I'm On a Boat

Yesterday, for the first time in two months, I walked on the ground. The actual earth, that is, with no asphalt, tiles, concrete, bricks, or other man-made paving materials between my feet and the dirt. It was uneven and unplanned and it was glorious. Even better, it was just one part of a glorious day.

We went on a company outing/team building trip yesterday. We took a bus out of the city to Qingyuan, which is about 70 km northwest of the Guangzhou. Qingyuan is the destination of choice for city-dwellers looking for a little change of scenery. For a few hours, I traded in skyscrapers for mountains; canals for rivers; subway rides for boat rides.

Qingyuan

Our first order of business was lunch, which we enjoyed on a boat while cruising down a green river between steep mountains. It was quiet but for the thrum of the engines. The air smelled like water, and mud, and gasoline fumes. There was a breeze and the sun was out.

here there be foreigners

After lunch, we hopped back on the bus and headed over to our main activity of the day: whitewater rafting. Now, I was hesitant going into this trip about the rafting, as all of my experience has been with rafting in Maine, which is a little bit more exciting than I generally like. But, numerous people assured me that this version of whitewater rafting was going to be tame.

Alright, take a moment to imagine whitewater rafting. What do you envision? A river with a swift current, a series of rapids and riffles, some eddies, some danger, a lot of excitement. A raft full of people, perched on the sides, clad in helmets and life-jackets and wielding plastic paddles and led by a fearless and experienced rafting guide.

Now imagine a waterslide at a waterpark. Perhaps one of the ones down which you ride an inner tube. Got it? Now, combine your idea of whitewater rafting with the waterslide and you'll be somewhere near Qingyuan rafting. The river is narrow: maybe the width of a highway lane, slightly wider at the pools between rapids. You are in a two-man raft, sitting inside facing each other. You brace your feet against a raised strip in the center of the boat, and hold on to two handles. You have a helmet and a life-jacket, but no paddle. And then, you're off! The rapids are semi-natural and semi-constructed: let's call it "enhanced nature." They are much like chutes and drops, in the sense that they are caused by falling elevation, not water moving over submerged boulders. At each one, there is a lifeguard standing by with a long pole, to tow you back into the current in the event that you get stuck in an eddy and can't figure out your own creative solution to navigation without a paddle. They are also there, presumably, to aid you in the event of an accident, but we were never in any danger of flipping, and the water level was rarely if ever more than shoulder deep. The journey lasted a little over an hour and was great fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

After the rafting, we changed into dry clothes and had a moment to buy a snack/enjoy the scenery before heading back to the city. One of the local teachers convinced us to try a local snack (I didn't catch its name) made of water and yellow beans with a sweet ginger sauce. It is the color and consistency of custard, but is just water and beans. Apparently, Qingyuan is the place to try it (although you can get it in Guangzhou) because the Qingyuan mountain spring water is so delicious and pure, it make the whole dish better. The ginger sauce was sweet and spicy and all together, it was quite lovely.

It was two hours back to Guangzhou. I napped on the bus. A few of us finished off the day by having dinner at the Indonesian restaurant near our school, and then I went home and went to bed. It was a long day, but so worth it to see some green places. Nature: I miss it the most of all.

I'm on a boat.