denenkyuu | summer2009 roadtrip day 6

河阳(HeYang): 河阳斜塔 (Leaning Tower of HeYang)
洽川(QiaChuan): 黄河漂流(Yellow River Rafting)
宝鸡(BaoJi): hotel

# # # treasure chicken # # #
Before I say anything...just need to mention that the city I'm staying at tonight is called "Treasure Chicken"...that is fabulous.

# # # leaning tower of... # # #
First tourist site (and I use that term loosely) was the Leaning Tower of...HeYang.

(spot the Jeff)
Not entirely epic.
It was just kinda...there.
Took pictures of Jeff posing with it...and the clock tower thing in front.

Kinda boring really, at least we didn't have to buy tickets (it seems every tourist attraction in China comes with an entrance price).

# # # rafting, mudbath and swallows # # #
Went "rafting" on the Yellow River today. I say that with quotes 'cause it's more like rowing a rubber boat down a really wide and extremely calm river...

Anywho, the Yellow River is supposedly the Mother River of China, along which our ancestors lived thousands of years ago. It's narrowed down a lot since then. The river water is actually yellow, I think due to the yellow soil that it carries from upstream (the aforementioned yellow mountains yesterday).

So basically rowed downstream for a bit and got off where some of the mud breaks the surface, like little stretches of muddy beaches in the middle of the lake. Some of the mud was extremely slippery since they're wet and there are rocks beneath them, but other parts are dry like sand, and the most fun parts are where they act like quicksand (quickmud?) and you sink down if you stand in one place for too long...especially in the parts that are covered by water. It looks vaguely like this (but we were more practical with our clothes and made sure not to sink that far).
Whole feet were covered in mud by the end of it...kinda like one of those mud spas for feet or something. In fact I still have some mud caked on my leg...

Ate lunch at a 农家乐/Farmer's Bed&Breakfast type place. The fish was delicious.
What was more interesting was that the particular house we went to had swallows. They put a cardboard box outside under their roof ledge as a makeshift nest (because in ancient times houses had roof beams where the swallows could make their own nests). The swallows are supposed to be a sign of good fortune, it's adorable seeing them perched on the string they set up beside the box...kinda like having swallows as pets minus the cage.

fluffy and adorable, though their tails are shorter than I had expected since I grew up seeing pictures of swallows with really long tails

# # # lotus fields and sunsets # # #
Also took lots of pictures of the lotus fields/farms near the river.
According to the locals, they only export the lotus roots. (pics to come later)

Spent most of rest of day driving (and me in particular, sleeping). Woke up in time to snap a few pictures of the sunset. The sun's pretty huge in this part of the world.