Nancy's house and MoonHill

Friday, March 21, 2008
Yangshou, China
Mel - This morning, we walked along the river front. Right the way along, they have exercise equipment for you to use. There is a treadmill, swings, see-saws as well as other items. I am sitting here trying to describe them but I think it would be better for you to look at the photos! Nancy met us at the hotel after breakfast (Pa finally got his banana pancakes!!) and walked with us to the bus depot.

From there we all caught a bus to Nancy's home . From her house, there is a wonderful view of all the mountains all the way around. Moon Hill looked fantastic from there. Looking at the mountains, there is one that has an almost perfectly formed circle in the middle.

Nancy then fed us. It was an early lunch and, after a big breakfast (banana pancakes for Pa - his favourite food in Yangshou), none of us were that hungry. Nancy's cook just kept bringing plate after plate for us to eat. The food was all beautiful. After Nancy told us the history of the surrounding mountains (they all had a name - from their shape, you may see an eagle, a lion etc and a story that joined them all together) and the life of the people during the war, we caught a bus back to town.

We headed out for dinner at a local restaurant. We wanted a break from the Chinese food, so ordered two pizzas to share between 5 of us. After an hour, we received the first pizza which was small but very nice . We waited and waited........, Finally Keith went and asked them about the pizza and was told that it would be 5 minutes. After 10 minutes, we decided to leave and get an ice cream on the way back to the hotel. As we went to pay, the pizza came out of the kitchen. By this stage, we were all over pizza so paid and left. Hopefully the staff enjoyed it!

We all got our ice creams and wandered back to the hotel room via the markets. The market stalls are all open late yet still open early in the morning. No wonder you will often see the people asleep behind their stall. Or on a bench, or in a bumpy tractor. They seem to be able to sleep anywhere, any time, on anything!
Met an 11 year old girl who was playing with a toy that had a weight on the bottom (about 10 washers tied together) with streamers hanging off it. The aim was to kick this thing with the side of your foot, aiming to get it as high as you can. Nancy found us and showed us how she could kick this thing up in the air with her right foot, and then kick it again using her left foot behind her .


Kate    Nancy told us that Moon Hill is full of caves that are just starting to be discovered. The older people of the area do not want this to happen and are most worried. Nancy said that during the war, when needed, the people from this area would run and hide in the caves from the enemy. The caves were that well hidden that they were never found. The people that lived through this period of time are scared that another war might happen and, if everyone knows about the caves, then they will not have anywhere safe to hide.

Nancy decided Mel’s fringe was too long and said she’d cut it for her. Poor Mel came running to me in fear of what Nancy was about to do!! I must admit that even I was hesitant but how do you say no to someone who has just opened up their house to you!!! Nancy came up the stairs with a large pair of clothing shears. Luckily she only gave Mel’s fringe a trim.
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