4-12 Longji Village and the Long Haired Ladies

 We spent our first night in a hotel in Guilin where we had the biggest bed I have ever seen.  No photos of it.  Today, Friday, we are to drive to the village of Longji and on to the Longji Rice Paddies.  

Impressions passing by my car window.

So many scooters here.  This one is prepared for rain.

We stopped at a gas station for a pit stop.  Fortunately the bathroom has a Western toilet, Unfortunate that the room doubles as the trash dump.

I can't pass by water falls with out taking a photo or two.

                                       

We arrive in the village of the long haired ladies, Longji, where we will have lunch.  It is called this as the female of the Red Yao People never cut their hair.  They keep their dark colored hair because they use the water that is used to cook the rice in to wash their hair.  The rice water is kept for a week so it ferments.  Then it is boiled before it is used on the hair.  Apparently the water can have a very strong odor.

                                                   

The area is known for its bamboo cooked food.  The story is that the local farmers had to walk a long way to their fields and needed something to feed them for the noon meal.  They would put the rice into the middle of the bamboo - add water and cook it over a fire at the rice fields.  Now they have expanded your choices.  We had bamboo chicken as well as bamboo rice.

Using hot tea to "wash" the dishes before you eat.

The same tea is served with the meal.

Bamboo chicken, including the feet.

The restaurant's dish washing station is outside and consists of a hose with cold water and someone to spray the dishes.

More photos of the village.

The restaurant.

The owner of the restaurant will pose with customers.  As you can see - her hair doesn't look that long, because it is wrapped around and around her head and fastened in place.

Then off we headed to the rice paddies.  The toilets were very well marked!  See center of photo - the universal pictures along with the red words.

There is the usual gauntlet of shops before you to to the rice paddies and after.

You see these shops everywhere you go in tourist areas.  You can dress up in the local costume and have your picture taken.  We saw a lot of ladies dressed in costumes walking around the various tourist sites we visited, I am unsure if they rented them or if they owned them.

Our guide, Lily, trying to get out of the way of all the photographers.

This sign was along the paths of the rice paddies.  No matter where you go there are the "no" signs.