Okay this update turned into quite a novel so read as
much or little as you like.  Sorry for the big email
though.  Here is the quick summary though.

Short Version
--------------

Left Hong Kong on June 4th and after an all day and
night journey arrived in Yangshou.  The limestone
pinnacles in Yangshou make it a beautiful place for
tourists but the place is very layed back and a good
place to stay.  Have met several locals, climbed a
pinnacle, visited a village and had a home cooked
meal, and had interesting conversations with Chinese
students travelling here to practice their english. 
Going on to Nanning enroute to Vietnam hopefully
tomorrow (June 8th).

Long Version
-------------

So Monday (June 4th) I finally extracted myself from
Hong Kong and have ventured back up into China.  It
was too bad that I was leaving though since Monday was
the 11th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
 They were planning a big gathering in Hong Kong for
it.  I'm not sure how it went though.  I think most
people think people will not say or do much though.

The trip to Yangshou ended up being quite an
adventure.  I started with a 4 hour bus ride across
the border to Guangzhou which was rather uneventful. 
After arriving, the rain really started pouring though
and I had to get Chinese money and then find
transportation on to Yangshou.  Luckily I spotted an
ATM as we drove in so I made a beeline to it under
cover of unbrella.  Then I hoped in a taxi and
struggled to get him to understand train station. 
Unfortunately the station was overrun with people and
nobody spoke any english.  I decided to find the bus
station which is usually easier to obtain tickets
from.  So I managed to communicate where I wanted to
go by pointing at buses and saying the city name I
wanted to go to.  When I found it two locals said
"Guilin" which is nearby Yangshou and I said yes. 
They quickly shuttled me down the road and we got in a
taxi to another bus station.  Of course the whole time
I'm alittle skeptical but it was 5pm and I needed to
quickly find this bus and I also knew some stations
only served certain cities.  Luckily it was correct
and I was rushed onto a bus that left shortly after. 
I was of course the only foreigner on the bus and not
a single soul on it could say more than hello in
English.  The ride took all night and we even stopped
for a full meal after midnight!  But eventually I
arrived in Yangshou at 5am after being abruptly
awoken.  After a minute I realized they were saying
that we were at Yangshou and everyone was waiting for
me to get out.  So I scrambled to get out and in my
groggy state was greated by 4 motorcycle taxi drivers
all trying to grab my bags and take me before I was
even ready.  So I just held onto my bags and yelled at
them to stop.  Of course they just kept smiling and
pulling on my bag.  Finally I noticed a rickshaw and
was able to push my way away from the crazed
motorcycle drivers and got in.  The rest of the story
is quite pleasant fortunately.  I found a very nice
guesthouse and got a 4 person dorm room for $2 where I
immediately took rest.

Yangshou is one of China's tourist gems really.  The
langscape is full of the huge limestone pinnacles
jutting out of the terrain.  Often a surreal fog
settles around these pinnacles creating a really
magical view and trips down the river Li are one of
the favorite ways to see this landscape.

The town is a small very relaxed village that is
touristy but in a good way.  There are many outdoor
restaurants and shops to wander by down the
cobblestone pedestrian street.  Everyone is very
friendly and many people speak some english.  Of
course many are guides looking for business, but they
are also just being friendly and are happy to hang out
and chat.

So Tuesday I just wandered town and along the river
before finding a nice outdoor restaurant to park at. 
One of the girls working their, Rose, chatted with me
and kept me company when things were slow and I talked
with a few other tourists.  I had decided I wanted to
climb up the tallest pinnacle in town the next day and
Rose wanted to join me so we planned on climbing it at
6:30 in the morning.  Afterwards I sat and talked with
Anna who was a guide whom had talked with me a couple
of times and was helpful to give me ideas of what I
could do even though I told her I could not hire her. 
We sat and talked and she invited me to visit her
village and cook lunch the next day (Many guides take
tourists to see the local villages and have a cooked
meal there).  So I planned that for after my climb.

In the morning I woke and met Rose at 6:30 and we
climbed the highest pinnacle in town.  Luckily there
were some clouds shading the sun. Even so, it was
still extremely hot and humid.  Our suffering was
rewarded by the incredible view though.  After
relaxing and enjoying the view we descended and had a
dumpling breakfast at a street vendor.  Then Rose went
off to sleep and get ready for work while I went back
and showered and met Anna.

I met Anna visited the market to buy the food to cook
lunch and then met up with her dutch friend Peter who
joined us.  We rented bikes and biked for over an hour
through the countryside to her village.  We saw more
of the craggy landscape the whole way and passed many
rice fields set along side the river.  

Anna's village was nothing more than a smattering of
mud brick houses set nearby the famous Moon Hill. 
This limestone outcrop has a crescent shaped hole
through it and is one of the area attractions.  Anna's
father's house was one of these.  The inside had one
large mostly empty room with a cement floor, a simple
buddhist shrine set in the wall with incense sticking
out of a metal pot, and a burner for cooking.  Along
the left and right sides were several small bedrooms
with a dresser, small bed, and a few belongings.

Anna's grandmother sat hunchedover looking older than
I can ever imagine living and greated us with a smile
and a wave.  While Peter and I sat chatting, Anna's
grandmother clipped and prepared the vegetables and
Anna cooked the food.  Then we sat and ate her tastey
cooking.  She had prepared several dishes with bamboo
shoots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and chicken and
everything tasted really great.  After lunch we said
goodbye and biked back into town.  Anna told us both
she did not want us to pay for anything, but in the
end she reluctantly took money we offered to at least
cover the food.  Anyways, we were greatful that she
was so nice and surprised that she did not expect nor
easily take our money.

After a shower Peter and I had a few drinks and
eventually had dinner.  We visited with Anna, Rose and
anyone else around that wanted to chat.  

Actually, there has been a group of 64 college
students in town and their teacher has encouraged them
to approach (He even went so far as to give them some
English pickup lines) foreigners and practice their
english.  So I have had a few conversations with some
of the students over the past two days.  It was really
nice to speak to some of the students because I really
got an insight into their world and their perceptions
and they asked about mine and other American/Western
concepts as well.  I'll say more after I leave the
country though.

So today I may try and canoe the river around sunset
and otherwise relax.

My onward plans are now to attempt to go on to Vietnam
instead of Laos.  It will probably be easier and take
less time to travel this way and I can visit Laos from
Cambodia or enter from Thailand quite easily.  I'm 90%
sure I can acquire a visa at the border for a cost so
in Nanning I'll confirm this and make adjustments
accordingly.

It has rained off and on this week.  Today is a cloudy
drizzly day so I am fine to sit and send email.  Hope
everyone is well.

-Chris