I just got back from a delightful, but wet, excursion to a nearby village. Our school had arranged for us to eat in the houses of these villagers, who seem to be making quite a good living off of Beijing tourists yearning for something authentic. I guess it says something positive about the economic benefits of exceedingly fast urban development. The food was pretty good, but I do miss Americana cuisine.
The village is located in the mountains, and much to my delight, there were also some rather beautiful 14th century stupas nearby. Who knew? I have never been to a place quite like China, where you really have to be in the know to find any of this amazing stuff. It seems like only a very small percentage of things that are worth seeing are broadcasted. Around every street corner is a new secret alcove---just the other night, my roommate and I found the expat restaurant enclave, where we happily ate steak frites.
A view of the stupas that accentuates the mountains behind them.
We climbed up the mountain and saw all sorts of beautiful scenery and architecture. Here is a particularly pretty waterfall.
And some particularly pretty girls standing in front of it!
And just for the hell of it, here is a picture of me getting really excited over eating a pizza from earlier this week. Pizza?! I've never really enjoyed pizza! The Beijing grease must be getting to me. . .
I just got back from a delightful, but wet, excursion to a nearby village. Our school had arranged for us to eat in the houses of these villagers, who seem to be making quite a good living off of Beijing tourists yearning for something authentic. I guess it says something positive about the economic benefits of exceedingly fast urban development. The food was pretty good, but I do miss Americana cuisine.
The village is located in the mountains, and much to my delight, there were also some rather beautiful 14th century stupas nearby. Who knew? I have never been to a place quite like China, where you really have to be in the know to find any of this amazing stuff. It seems like only a very small percentage of things that are worth seeing are broadcasted. Around every street corner is a new secret alcove---just the other night, my roommate and I found the expat restaurant enclave, where we happily ate steak frites.
A view of the stupas that accentuates the mountains behind them.
We climbed up the mountain and saw all sorts of beautiful scenery and architecture. Here is a particularly pretty waterfall.
And some particularly pretty girls standing in front of it!
And just for the hell of it, here is a picture of me getting really excited over eating a pizza from earlier this week. Pizza?! I've never really enjoyed pizza! The Beijing grease must be getting to me. . .
4 comments:
So curious that tourism is being utilized by the villagers who invite you to have their food, but not by the archaeological society or whatever who could invite you out to see their monuments. Why do you think they are hidden? Was it clean there? It looked unpolluted.
I know, isn't it so weird? I can't figure it out. My suspicion is that communism bred a certain amount of cynicism for older things. That, or maybe there is already so much stuff to see? The whole place was actually giving me a serious Mamallapuram vibe. It was more clean there, but it was also really rainy, so I couldn't quite tell.
Which village is this? You're a chip off the family block risha, ruled by the stomach. We finish one meal while thinking of what the next one will be. The noodle soup looks great. Cathy Cousin.
Wow, how beautiful. The best places are usually the ones that not many people know about. I love your pictures poo!
Post a Comment