LEAF-go-VSO   

Xingyi

Our first Chinese train journey took us from Kunming to Xingyi, Guizhou Province, to visit two other VSO volunteers - Gillian and Becky.

This journey was a mixture of pain and pleasure. We joined a busy hard-seat carriage with ever-increasing numbers of travellers heading east to Guangzhou. Freda and Edie took it in their stride, with a fair amount of nibbling and drawing. The friendly faces of friends at the other end of the 6 hour journey (short by Chinese standards) made it all worthwhile. 

Left: A party at Becky's house with Pam and Nigel (Becky's parents), Paul, Gillian and Cen; Right: Gillian and Edie in Xingyi town centre

To celebrate our wedding anniversary we went exploring Maling Gorge while Gillian and Paul took care of Freda and Edie in Xingi.

One of the two suspension bridges crossing the gorge; Some of the mass of travertine deposits forming over the vegetation growing on the walls of the gorge.

Another day trip took us to the Valley of 10,000 Forested Peaks. This was a lovely outing with Paul and Cen. We had lunch and a leisurely walk along the road to take in the  spectacular limestone karst topography of this somewhat surreal landscape.