WARNING: I must put a short disclaimer here: after looking at these pictures you may have an intense and sudden urge to buy a plane ticket and come to China. Don't be alarmed, this is very normal and should be treated as quickly as possible. I recommend running to get your credit card and buying a ticket ASAP. If a ticket is not purchased, this feeling will continue for some time and may even be made worse by continuing to read this photo blog.
Better late than never is so cliche, but extremely fitting. In May *slightly embarrassed smile* I met up with my friend Kat (who I had only known for 2 weeks but we became friends quickly. She is traveling the world writing a cookbook for a restaurant she plans to open upon returning to the states.) and we planned to travel to Vietnam to do a visa run. Unfortunately, 'China' happened and we were unable to go to Vietnam together (really long story the involves embassies closing, embassies making huge mistakes and putting visas in wrong passports, phones running out of money at inopportune times, me going to the Vietnam border twice by myself and me overstaying my visa but not being charged), but our awesome friend E treated us to a short trip into the country! Kat made her flight to Ethiopia on time and I got to stay in Nanning for an extra week. Despite being terribly sick and unable to talk for the first week and a half, and all the craziness of the visas, this trip was inspiring, reviving, memorable and overall super awesome.
These pictures were taken 2-4 hours outside of Nanning in Guangxi province. Click on images to enlarge.
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| View from the bus window. |
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| Spying on this guy during a traffic jam. |
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| Window shot, so much to take in! |
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| Rest stop. |
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| Most filling breakfast ever! Moon Cake, yum! |
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| A lot of, not sure how to say it, wood harvesting? |
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| The women work as hard as the men, if not harder sometimes. |
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| Home Depot of China Guangxi Province. |
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| Rest. |
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| View on entering the village. |
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| Takes your breath away every time. |
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| This was our boat. |
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Our driver, such a kind man. We drive with our knees
sometimes and they use their feet sometimes. |
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| Nice breeze and the beautiful Kat. |
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| She made us laugh the whole time. Such joyful, happy and lovely people to be around. |
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This woman treated us to this little adventure. Without her help and guidance we would not have gone.
She has a beautiful heart and I am so glad to know her. |
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| Everywhere! |
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| We had to get off the boat and explore some. |
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| All the kids had to come too! E's future house??? I hope so! |
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| Grave site behind the house. |
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| Chinese reaction to the grave, they were really freaked out. They didn't stay there long. |
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| Just above the water behind the stone house. |
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| Father and daughter. |
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| Picked up some people on the way back. |
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| Get-back stare. |
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| Dinner is calling!! |
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| They were really torching that thing! |
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| Short crowd. |
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| Not the best photo, but every time I see twins in China I get really excited. |
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| Her face!?!? Lol. |
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| Chilling after dinner. |
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These people called to us from their balcony and talked us into going in their house for dinner. It was an interesting
meal that involved a tennis-mosquito-killing game, eating strange things and experiencing people in a village
with wealth. |
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| The next day we walked up some stairs... just a few, haha. |
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| But WOW, so worth it. |
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| Some of the stairs that run along the mountain top. |
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| WOW |
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| Small villages in between the mountains. |
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| I could keep saying WOW, but I think you get the idea. |
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| Always a dance party with this girl (except when there is an actual dance party....) |
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| Timer. |
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| We didn't really want to leave. |
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| Our friendly butterfly. |
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| Our driver, his van and the view. |
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| Driving back down the mountain. |
Here is some from my time staying in Nanning, Guangxi, China. I had a TON more photos from my time in this city, but alas they were all on my iPhone which was unfortunately stolen before I uploaded them. Here are a few that I posted to my Instagram.... but it's better than nothing!!! (they are just screen shots so the quality is poor)
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| Bus view of the rice fields and workers. |
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| On the boat. |
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| Photoshop fun. |
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| Pure beauty. |
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| We had the best time! |
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| Elephant in the appropriately named Elephant Square. |
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| Lion dog on the street, hahaha. |
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| Fish heads at the market. |
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| Street food in China is a whole new level. |
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Man playing traditional Chinese instrument while bikers
take risks in the local park at night. |
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| Elevators everyday. |
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| 80s dance party. |
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| They do birthdays right in Nanning! So much fun! |
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| Which one is more scary? |
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Visiting families and learning about Nagaland and the
food therein. |
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The train ride home I had the pleasure of listening to this
guy snore, haha. (Not really bad, I had ear plugs though). |
I will just end by saying: I have a guest room in my apartment.....
