Heading to Shenzhen Internation Airport, I got the wrong control point (Lok Ma Chau) until the taxi driver nicely suggested that the most reasonable way should be through Shenzhen Bay, finally the taxi took a sharp U-turn in the midway.
After arriving at Guiyang Airport, my buddy and I took a wrong bus to the train station instead of those heading directly to Kaili, wasting two hours struggling in the crowded area near the train station. What's more, there was no more train to Kaili by the time we reached the train station. We finally got on a little bus to Kaili for another 2.5 hours.
Total loss of contact with my young Miao friend. Reasons we found afterwards: 1. her phone was out of power; 2. my phone had no "network coverage" because my mobile network service provider had the China roaming network totally down for whole day. What a co-incident!
Reached Kaili at 20.15, already exhausted of hours of bus ride, trying to reach another Miao friend by a surprise phone call. But we could not make our location clearly until we asked a grandma in a shop to help us talking through the phone. Thanks that my buddy had a phone with network still in work.
Met the Miao friend finally, had a great meal by her mother-in-law, welcomed heartily by her whole family, and we managed to take shower and a big bed to sleep. Most important of all, she helped us to get contact with our young friend in her village, and followed by a call full of apology from the young highschool girl. We got connected again.
Day 2
Early in the morning, woke up and found my roaming service resumed. Sent SMS to my Hong Kong friends at once to tell them of our poor story in Day 1.
After a big breakfast, we got on a bus to Shidong. We met two French women who spoke excellent Putonghua. Shame on me and my broken Putonghua.
Views outside the bus were getting more and more beautiful. We had no idea where to get off until the driver put a halt, and there we were, Liang Tien Cun. A young girl appeared and picked our luggage quickly, so fast that I could hardly recognize that she was my friend, grew up a lot after our last good-bye 7 months ago.
Greatly welcomed by the whole family of my friend, fire-cracker, big meal. I was stunned by all those certificates of merit obtained by my friend, good enough to cover the wall of her living room.
After the morning meal, the family invited us to visit the father's graveyard. It was a solemn journey. (After the journey, I read the letters from my friend telling me that actually they did not visit her dad for a long time, that's why I felt trace of tension on the way to the graveyard.) The boys of the family had to cut the grass and trees on the way. Six people with three sickles. Another fire-cracker was set off and a duck was sacrified with its blood shed around the tomb.
On the way home, children were more at ease. My friend and her brother jumped into pond to catch snails and fish. I wanted to help but had my hiking boot got stuck in the rich mud. That's really a bit stupid.
After arriving the home, dropping our backpack and we took a very short break and immediately served with a big handful of sticky rice called "Sister rice".
A handful, well, two handful actually. Before I finished it, we embarked a hike with just a mere information that we were going to climb a "small hill". my buddy and I just took SLRD cameras and nothing else, and kept taking pictures on the way up. But I finally found my friend's brothers keep clearing the path with sickle (again). That's the kind of trail, and I needed a stick to help me reaching the top of the hill, sweating and panting. It's a very good workout for me really.
The view of at the top of the hill was great. In fact, my friend spent lot of her childhood playing around this hill, feeling the warmth and serenity in the hill.
Dusk came and we headed home, pretty tired. Another sumptuous meal was ready, and could not miss out the home-made wine of the Miao, kind of sweet but strong fluid. I kept drinking till I became rather high. I was glad to be this Miao family, nice and friendly. And I knew I was sound asleep when we were watching a DVD of Miao dance with my friend in it.
Day 3
Woke up with headache, dehydrated and coldness. The little village in the morning was very beautiful, covered with fog, and it smell fresh with the cold air.
Miao did not have their breakfast but a morning meal around 11.00 am. All family members were busy in the kitchen. We could only have short chat with my friend when she sneaked out of the chores for a while.
During our meal, we found neighbour keep visiting my friend's family, bring bowls of the Sister rice, and my friend told that they sent these gifts to us as we were going to leave in the afternoon. By the time we left, my empty suitcase (after deliver many small gifts to my friend and her brother) was refilled with big bag of the Sister rice and half dozen on red duck egg (that's what my friend wanted to send me weeks ago, on their festival known as "Egg rolling festival").
We took lots of photographs as my buddy was dressed up in Miao dress. I have been in the most terrific one last year, serious.
Since my friend had to attend evening self-study lesson at school on Sunday evening, she had to leave us and headed to school in Tai Jiang on a 2-hour bus travel.
We went to Shidong, to see the Miao silverware, the beautiful silverware that Miao wore when they dressed up in their traditional costume.
We enjoyed a nice and easy afternoon in Shidong, the place that I had been in last year. I became the guide of my buddy and introduced the place to her. We were rather glad to take shower at a price of RMB￥4.0 each. (Well, I didn't mention? We did not have shower after the double hiking.)
The sky of the night at Shidong was beautiful, it was full of stars. But it's a pity that I could not enjoy that moment with my friend. This was what she planned last year. But she was busy working at school that night, a hardworking high school student.
Day 4
Time to say good-bye and return Hong Kong. We kept travelling on buses for 4 hours before arriving at the airport. The airport was so boring that we could do nothing except staying in a cafe sipping weired coffee and having funny-looking cake.
The only relief was that we had exceptional good view of the runway of the airport. I only longed to read my friend's letters she gave me by the moment we packed up our luggage, better do this at home, after a hot shower and a cup of hot coffee.
***
In fact, I was not satisfied with such a short trip, too little time to stay with my friend. (In fact, she was just in weekend at home, and then back to her boarding high school.) And worst was my poor Putonghua. (Lucky that I had my buddy as interpreter most of the time.) I have promised my friend, next time when she sees me, I will not force her to keep guessing my Cantonese, we will chat happily in Putonghua.
