Binyang to Nanning
Day 301
We had a wonderful experience catching up today on an Express bus. They picked all 19 of us up at our hotel in Liuzhou as a special request. The bus then went to the station to be filled with other passengers.
This bike was a roving salad bar, selling interesting food from plastic boxes.
In addition to a driver, we had a lovely young girl who’s job was to “take care” of us. She offered newspapers, in English actually to us westerners, then provided bottled water and a motion sickness pill if wanted! As we entered the freeway, she came along and insisted we all put on our seat belts! I felt as though I was on an airline!
We got to watch music videos and the movie, “You’ve Got Mail” during the trip. It was so pleasant, the time passed quickly. All this for a cost of 50 yuan, $6.25! It was a bargain.
As we approached our destination city of Nanning, I noticed the skyline filled with tall buildings. This was the largest city I have been to in China and probably the most modern. It was teeming with people.
The streets were very wide and relatively clean, compared to the other places we have been. There were separate bike, motor scooter and auto lanes. All were congested and full of people.
I am always fascinated at the multitude of ways bikes can be used. In China they are a very common mode of transportation for just about anything. Entire careers are built from the seat of a bike.
This lady carried a household store around on hers. She was the Chinese Tupperware Fuller Brush Lady!
Air pollution filled the air in China.
Our hotel was the tops in China and perhaps right up there in the world ranking. We were going to exit China in style, I love it!
Entering the lobby, I noticed a bride and groom having their photos taken. Naturally curious I stopped to watch, then as I looked around I noticed more and more couples. All told there were 100 brides and grooms who had just been married in out hotel! It was so unreal, almost as though a Bride Magazine was doing a photo shoot!
The couples were all so adorable! All the women wore long white gowns with veils and flowers in their hair. It was curious to see that many wore red high heels, but later that evening I understood why. As they changed from their white gowns they donned striking red Chinese style dresses with mandarin colors and slits up the side. Talk about sexy! Wow, did they look stunning!
I asked Marco why there were so many. His response “it was a special day”. Apparently the hotel gives a “bridal package” so many couples get married at the same time. The hotel was perking with photographers and later in the day the families showed up for one huge banquet dinner. It was such a happy place.
The couples gathered in the lobby, waiting for photo opportunities.
I went to dinner tonight expecting to attend a meeting afterwards. Tonight was to be the final discussion as to how TK&A was to handle the end of Odyssey. On the way to dinner I met a few other riders and learned from the “white board” that some of our passports were not back yet, so we would not be leaving in the morning. We would be stuck at this 5 star hotel another day. (Oh well!)
I was disappointed to learn the meeting had also been cancelled, forcing the group to spend yet another day in anxiety. This lack of communication was annoying and sad. Our group is splintering and it’s not a good feeling. We want to end this trip on a high note, not one of anger and frustration.
After dinner I was hopping from group to group socializing. At one point someone mentioned getting a fabulous “foot massage” here in the hotel. I was curious so I asked her to show me where she had gone to get it. She took me downstairs and outside to a salon in the hotel’s building. As we walked in the door, the staff clustered around us to try and learn what it was we wanted. No one could speak English. It was at this moment I decided “what the heck, I’ll get my hair cut!”
I’ve been thinking about getting my haircut when I get home to the states. It has not been trimmed or tended this year at all. It has grown wild and unwieldy with sun bleached ends that feel like straw. I know my hairdresser back home (Hi Allison!) will just cluck her tongue at me. My hair is looking awful!
So it was at this moment, in a foreign country on the opposite side of the world where I cannot communicate verbally, I made the decision to cut it off! Talk about living on the wild side! I who normally drive 120 miles round trip to go to someone I trust and can count on not to terrorize me. Getting my hair cut is more traumatic then public speaking or flying in huge 747’s off short, high altitude runways. Yet here I was and I was ready.
The gentleman behind the counter grabbed a price list and put in front of my face. From this list the only thing I could read were the prices, the rest was in Chinese. He helped me out by pointing to 2 choices. One for a fee of 60 yuan and the other for a fee of 80 yuan. I asked what the difference was. He could not explain, but he made a telephone call.
An adorable tiny little girl (women) led me to a chair along the wall and motioned for me to sit there. I did and she put a cape around my neck. It was getting to late to change my mind. After a few minutes I was motioned to come to the telephone. Oh good! They found someone to speak English to me, I felt a sigh of relief.
The person on the other phone asked my in broken English if I preferred the 60 or 80 yuan procedure. I asked back, “what was the difference.” She told me “the 80 yuan procedure is better.”
No kidding! My response was, “I would assume so. Can you tell me what each offers?” The voice said “the 80 yuan is more better, you will like it.” Great, I was so worried, but now we had that settled. I motioned for the 80 yuan procedure. Why not, it’s only $2.50 more!
Back to my assigned seat I went. The adorable little women proceeded to dose my hair with soap, without ever putting my hair under the water. Within a few minutes my head was lathered up in a rich lather of suds, she was massaging my scalp. Oh my, that felt good!
The massage continued for at least 25 minutes. She used various techniques of rubbing, scratching and snapping my hair and skin. It was the most incredible shampoo I have ever experienced. When that part was over, she led my to a wash basin where the soap was rinsed off. As she finished she took a towel and wrapped it around my head at the same time putting her fingers in my ears (in unison) to dry the ears completely before helping me sit up. She was very systematic and smooth.
But the massage was not done. I was moved to a mirrored station, where she continued to massage my head then she moved down to my neck, shoulders, arm, back, hands and fingers. It was a mass of relaxed pulp when she finished it had been an hour since she started. At this point, I could have cared less what he did to my hair!
I was moved to the “main” station. The man who was to cut my hair had been cutting men’s hair while I was being massaged. I watched him and was very impressed with the focus and precision of his work. Every guy that left his chair had a gorgeous haircut when he left. I did not worry at all.
Since my hairdresser had no clue as to what I wanted and I wasn’t sure I could just motion what I wanted, I decided to take out my business card. My photo on my business card shows me with a haircut I like about 4 years ago. I figured it was a good start.
He looked at the photo and was delighted to have a guide. Actually the entire staff came over to look at my photo. They were impressed, they looked at my old photo and me now and couldn’t believe that person was me. I told them it was my high school photo, they all said, “Ah!” I’m sure that’s what they were thinking anyway!
He took his scissors and started to cut, I just passed the point of no return. My hair fell to the floor in large chunks, in a few minutes it looked like a long haired dog was sleeping beneath my feet. My sun bleached locks were gone.
My new hairdresser took an hour to fully perfect my new do. He did an awesome job, not only do I look like my picture, he did it for 80 yuan! (Allison that’s less than $10!)
So the good news is I have a great new do and a terrific new stylist. The bad news is, he’s halfway around the world! OK, Allison, you are safe!
Tonight I think I will go back for the foot massage. I’m a believer!
A statue representing China’s past and future.
