Travel Photography | 44. The Datien Waterfall, The Last Bit of China. (For now)
If you are on your way from China to Hanoi, the Detian waterfall makes a perfect last pit-stop on the way. Just be sure to jab around for the scenery.
18-25.11.11
Nanning was the last big Chinese city on the itinerary for now, only because it was close to Hanoi. There is nothing special in Nanning itself (except the local sour rice noodles which were not that special after all) but the Guangxi province is known for the beautiful scenery.
Few hours with a bus will take you to great scenic places such as the Detian waterfall at the border of Vietnam. It was actually the only place we got time to visit. The rest of the time we were enjoying some western comforts in a nice hotel (AKA cuddling), which put another sizeable dent in my budget. I wonder if one of these days I will actually start paying attention to it.
The morning mist makes the scenery seem unreal.
I love how the elevator is simply bolted on the side of the building. This can be one way to inexpensively retrofit elevators. Although this one looks like it's original design.
So, we were walking in the street when Annie. She told me this suspicious looking guy was maybe following us. I remember thinking she was probably overreacting but may have been right so I took extra care to keep my hand in my front pocket where my phone was.
And not more than 10 minutes later, when I put my hand in the pocket again, my phone was gone! The guy must have followed us and taken his shot when my hand was not in the pocket. Didn’t feel a thing.
This was a pro job.
In retrospective, it is NOT a good idea to
Take pictures all the time in a crowded place and then put your phone where the thief has easy access to.
Look all fidgety and nervously keep touching your phone in your pocket effectively making it very obvious where you keep something worth stealing.
Assume a devil-may-care attitude despite the fact that your girlfriend just told you might be followed.
My message to the thief. Although the phone was already offline so he likely never got it.
Went to the police station to report it and hopefully, insurance will cover something. Luckily, all my photos were in the iCloud already ❤️. The thing that bothers me most is I lost my waterproof case, so I need to pick up a new camera for underwater shots 😦
The best part was I got an excuse to get a new iPhone 4s from the Chinese black market ^^ (it wasn't officially out yet in Mainland China)
Anyway, after all it’s only stuff so I don’t care too much. It was time to visit the waterfall!
Detian waterfall, the second largest transnational waterfall (assuming after Niagara). Btw anyone can name another transnational waterfall, or is this also the smallest? 🙂
To tell you the truth, it was not that amazing and I got way more kicks watching Chinese tourists go crazy over it 🙂
This guy was super grumpy all the way to the waterfall. Of course, I didn't understand what he was saying but I could tell he was not amused. Then, like a lightning from a blue sky, he transformed into this manically smiling happy Chinese guy with extra sprinkles on top.
What a character.
In retrospective, I thought it might very well be that he has waited all his life for this trip. Nothing at that waterfall could have made me happier than witnessing this man's uninhibited joy. :')
I do like this view ❤️.
Fishies.
Incense for the dead.
The Vietnamese border. This lady cut me in the line for photos. I got mine 🙂
Jumping over to Vietnam.
It’s a multi-level waterfall too.
Bling.
Awesome tilework!
Flowers by the lake.
Keeping busy with my phone as always.
Friday 25.11. The inevitable departure from China was at hand. With my heart weighed down by sadness leaving Annie behind, I looked ahead and couldn't but feel excited to head towards new adventures.
To make things a bit easier, I left my beloved fedora behind for Annie to hold as a keepsake. I would need to come back for it, right? And I did (more on that a bit later).
Thanks for reading!
Would you let me know what you thought about this type of a travel journal? I have hundreds of more posts coming from all around the world. If you like my style, would you leave an up-vote and maybe follow me? I will promise to check your page out too and if it is something I like, I will be sure to follow you back.
(First published 25/11/2011 at LiveJournal)
Love China !
Me too!