Yangshuo Lantern Festival

So last Sunday I woke up with a red eye that itched a little bit and I figured it could be pink eye, so I called out sick and went to the doctor, or hospital, later that day. What an experience that was. There arent regular doctors offices here, so when something is wrong people go to the hospital. Everyone that goes has to buy a small book that the docs record why you were there and what medicines you were given for your own personal record. My school looks at this so I can get paid for the day I missed. If I didnt have this they would count it as un-excused and would not pay me. I am allowed 3 sick days per contract. Believe me Ill use them up! :) So anyway, after I got the book and told the front counter lady why I was there she called a special eye doctor who had already gone home for the day to come back and check me out. We went and waited by his room on the 3rd floor. First of all the hospital looked like a mental institution on the inside. There were iron bars over the windows and it was dark and gloomy inside. Somewhat dirty and old looking as well. I wasnt around in the 40's or 50's in America but thats kinda what I pictured the hospitals looking like back then. It was weird. The doc came and brought me into his room and set me up in an eye machine so he could see it better. 2 mins later we went to his desk where he lit up a cigarette, yes a cig in the hospital!! All the docs smoke right in their patient rooms, its messed up if you ask me. So he said my eye was a little sick and wrote me a prescription that I could get filled downstairs. All in all I was in the hospital for about 40 mins, and the total cost for visit, eye machine, and meds was 23RMB or a little over 3 dollars! Can you believe that shit? In America it would have cost hundreds without insurance and with insurance maybe 30 bucks. It made me sick thinking about the US and its hospital, insurance, and pharmaceutical issues. Anyway the eye got better the next day with the meds he gave me.

The following day was Monday and we decided to go to Yangshuo to celebrate the Lantern Festival Day, which ends the Chinese New Year holiday. It was a perfect day for it, 75 degrees and sunny. We took a bus at 11am and arrived in Yangshuo around 12:15. I ate the best hamburger Ive had so far in China at a place called Kellys Cafe. Then we walked around the city for a while window shopping and figuring out where the festivities were being held. We learned that the nighttime celebrations were going down at a park near the edge of the city. The park was filled with colorful lanterns hanging from strings up in the trees. There were thousands of them all different designs and colors. They also had two, maybe 100 feet long pick dragons running through the park. I could tell there were going to be tons of people bc minute by minute the park and city were filling up. We met an artist drawing a picture by a lake and Michelle talked Chinese to him for a min until he said 'I can speak English you know' It was really funny, he said he wanted Michelle to practice her Chinese and see how much she knew. I was laughing. Michelle decided to paint a pic of the lanterns throughout the park and I figured it was a perfect chance to do some rock climbing up the mountain close by. I got up high as shit before the rock did a vertical on me and there was no more going up with out ropes and shit. I found a few small animal holes and a bat cave. I swear there were bats in that shit, it was perfect for them. There were also spider webs all over the place and I didnt want to find out what kind of spiders there were. I also found a few small bonsai looking trees growing out of solid rock, really neat. The tricky part wasnt climbing up, it was getting down. There was no way I was going down the same way I came up so I had to figure out a new path down. It was a little hairy at certain points but I made it down.

It was at this moment we heard a parade going through the city. I found Michelle and we took off running towards the drums and symbols. The parade was cool! There were about 10 different groups of maybe 15 people who each had a stick connected to a colorful dragon made out of fabric. They would make the dragon dance and follow a small ball that one person had at the front of the group. Its hard for me to explain how the dance was performed but it was cool as shit. Each dragon was different. There were also lions which were two men in the same costume. One was the front legs and head and the other was the back legs and ass. It was funny watching them do their routine. The lion would scratch itself and lick its ass. Funny shit. We followed the parade all the way around the city before it made its way back to the park. All the older people in the parade played the music on drums and symbols. When the music got louder and faster the dragons dance changed accordingly. All the performers in the parade seemed to be having the best time of their lives. I think its an honor to be in this parade bc they all were trying soo hard at their task.

We had never seen this many people in Yangshuo before. Im telling your the whole city was grid locked with people. It reminded me of New Orleans for Mardi Gras, slam packed. The night time performance was each group in the parade did their skit on a big stage. They had colorful lights and some of the dragons eyes lit up, it was pretty cool but we left before it was over to eat dinner before the fireworks. We ate in a small western restaurant on the 2nd floor so we could look down the street at all the people, it was amazing how many there were. This is a really big thing for the Chinese we assumed. They lit a bunch of fireworks off at the rivers edge which was cool. The Chinese love their fireworks for sure and they are much louder and bigger than those in the States. The big booms are crazy loud and they all echoed off the karst mountains which sounded crazy. In China fireworks are thought to scare away all the evil spirits with the loud noise and fire. Thats why they like them loud and thats why every business lights off one of those 500 shot fire cracker rolls that last 15 mins. They got a little annoying after the 100th one I heard.

The fireworks lasted about 20 mins and after all the people lit their 'floaty lanterns' as I call them. We lit a couple in Sanya. You lit a piece of gas soaked towel on fire and attach it to the bottom of a miniature hot air balloon looking thing and once it fills up with hot air it floats up into the sky. Its really fun and its supposed to bring good luck to your family if done correctly. They are fun to lite off and watch float away, I dont know why people dont do it in America. At first I thought it was dangerous lighting fire to a balloon and watching it float away, but it keeps going up until the flame goes out, then it falls to the Earth for someone else to send up. I thought it would be cool to sign your name and where you found it, when you either lit one or found one.

The last bus back to Guilin was at 12am so we jumped on it and headed back. It was a good day trip and a really cool Chinese festival to see I feel. This, like I said earlier ends the Chinese New Year break, so all the kids go back to their regular school and most Universities also start back up. I guess this break is equivalent to our Christmas break in America, about 3-4 weeks long depending on the school you go to. Some students in China are off for 2 months though, lucky bastards.