Yesterday was great. And really, I shouldn’t complain about the weather so much because it’s the first time in a 5 month trip that it has deterred us. It was good timing too, Tate and I have both been less than tip-top condition and we really needed to lay low a few days.
But yesterday we went for it.
First lunch. Egg and tomato soup with a liberal dose of chilis.
Followed by a two and a half hour ride through the countryside around Yangshuo.
It is so GORGEOUS here. And all the rain made things very lush and green.
I felt a little whipped out from the ride and was worried I may have overdone it a little. It’s such a fine line between boosting your immune system with exercise but not putting additional stress on it if it’s already run down.
After a snack, a rest, and some green tea I was feeling great and really wanted to RUN. Tate and I set out on a path up the river and had a great 40 minute run. It was so humid that when we arrived back at the hostel a guy asked us where we’d been swimming! How embarrassing…
I must admit, we were a little nervous about our time in China. We had heard many stories about how unorganized it was with tons of spitting and no queuing, how it was impossible to find your way around because no one spoke English and everything is written in characters, and, while not expensive, not a great budget travel destination. Wrong, wrong, and very wrong!
China has been AMAZING! One of the best places we’ve ever traveled. So clean and organized. The people have been really nice. And traveling has been relatively easy. As far as budget, things are really cheap. Those bikes were about $1.30 for all day rental. Our clean private room with AC is about $14 with internet, tea, hot and cold drinking water, and a dvd-stocked movie room. Score! Trains are less than we expected also. Tonight we take a 12 hour sleeper train and it cost just under $30 each. And it’s so clean here! Maybe that’s just our opinion after being in India and Nepal, but whatever-we were ready for it!
Last night we “treated” ourselves to a really nice dinner. I saw Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant when we first got to town but had been holding off going there because my taste buds were all off from sickness and I wanted to really enjoy this meal. The restaurant is really lovely and the service was great. The food was really good, unique and not overly salty, greasy, or cornstarchy like can be the case here.
We ate
Wheat Gluten and Vegetable Balls
Buddhas Delight (Glass noodles with bean curd skin and loads of mushrooms of different varieties)
Braised Green Beans and Mushrooms
Oh yeah, this “treat” of a leisurely dining experience set us back a whopping $10. Love China.
My question for you is,
Do you exercise when you are sick? What signs tell you you have overdone it? What signs give you the green light to sweat it?
having just dealt with a bout of illness, here’s a little insight: i HATE laying low! (and i know you understand because you are also a very active individual); however, i recognize the importance of listening to your body’s signals and learning to chill out when your body starts to break down. what i’ve come to realize is the beginning part of an immune system break-down should be the time when you really focus on rest and repair. towards the end, i think it’s really important to introduce exercise even if you are still exhibiting signs of illness. i believe this is crucial to the flushing out of excess toxins and, just as important, the rejuvenation of the mind. go forward and prosper, my dear!
UGH! I think I overdid it during that immune systen break-down phase! Don’t trust a green tea high to be real energy!
Thanks for this thoughtful comment and send me some feel-better vibes!
If I feel like I’m coming down with something I will usually do a light cardio initially to try to ward off the illness by sweating, but if it kicks in, I will take a couple of days off to rest until I feel like the illness is going away. Then I will try to work out to my norm, but watching for cues from my body to let me know if I’m pushing it too hard.
However, if I’m sick to my stomach, I don’t work out at all. The two just don’t mix.
During pregnancy, I say work out all you can. Your body will definitely tell you when to cool it.
Ah! I’m sorry I’m polluting your blog with a zillion comments but I’m totally living vicariously through you 😉 What an amazing adventure and China looks truly unique and beautiful. Our mountains just don’t look like that!
No problem Erin, I love comments! Thank you!