Let’s fast forward through Hong Kong for a minute. 
The mud pits and luring village women in rice fields were calling our name, so here we are in Yangshao, China! We were immediately awed by the huge hilly formations stretching aside the Li River, while bearded men on bamboo rafts leisurely paddled by. It’s been a great transition from the bustling cities we’ve recently experienced, but needless to say, we couldn’t pass up new adventures. First stop: Mud Bath Water Caves. 
We ventured past the air-conditioned tour buses to a van that took us on a dusty bumpy ride to the backside of a cave. We put on our newly purchased one-size fits all swimsuits ($2) and hopped into a small canoe. The cave ranged from a 1 meter opening to a room the size of a football stadium. We learned how to make out turtles, Santa, and The Great Wall from cave formations. The coolest part was climbing the “snow mountain” and floating in the mud pit. We were like chocolate-covered buoys, unable to swim or sink. We did manage to bring in the whiteboard, however there’s permanent damage to its squeaky clean image.
That evening, we went to Impression Lui Sanji—a performance produced by the same man who created this year’s Olympic opening ceremonies. There were over 600 local farmers and village people in the show, displaying the beauty of Yangshou while using the river and mountains as a natural backdrop. We must say, we were Impressed.
The following day, Justin got married! 
We were touring the terraced rice fields a few hours north of Yangshou, and were guided to a small village for a “long haired show”. Before we knew it, Justin was on stage to help demonstrate the marriage process for this town. His “new wife” sang to him and he was asked on the spot to sing back to her. The entire audience then heard, “We built this City…We build this city on Rooooooock And Roll!”. Not to be outdone, the next Westerner did his rendition of, “Ohh Canada”. The brief ceremony continued with an exchange of gifts, shots of rice wine, many pinches to the butt (that’s how they flirt here), and a sprint around the audience while carrying her on his back. Although he may never see his “bride” again, he found out that he can always just look her and her girl friends up in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest head of hair.
Flashback to Hong Kong: the trip was brief, enjoyable, and diverse. 
Once we crossed over from the Chinese border, we saw the overpowering city skyline of Hong Kong Island. We were just in time for the “Symphony of Lights” at Victoria Harbor; the World’s Biggest laser light show incorporating over forty riverfront skyscrapers.
With our bags on our backs, we ventured to The Disney Deluxe Hotel— 
which was neither Disney nor Deluxe. Seeing how it was late at night and our hotel options were limited for this costly city, we made the cringing choice to stay. Like two prepared combatants, we emptied our remaining cans of bug spray, layered ourselves up and away from the visible bed bugs, and attempted to sleep. That next day, we took full advantage of seeing the city before heading back to China. One of the most amazing features of Hong Kong is that it’s as if the whole world is in one place. In the building we stayed at, over 120 different nationalities were reported to have come through those doors just last year.
Speaking of the whole world being in one spot, Shenzhen, China 
(where we headed next) had just that. This huge park called Windows of The World included the Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids of Egypt, Dinosaurs, New York City, Windmills of Holland, you name it. Although we only had two hours to “see the world”, it was fun racing around the scaled-down versions of must-see international places.
Up Next: We’re heading to ‘Nam. Vietnam.
