VACATION: DAY THREE

The day started off peachy.. literally. My China bff Jennie and I showed up wear the EXACT same thing. We had done our hair the same, same shirt, shorts, and topped it off by both wearing sandals. It was really funny, but I have this weird thing about matching with other people. Like Twin Day in high school gave me anxiety. True story. I don't know why, but I don't like matching other people. It's weird.. idk. Anyway, I only packed so many outfits so I decided to change my hairstyle and call it good.

We rented mopeds for the day and the owners were verrrrrry adamant we should've already known how to drive them before we rented them. ***Back Story: A few days earlier another group of ILP kids rented mopeds from the same people and drove off a cliff of sorts and completely totaled a moped. They had to pay $400USD and it just wasn't really all that great for them*** So they made us practice driving up and down this crowded street to prove we knew how to drive. And this is where I give a shout out to my great father who I love so much because I was one of the few who was allowed to drive because I knew how. (Thanks dad!)

 Our helmets were really attractive and definitely would not have prevented any damage BUT WE WORE THEM MOM.

Mine came with a cool mask!

We kid of made fun of Kaylie (red helmet) because she looked like Ralph the Mouse with her helmet lolololol

We rode our mopeds to this place called Dragon Bridge to jump off into the river and once we got there we were surrounded yet again and these flower wreaths were put onto our heads (then we had to pay 5RMB). They don't let people jump off the bridge anymore so that was really sad. We hopped back on our sweet rides and made our way down the Yulong River to raft down.

Don't let Kenzie's face fool you... she loved riding with me. 

Stay tuned for the story as to why Jennie and I should never be allowed to ride mopeds together.....

Our faces pretty much the whole time I drove because I kind of like to go fast?????

I LOVED RAFTING. It was definitely one of the best things I have ever done in my entire life. It was so beautiful. The mountains were beyond gorgeous. 

 

 Our little raft pusher man... he hated us. Something about us never wearing our life jackets, always standing up to take pictures, annnnd asking for the sun umbrella to be taken down so we could tan? idk...

Our faces when he made us sit down and wear our life jackets. Im pretty sure they had a 2 lb weight limit, but its the thought that counts I guess.

You see weird things in China and just don't question them after awhile.... kinda like this guy riding a bike on the water.

I don't know if I have a picture that can more accurately describe how much I loved rafting down the river. I was in HEAVEN. The mountains and much needed fresh air was enough to make anyone fall in love.

After rafting we got back on our mopeds and rode to the famous mud caves. Totally fake and recreated, but so much fun. We had walk up to the cave entrance and then continue walking through the cave for awhile though man made stalagmites and stalactites which were lit up by a rainbow of lights. Totally not real, but it was amusing. Being in China, every opportunity that presents itself as profitable is made that way. We had to walk through shops and past women dressed up to take pictures with you and all that jazz. My favorite part on the scenic walk was when we got to this part called the "Rebirth Cave." I thought it was the only way to get to the mud caves so I climbed my little claustrophobic self on into the little microscopic opening. I had to squeeze my whole body through a crack that was barely big enough to fit my head past. It's called the rebirthing cave because you come out screaming from frustration, the fear of dying, and the hole/ crack is comparable to the one we started our lives from. To make the situation better they have someone to photograph the whole thing! My rebirth was filmed <3 Anyways... it wasn't the only way to get to the mud caves and I was a little flustered from my near death experience afterwards. 

The mud was so thick and sticky; it took a lot to get past the gross factor, but maybe that's just because Im a girl? They had rock slides to go down and it was rather big so we could swim around. It was crazy because you can just float without any effort. I don't know how to explain it, but you know how you can lay in a swimming pool and just float? It was like that, but it felt as if I was soooo much lighter. Just craziness. 

We had a tour guide take pictures of us the entire time and had some real beauties no one will ever be privileged to see. One of those photos includes me falling out of the pit onto the floor because I got mud in my eye and was pretty sure the bacteria was already taking over my brain. 

STORY TIME!

As I mentioned earlier, Jennie and I should never be allowed to ride mopeds together because of two reasons. This being the first... Once we left the mud caves we were on our way back to our hostel and the sun was beginning to set. I inherited my fathers genes and COULD NOT stand how slow everyone was going. So of course I sped up ahead of everyone and we went on our merry way. We were so far ahead of everyone that I had this GENIUS idea to go off roading while we waited for everyone to catch up. It was really fun! We went down a little path and had a jolly ol time. After a 5325732087028 point u-turn we decided to head back to the main road and ran into a predicament. Had the group passes us or should we sit and wait for them? We decided to keep going because they would've passed us by now. We never caught up to anyone. We decided to turn around and back track in case anyone was waiting for us or if we would run into each other half way. Neither happened and it was getting dark fast. We were in the middle of China all by our lonesome. We didn't have a phone with us and it was up to ourselves to get back. Luckily, I have this sense of direction and really good memory that I am somewhat proud of and I was able to remember how to get back. Except we didn't know if the rest of the group did so we were getting really worried because we had all been split up and it was getting dark. We were in the mountains and there were no street lights, plus China drivers are insane so it was just all bad. Long story short we all made it back alive and in one piece, but a broad range of emotions were showed that night.

It was the longest day ever, but one of the most memorable of my life. Every moment of it was spent making memories with girls I have come to love.