First off, Happy Halloween to all!  Unfortunately we are not celebrating here, a Hamid did not even know what the holiday was!

So, the Japanese young man and myself are off to do some trekking in the mountains with Hamid!  We bought the food today at the local market!  It was quite an experience, witnessing all of the craziness of the streets.  The poor people selling the well-known Kashmir carpets, all the way to vegetable sales, and all kinds of funky characters to be seen amongst it all!  So after that we went to do some errands and entered Hamid's wife's family's house.  We sat down on the floor on a cushion and were given a blanket to cover ourselves for warmth (this seems to be the norm for Kashmiris).  We were then served the Chai (delicious and sweet!) along with a nice piece of sesame bread!  All worked out quite well there in the old town of Srinagar, and I felt a part of the culture.  The nice thing about staying with Hamid and his family is that he includes us (the Japanese fellow and myself) in almost all they do.  I have eaten with my hands - inside and outside, on the floor of the kitchen and in front of the TV with the family.  Tonight I may even take a Kashmiri Shower!  What is that you might ask?  It is where you take a bucket of water, fill it up and dump it on yourself!  ...more on that experience later!

So tomorrow we will be off to cook in the mountains and stay with a family which he knows for years and takes many of his guests to who lives in a local village.  When we come back, on days 6-8 we will celebrate the Muslim Christmas with his family.  We actually went with Hamid to check on the sheep (which were not there today) because during the festival the sheep are killed, but in a painless way - sounding almost identical to the kosher way of preparing meat.  The more time I spend here, the more I see how alike the customs and beliefs of the Muslims and the Jews really are!  Kashmir is predominantly Muslim, but as you make your way South through the country, the Muslims lose their ground and Hindus (and Sikhs_

A note about traffic in India.  We got stuck today in the city center for a bit.  I witnessed a minor accident, but without any information exchanged, paperwork filled out, hassle or stress, the incident was resolved in a matter of seconds with an exchange of a few words and minor vibes of frustration.  People seemed happy for the most part, yelling to one another in the street and in other cars, cracking jokes rather than yelling and threatening to take the other's life..There were even a few special people parading through the middle of the street sign-less and traffic-light-less roads...

So after cycling through Yangshuo's amazing scenery, it was time for a big city again - Guangzhou.  I spent only a small amount of time here, but enjoyed it!  I ended up at a gym, entering into a conversation with a magazine editor and a few moments later, was being photographed with a personal trainer in an attempt to add a little visual jazz to the latest article they were going to produce!  After being treated to a free workout (with some help from the personal trainer..."help" meaning whatever advice I could understand from his foreign langauge...) I went back and got ready for dinner.  It proved to be one of the most terrential rain storms I had seen, with cars stalling in the, let's swap the word "river" for "street" for this scenario.  People were practically up to their rear ends in water...a truly astonishing sight!

Fast forward to my current location:  Hong Kong.  Hong Kong is an interesting place; unlike mainland China where the government is all appointed, Hong Kong's is half appointed, half elected, (and Taiwan being a democracy, all elected).  You know you've left mainland China when you can get onto all websites you normally could, such as facebook and youtube!  Yes, now you know that my "forced" cyber social vacation has come to a close, so if I do not answer your message within 1-2 weeks I am ignoring you, in contrast to when I had no facebook access for weeks at a time in mainland!  You can also tell that you've left mainland China by the western toilets you find in bathroom, along with the ability for the toilets to handle toilet paperr.  You also encounter more American chains - Ruby Tuesdays, Mrs. Fields' Cookies, Burger King and a few other recognizable names show up.  The main area is known as the New Territories, and most commonly referred to is the area of Kowloon, a peninsula attached to the mainland.  Then you also have two other islands, Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island.  This place quite reminds me of China town, with the narrow roads overshadowed by the diverse and copious amounts of street signs (flashing at night) hanging from every which way.  The buildings and rooms appear to be small to me as well.  Another tell-tale sign of a new place - there are no parents hovering their offspring over the street, encouraging them to release their natural waste products...this is refreshing, as I worry less what I am stepping in when I encounter a wet surface on the street..

Lan Kwai Fang proves to be more than sufficient for a night out, with fun bars and clubs razzling and dazzling the street!  I even witness a man carrying a child with him outside the bar...couldn't find a babysitter sir?  Good idea, why go to bed, when you can BRING THE KID WITH YOU to have a good time??  Ironically enough, the child was asleep and didn't look to be waking up any time soon..

So I have spent 3 months now becoming somewhat conversational in Mandarin Chinese, only to find myself in   I came to find out that Cantonese is the language spoken here, although about 50% of people (at least) are able to hold a conversation in English.  The English-speaking is refreshing, but the fact that a new language sets in is not, as I want to improve the Mandarin base I have begun to build.  However, Cantonese and Mandarin essentially share the same set of characters (written language) but the pronunciations are different.  This proves to be a challenge as I have yet to master, let's use the word "grasp" the tones in Mandarin.

So as I sit here and reflect on some experiences I have had, stuffing my face with a chocolate muffin and a liter of milk in mcdonalds, I smile.  Why?  Because a minor change for most is a MAJOR change for me.  Hong Kong McDonalds allow you to get Egg McMuffins and Sausage McMuffins at ANY TIME, NOT JUST BREAKFAST!  For anyone who knows me well, breakfast is my favorite meal, so the ability to eat it at whatever time I want is a true treat!!

The next stop on this journey is unknown at the moment, but if the fatekeepers of my destiny, located in the Indian Embassy in Eastern Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong permit, India just might be calling my name..

So Zhaoxing was the final trip for the village-aspect of touring, and it was the largest Dong village that exists - quite cool!  I stayed in a place called the Drum Tower Hotel or the Drum Tower Inn...not too bad, except for waking up at 4am to a really scary face - not sure if it was a ghost or a dream...but I stayed awake for a bit because I heard some banging and footsteps in the hallway, when I was relatively sure that we were the only ones staying in the hotel and the owner was asleep.  That was my first experience staying in a place that had some paranormal activity going on; I am a believer.  

So after having enough of village-hopping, Guilin was on board!  It was the normal stopover point to Yangshuo,  Yangshuo is a place where it is WAY too easy to do absolutely nothing...(not that I have been doing this)...There is some absolutely stunning scenery here when you rent a bike and explore.  Most people's favorite sites are the karst mountains, viewed from rafting down the Li River.

So I finally counteracted my laziness (surprising most people I meet, that I enjoy living like a local as well as a tourist, not getting up at the crack of dawn each day to partake in touristy activities!)  I took a bus to a smaller village around Yangshuo called Yangdi and took a raft to Xingping.  As you are arriving to Xingping, you can see the picture depicted on the 20 Yuan note, and as most do I took a picture and a video of the beautiful scenery!  There were many mountains that looked like objects such as apples along the way!

Today I biked around Yangshuo, passing through some absolutely stunning scenery, viewing just about every natural fruit and vegetable that grows on this earth.  I passed through some smaller villages, and was able to see the Yulong River as well!  See what getting up before 11am can do?  Also, renting a bike for less than $3 USD is not bad!

I have met some amazing people in the bar/hostel where I am staying and have been helping them to try to bring in business and doing some "work" - which consists more of helping out with random things and giving my opinion and ideas about things...the bar has only been open for about 1.5 weeks now...and I've already managed to break the chord connecting any source of music to the speakers tonight....great...I should be getting my Employee of the Month plaque any day now....I will let you know when it arrives!

My next stop is Guangzhou, and after that, to Hong Kong!  According to my Visa, I will have technically left China once I arrive in Hong Kong.