred. Maybe Judy's is better I'll try to get a copy. Upon our walks we passed many of the sidewalk 'bicycle stalls'. Here they sell boiled eggs, corn and sausages made form pigs blood. My favourite are the eggs boiled in green tea. They are so delicious; I could eat them by the nest full!

We headed up to Shopping Street for a haircut and massage. After an awesome massage I sat to get my haircut. In Tianyang I have found someone who not only has the clippers but the attachments as well. It's a rare find to find both clippers and attachments in the one shop here in rural China. I can't figure it out, they must sell the clippers without the attachments. Strange indeed. This place didn't have the attachments so they clipped my hair with a comb instead. This is fine but no matter how many times I try to explain that I want it the same 'short' length all over they always make the sides much shorter than the top. This occasion was worse than most as each time I tried to explain he cut the sides shorter and shorter and the top ended up being not much shorter than it was before I stepped in. Hey, at least I got nearing an hour long massage for 2 bucks!

As I write this the heavens above are threatening their early evening's violence. Loud rumbles are warning of another storm. Last night we had a huge storm late in the afternoon. The kids had a sports afternoon and for about half an hour the air became very heavy and still. Thunder warned us of the approaching storm in the distance. The lightening began without warning. Usually you see it in the distance but not this time. There was so much lightening, it was so close and bright that it left dazzling white spots in your vision. Within seconds hundreds of us were running for cover. It was awesome, there was so much rain. I love this time of year so much in Guangxi. I am captivated by storms, the louder the thunder and the more bright the lightening the more I am awed by it!

That's about it really. Lilly and friends have been running in and out for the last hour. There are about five of them running up and down the stairs yelling and screaming. In Australia they'd be hushed and locked inside for being so noisy, here it's just normal.

Anyhow, man needs beer and noodles to survive....catchya.