I love how smells and a feeling can take us back in time. When I smell fresh peas I think of my grandma Scott (who passed away when I was 16 and was my last living grandparent) because she had peas in her garden and would let us kids go pick as many as we could eat. I loved sitting in her kitchen with her. Usually she would be at the sink washing dishes or washing other veggies that we picked and I would sit at the table eating the fresh peas from her backyard. I can still see her smiling face and hear her laugh.
When I walked out of the plane here in Guilin I was hit with humidity and a smell that took me right back to Taiwan. I’ve been in China for almost 2 months and haven’t had a deja vu moment until yesterday. Guilin is at the same latitude as Taiwan and looks and feels very much the same. All I need now is a big whiff of Cho tofu and I will be transported back in time.
With the crazy morning we’d had at the airport in Beijing and then the full totally crammed three-hour flight to Guilin, none of us had used the bathroom. We stepped off the plane and made a mad dash to the restrooms. I loved that they had both squatters (for the Chinese, not me) and then stalls with little plastic toilet seats on the door (for people like me). I was very relieved.
I loved the hour drive to the city of Guilin and kept making comments to Mark about how much I felt like I was in Taiwan. No more dry Beijing weather for us for a week. We got to our hotel to find out that our room wasn’t ready so they bumped us up to a better room but we still couldn’t check in for almost an hour. We are right across the street from the Li River (with the beautiful Guilin mountains in the background). Our hotel is really close to some little alleys with shops and restaurants so we headed around the corner to get a late lunch. Guilin has a lot of restaurants with outdoor seating and has a bit of a European feel to it. We ate at a yummy place and sat and watched people walking around.
We had a great first day walking around the city and the river. One of the many things I love about China is all the food you can buy from vendors on the streets., plus it’s so cheap and a great treat for the kids. Guilin has plenty to choose from. We walked along the river with the kids and then through a park. Sofi had to buy some sugar cane of course (her favorite). The man selling it has a sharp peeler and shaves the cane and then wraps one end in a plastic bag and gives an extra bag so that you can spit the cane into it. Miles got a cane of his own but didn’t like it so much plus he’s not a pro at eating it like Sofi and he kept dripping sugar water all over himself. He wanted corn on the cob (which I ended up paying too much for and it was woody). On our third try of finding something Miles could eat, we bought a bag of lychees. He went crazy and kept eating one after another. 
It was an awful morning getting out of Beijing but once we got to Guilin it was perfect. I’m definitely noticing more people staring at the kids and curious enough to even ask us if Mark and I are their parents. We had a lot of people staring at us and taking photos of the kids. The kids are learning to tune it out and have been really good about it. At their age I’m not sure I would’ve liked having strangers rubbing my hair and touching my skin. I’ve been very proud of my kids though and I’m happy that they aren’t offended by it.
I’m on the lookout for dried ants, which I’ve been told by a friend is a special treat from Guilin. I’m curious if Miles will try them? Oh, did I mention that the mountain range in Guilin is as amazing as it looks in photos and movies? Not to rub it in or anything but it is very picturesque and peaceful. If you read this Kiah, I’m very sorry.