Chilli meal and hot walk in the mountain

It may have been a second night sleeping in the study but I still got up at midday. And was up around the same time and we met up with Awl and Venky, the former having had no sleep yet again. We were ready to go to Beihai but Awl decided the plan had changed and went to bed. Venky had slept, but had a hangover so we went to a noodle place where we first ensured everything was properly vege (he couldn't eat the tofu as it was sitting in the same bowl as the meat), before enjoying a nice simple meal. Venky, without first checking how hot it was, dumped four spoonfuls of chilli sauce in his noodles. I had one and immediately realised it was not light stuff. Venky was nearly choking on his but fought his way through claiming it was a perfect hangover cure. I then had my favourite watermelon juice and Andge had a mango version to round of a meal that cost the four of us (with Leilei) at grand total of 21 kuai.

Andge with a refreshing mango juice and Venky with something else to quench his quadruple-chilli noodles!

A lovely meal enjoyed by all

After the meal we looked into a neighbouring shop with various natural goodness things. The shopkeeper gave us cold, slightly sweet tea and explained what the various things were. Venky seemed besotted by the hard, black, shiny mushrooms that are supposed to be a great hangover cure. I couldn't resist getting one jin (a pound) of dried long yan fruits to take back. I got the better quality ones that cost 50 kuai a pound but they were noticeably sweeter than those for 45 kuai, and got Venky a bag too.

It's hard to shop with a beer can glued to your hand but we managed to get some dragon eye fruit

...while Xixi enjoyed a cup of tea

As we wandered rather aimlessly through the streets we came across a woman squatting on the pavement next to three bags. Two of these had hen's heads sticking out of them but the other had a hole without the head. We watched in some amusement as the hen inside tried to put its head through the hole, until some bloke turned up on a motorbike and picked up the three bags and the woman and drove away. It was just a normal scene from Pingguo only made different by the fact it had been witnessed by three foreigners who found it interesting.

The poor hen in the second bag couldn't find the hole to poke her head out - come to think of it they were all a bit poor

Watching how the various things are burned in memory of the dead

As we were feeling good from our relatively healthy walk up the mountain yesterday, we decided to do it again. But this time as we were with the kids we went for the slightly smaller one on Deng Gong mountain by the guang chang. It may have been a shorter path but it was steep and just as sweat-inducing. But we all managed it in different times and the view from the pagoda was nice, if not as impressive as from Horse Head Mountain. It got us thinking as to what actually constituted a mountain. Andge felt that the ones here in Guangxi were not mountains, not because of their size but because they were covered in green and therefore more hill-like. I suspected size was a more significant factor in mountain-nous but neither of us really wanted to look it up. Some things were meant to reside in more of a grey area.

Venky slightly overdid it with the sun cream in preparation for the mountain trek

But it was worth it and the views were nice...

...even if that beer can is still stuck to your hand

Andrew met a millipede that tried to steal his penknife

The pagoda at the top of Deng Gong Mountain

As it was still gui jie we were supposed to be at Waipo's for 5pm so once again our mountainous exploits were mercifully cut a little short. Venky managed a five minute nap on the way down on a stone bench, and politely declined to come to Waipo's meal. Andge and I hadn't intended to stay at Waipo's for long but the heavens decided to open a minute before we were going to leave after the meal and plastered the floor with golf ball sized splashes of rain for a few seconds until water was flowing everywhere. It was a good opportunity for Andge to do a video call with Lis and Thomas, but the kids and I should have stayed out of the way as as soon as Thomas saw us he started to cry and was obviously jealous that they were with daddy and he wasn't.

The rain did subside and we went to meet the boys at their hotel and have a couple of drinks. My left leg has been getting worse and worse since my ping pong injury nearly a month ago, and I suggested going for a massage. It was a good idea but we had to sort out Beihai and all were on their pads looking for an appropriate hotel. It transpired that we did manage to book three rooms for the next two nights that Golden Shining Special Entry Hotel (4 star) and also book the 1200 kuai taxi for tomorrow at 10am. I just wish I'd had time for my massage.

In lieu of a massage we did go for a nice bbq to round off the evening, which ended in going to bed at 5am, in the study again. At least the water had finally returned though!