Ne How

Since the original crew I was climbing with took off I've joined forces with a couple of guys staying at the climbers inn with me named Robby and Darren, both from Australia.  They had just returned from a trip to Getu, a recently developed climbing area thanks to the Petzl Rock trip in extremely rural China that is about a day and a half worth of travel from Yangshuo.  I have been tempted to visit Getu as well while I'm here but I think it will have to happen on a different trip, and would probably be a better place to show up with a partner than not.  the rock however is supposed to be in prisitine condition and not polished at all unlike some of the areas in Yangshuo due to constant climbing traffic on a route.  Since there is only 3 of us climbing we usually opt to rent a bicycle for the day which runs about a dollar fifty and ride out to the crags which has been a good way to see the countryside and get in shape at the same time.  Weather is still really unpredictable and some of the most humid weather at times I've ever been in, the kind where you walk outside and feel instantly wet.  There is a huge national holiday going on right now in China known as May day and Yangshuo is a massive Chinese tourist destination.  Chinese tourists are as funny in China as they are known to be in the states, traveling in huge packs on tour buses, fully decked out with huge SLR cameras around their neck, and the local apparel of whatever city they are visiting.  They purchase any tourist item you can think of for sale.  Some groups have name tags and leaders of the group carry big signs identifying them as they march through tourist attractions.  They are snapping a million photos as soon as they step off the bus.  The other day we were climbing on a cliff that was a good 10 minute hike up the hill from the nearby road.  An ambitious college aged Chinese tourist hiked up to where we were climbing because you could see us from the road.  When he got up to the base of the cliff where we were at he was out of breath and sweating but still loudly announced that "it is SUCH an honor to meet us and welcome us to his country"!  He said that his family and was waiting for him down in the van he came in so he had to leave soon but wanted to tell us that his dad wanted him to tell us that if we could climb to the top of that mountain peak then we could do anything in life!  It was truly heartfelt, and as quickly as he appeared he was gone again hiking back down to his van.  While if this happened at a local crag at home you would probably think the guy was nuts, but it was one of those moments that just makes traveling so great. Most of the tourists are fascinated with climbing and its not uncommon to have them right next to you at the bottom with a video camera rolling in your face and pointing and talking at you while you're climbing.  Of course that is only at the crags that are close to town or other tourist destinations, most of them are fairly remote and provide some serentity as well.  Some people chose to flee town during this crazy time when all the hotels get booked up and the streets are (more) crowed than they usually are, but I kind of enjoy the chaos.  Lilly, the hotel owner is even giving all the climbers a half price discount, which is still twice what we normally pay, but the rates nearly triple during this 3 day holiday, and she's been generous enough to let us all stay for a lower rate and is refusing Chinese customers because she's booked full.  She is a very generous woman for making such a decision but she is a climber at heart and loves hanging out with the climbers and says "they don't complain like other customers".  Lilly is full of personality and is great to hang out with.  She bases most of her knowledge of the western culture on Sex and the City which she routinely watches and is fascinated with.  She's constantly picking our brain to find out if what she's seeing is really how it works where we're from haha.  The climbing scene is good here and is a nice mix of international and local climbers as well at the crags.  It's kind of funny how the climbing community works when you travel, but the common root of climbing seems to draw all climbers together to make a pack of friends that all eat together, hang out together, and climb together no matter where you are from or who you are with, everybody just seems to get along and make instant friends.  It makes traveling alone seem like you are never really alone which is nice.  Some incredibly strong climbers are attracted to Yangshuo and it's not uncommon to see guys climbing up 5.13-5.14 routes, which are among some of the worlds most difficult climbs.  Watching some of them make you just want to throw in the towel and give up climbing all together haha, okay not really, but it does make you sick how incredibly talented they are with what seems like such little effort.  After climbing yesterday my shoulder has been kind of acting funny and feels like a small tear or impingement thing going on so I'm resting for a couple of days to let it calm down and hopefully I'll finish out the trip climbing hard again.  Meanwhile I'm just soaking up the holiday craziness going on in Yangshuo