Wow. That was a rough train ride! 26 and a half hours and ZERO activity later we made it to Guilin in SE China. Turns out that train we took from Tibet to “mainland” was a new and very nice train. This last train was dirty and old and stopped short almost suddenly enough to throw me from the top bunk!
Needless to say, by the time we arrived at our hostel at about 8pm I was tired and hungry and a bit overwhelmed. After walking around reading menus (I am an out of control menu reader, drives Tate insane! I like to know what my options are…) we decided on a bbq place that had a sign for broccoli and mushrooms outside. The waitress’ English was limited to “one? two?” so I had to take her outside and show her the sidewalk sign to order bbq’d broccoli, mushrooms, and cabbage.
The veg was good but small servings, 5 broccoli flowerets on a skewer, and when we left I was still HUNGRY. We bought some “red bean bread” from a bakery, which was a whole wheat bread with a spiral of red beans through the center, it was tasty but a bit sweet. My quest to limit sugar has been a serious challenge in China, they love the stuff and add it to foods that are usually savory. Like whole wheat red bean bread. Or the green onion wafers I chowed on a bit later while we watched a movie. Of course, the ingredients are all in Chinese so I rarely have a clue what exactly I am consuming.
By the time I tore through the wafers, most of a beer, and a small handful of goji berries I was FINALLY FULL! hallelujah! Time for bed. Oh, but wait! I have yet to do my arm workout for the day. Ugh. I was going to pretend like I forgot about it completely but, seriously, what good would that do me? So, it’s 11:15pm and up to the room I go. “Come on Faith, just 50 push ups, you will sleep better afterward”.
