Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

Below is a fellow Chinese travellers English description of her time in Dehang Village.

I tried to put it in my own words but in the end I thought it was better to just add my diary entry and felt it more worthy to allow her to do her best to describe what I was trying to write.

Here the mountain terrain is free and easy with a flowing rhythm and the flora is tall and erect. The overlapping peaks form many bluffs, cliffs, waterfalls and forests. In the scenic spot the creeks and rivers crisscross and it is suppodly and understandably like spring all the year round with pleasant climate.

It has rich animal and plant resources, and pretty and charming natural landscape.

Walking upstream along the brook for around four kilometers from Aizhai Town to Dehang Miao Village enjoy a pastoral setting formed by scooped waterwheels and ancient ferry along with small boats along the bank accompanied by Diaojiaolou of Miao people.

Jiulong river runs through the village.

All around the village the scenery of mountain is quiet and exquisite and the precipices erect as chopped. Passed stone arch bridge, you may climb Pangu Peak which is more than four hundred meters high. On the top of the mountain, there are two peaks, a big one and a small one. The top is a knotty virgin forest and is more than very wide.

All around the top are precipices.
Sceneries of the neighborhood is in full view from the top of the peak.

NOW FOR MY MORE WORDY ADVENTURE!

On Saturday (17th July) I rose early and met Crusty to catch the bus west to Jishou city.

The journey took around five hours and once we arrived we grabbed a delicious local meal for lunch and then headed to the train station to see about a ticket to Beijing for Simon. No luck as they had only hard seat tickets available so he gave it to chance and instead we grabbed a cab to the ancient Miao Village of Dehang. During the ride there Simon commented on a 'Hen’ that could be found clucking not far from our cab during one of our stops and hysterically the cab drivers response in Chinese was;

‘Are you an idiot, the rooster has the red thing on top of his head and the hen has nothing!’

After checking out two guesthouses we paid for a night’s accommodation and then headed out into the rice fields for an unforgettable walk. We chose the less common walk that took us behind our guesthouse and through some of the most beautiful scenery that I can only compare to the walk that I took when I visited Da Liken Village in Wuyuan County in Jingxsi Province. Our walk ended at the top of a high karst peak that on one side overlooked the amazing valley we had just walked through and on the other gave views and offerings of a temple located at the top of a mountain.

What better place to finish our first adventure!

As it was getting late we decided to head back the way we came to make sure we didn’t get lost and had to spend the night in a darkened valley full of strange creepy crawlies that would feast upon us leaving nothing but bones for any stray dogs that may be wandering in the area the following morning.

Thankfully we arrived back just in time for the Miao Village Performance which admittedly was pretty well done except for the fact that only several Miao girls had to do their best to mime what sounded like half a village of women. Near the end of the performance poor Simon got dragged to the center of the stage where he had to sing a song in front of everyone and was left shaken and speechless for several minutes.

I can’t remember what he ended up singing but I do remember there was part of a Ramones song and maybe the beginnings of a Steel Panther song.

Being one of only two foreigners there he received not only a local Miao bag but also a hearty applause for trying his best.

Even though we did make it back to the village the previous evening to spend the night indoors that didn’t stop what seemed like the entire mountain range of creepy crawlies from feasting upon me but thankfully they left some meat upon my bones to live another day. After packing Simon and I left our bags at our guesthouse and headed out into the village to find something for breakfast and not long after we decided on one of my favourite travel breakfasts;

Delicious egg and tomato with a bowl of rice.
When we got the bill we where both a little surprised.

But both being seasoned China travellers we silently agreed to the fact that Guesthouses and Café’s in places like Yangshuo, Lijiang and Fenghuang Old Town didn’t build themselves!

We spent most of the morning walking around the village checking out the achiuteture taking photos in the small and vibrant back lanes that when compared to yesterday’s silence were very touristy and we only spotted two other foreign couples both of whom even happily acknowledged our existance.

Today we decided to take the obviously more touristy route that led rhough yet another breathtaking picturesque valley. This walk though had several small shacks that sold cold drinks and ended at a tiny lake that was fed by a dramitic waterfall and even though the cascading wall of water was beautiful beyond beliefe and although the walk was no where as beautiful as yesterdays walk it was just as spectacular as we envisioned.

Yesterdays walk was spent in total silence.
Todays was spent passing tens of both mioa and other ethnic chinese beauties!
Todays was also spent with ‘some’ other tourists but thankfully there were no megaphones!

When we reached the spectacular pool and waterfall we decided to spend some time relaxing and thankfully we did as not long after the river that fed the waterfall somehow was fed enough water to put on a spectacular show for us and delivered an extra burst of energy and let out double the amount of water that slowly cascaded into the pool below. Around us for some strange reason parents yelled to their families to beware and return to the comforts of their arms yet even though the new waters brought forth a new found energy it reallhy wasn’t enough to warrant such a show.

Above us the heavens had once acgain decided to close over so we decided to scamper.

The return journey was just as beautiful yet as always it took half the time and not long after we boarded our bus back to Jishou City. Happily and for the more adventurous our jounrey was prolonged by a drunken local who had on more than one occasion drank too much alcohol and had been woken from his mid day slumber by a touist bus and had decided to have his say by not only blocking our way with many bamboo chairs but then blocking our way with his own body and verbal abuse.

Soon after the local police arrived.
They strangely spoke around three words and then headed off for lunch.
We were left to wait as several bus drivers and locals slowly removed him from our path..

Finally as the outspoken local who I belive had every right to have his say gave in we were on our way. For those who are interested he was actually sick and tired of what all foreigners quickly get tired of…bus and car horns! Strangely here in Deheng Village all tourist buses must park around one kilometer from the village yet the local Jishou buses can go all the way into the village and park in the village square.

Then when they are about to return to the city they continuallhy beep their horn to let everyone know they are about to leave…..not hard to get sick of I can tell you!

Here is a tiny Miao Village in the midde of nowhere that has captured the governments eye and within a short amount of years has has a heap of money thrown at it to build guesthouses etc and all of a sudden not only growth in tourism has arrived but with it all its horrible Chinese glory…..the arrival of the horrid Chinese bus horn.

A year ago this village was left to sleep and ponder as they pleased.
Suddenly they were given a load of money to build, modernise and get ready.
All too soon the tourist buses arrived and obviously many of the villagers were not ready.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by Skid Row
The album was ‘Slaves to the Grind’
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