Summer Saga: Guizhou, Part III

And so comes the conclusion to part one of my summer saga - the last of my days in Guizhou. To be perfectly honest, the last few days in Guizhou are sort of a blur. I have hazy memories of ridiculous national parks, numerous waterfalls and caves, and, of course, a crap-ton of food.

Waterfall #1

And I can't even remember how many boat rides we took!

Including the most delicious eggplant I've ever eaten...

And also one of the nastiest things I've ever eaten:
Spicy Noodles with Pig Intestine, Congealed Blood, Tofu and Pig Skin. YOLO?

I'm not joking when I say that Sharon, Michele and I spent our last four days in Guizhou province in probably five different national parks. It was ridiculous - and, sadly, a little redundant by the end. (Also, nothing could compare to our awesome rafting adventure... it kind of put everything else to shame). However, it also served as a great example for one of my favorite travel philosophies: Keep expectations low, and you'll rarely be disappointed!

China's largest waterfall in a cave, for example...

Waterfall #2

The best example of my philosophy was the day we visited HuangGuoShu - a huge national park complex which boasts China's largest waterfall. Sharon and Michele were all kinds of excited; this was to be the highlight of our trip! I, however, held a different mentality. As soon as I heard the words "China's largest," I knew we were in for massive crowds, super-elevated prices, and all the other typical parts of a tourist trap.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, folks...

A rare opportunity for a photo without other people in it...

Because of my mentality, I ended up having a great time at HuangGuoShu - it was exactly what I thought it would be (touristy, duh), but because I had prepared for that, I was able to get past it and enjoy the waterfall (because it actually was pretty cool). Sharon and Michele, however, found themselves disappointed and disillusioned; what was supposed to be a beautiful, natural, wonderful scene ended up being full of pushy people, naughty children, and thousands of cameras.

It was still pretty impressive, though...

The other parks we visited had similar turnouts - but by the second or third one, we had learned to make the best of it. When everyone in the crowd took the path to the left, we went right; when we took a boat ride through huge caverns and twisting caves, and our boat driver somehow managed to run into every single wall and rock, we laughed! And when we had to wait in lines for hours and hours, we told stories, played games and sang songs.

We laughed when two men began slaughtering a cow
RIGHT BEHIND US
while we were eating...

I mimicked Lady Liberty using corn on the cob

We goofed off in giant caves!

We even tried some zip-lining to skip some of the crowds!

Our last day together ended up being my birthday (the big two-four heyy!) which we spent at one of the most depressing parks I've ever been to. Okay, that sounds really bad - it wasn't all depressing. We got to watch 80-year-olds dance to traditional Chinese music; we got to row around a gorgeous lake; and, of course, eat some tasty food. And those things were great!

Paddle Boating!

Sun-tanning (much to Sharon & Michele's horror)

But we also had to avoid being attacked by monkeys - monkeys that weren't afraid to jump on you and grab food out of your hands, probably even out of your mouth, if that's where you had it. We also had to walk through the saddest excuse for a zoo I've ever come across - the animals looked sickly and ragged, there was no grass in their cages - only cement - and the crowds wouldn't stop taunting them. I've never been an animal rights activist or anything, but I certainly could be after spending an hour in that terrible place. I'm happy to say that was my first and last zoo experience in China - and I plan to keep it that way.

This is as close as we got to the demon monkeys...

I know, it's depressing

Fortunately, the day ended on a good note. Sharon, Michele and I sat down for one last meal - birthday hot pot - where we reviewed and relived our awesome week together. Then, they walked me to the train station so I could catch the train to the next part of my adventure, and so we could say our final goodbyes. I wasn't lying when I thanked Michele and Sharon for one of the best weeks of my life, and by far some of my favorite memories in China. As excited as I was for the next part of my adventure, I couldn't help feeling a little bummed that this week had to end.

My bittersweet birthday dinner...