The first weekend in May, John and I made our way to Hong Kong where we met up with a sizable group of friends, acquaintances and others who then left together on a 90-minute flight to Guilin in the southern region of China. The purpose of the gathering was mostly intended as a 20th anniversary celebration of the Free China Hash (a running group based in Hong Kong). But for me, it satisfied a long-running desire of one place in Asia I have wanted to experience for many years but never got to.
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| Li River, Guilin, China |
Many have heard of Guilin or certainly seen an occasional photo of the area. It is a well known destination due to the unusual limestone formations known as karsts split by a meandering wide river that creates scenes of astounding beauty. At the same time while the city of Guilin and it's neighboring town, Yangshuo continue to modernize, the villages along the Li River and in the hills still retain their historical character so it feels like a step back in time.
Once we arrived in Guilin, our group boarded two chartered buses for another 90-minute journey to reach the town of Yangshuo. After checking into our hotel, we made our way to a nearby restaurant where we joined earlier arrivals from Shanghai, Taiwan and even a couple more of our American friends who flew in from New Jersey for the reunion! However, we were already 3-hours late arriving due to bad weather delays out of Hong Kong so felt too exhausted to join in the festivities for long. After a few cursory rounds of meets and greets we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
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| Celebratory banner at hotel |
On Saturday and Sunday, there were two planned runs of approximately 12K(7.5 Miles) in the surrounding hills, although the monsoon rain on Saturday night forced the trailblazers to re-route the intended run on Sunday away from a very swollen, fast-running river. These runs (like most hash events) were intertwined with a social aspect that brought all together, punctuated by conversational vignettes connecting us with old and new friends. We swapped stories about our changing lives, retirement and health concerns (as we are mostly an aging group now) and lots and lots of teasing and laughing.
But beyond this, there was an equally enchanting tour of the sites and local villages before and after the trail runs. So while John managed to accomplish both runs despite their challenges, my creaky knees caused me to forego them in favor of walkabouts and photo-shoots. My explorations with a few others who chose to come along allowed for a slower pace of discovery that did, as I hoped, live up to expectations.
As a result, our mini-vacation had the feel of two different tours - one of physical and social exertions; the other historically and aesthetically engaging. We feel very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and the opportunity to join in their adventures! You can see more of our
hashing group at this link or, if you prefer,
the scenic sites here.
