On Monday afternoon, I tried to drink a few more sips of my herbal concoction, but I just couldn't do it. Just the smell made me gag and even with my nose pinched, I couldn't swallow it. Then I thought 'What am I doing to myself? I'm here to have a good time, not to torture myself!' So instead of spending hours indoors brewing another horrible drink, I rented a bike and rode to Secret Beach with Philip, a 25-year old Australian. I think having a good time is better for my health than making myself throw up....!!

When Philip and I arrived at Secret Beach, we met a group of foreigners. They warned us to be careful, since their belongings had been stolen while they were in the water. Philip's wallet got stolen the day before, so we both didn't have valuable items with us, but we gladly accepted the offer of four girls to look after our bag when we wanted to go for a swim. We couldn't stay very long, because I had a dinner appointment with Barry and Philip had English Corner at Zhuo Yue. All we did was swim to the other side of the river and back and then we sat down in the sand to let ourselves dry by the sun. We talked to the girls - two from England, two from China - and had a good and relaxing time. I was supposed to meet Barry at Hollywood Cafe at 5.45 pm, but of course, I was late. I seem to be late here all the time... Shame on me! Barry and I walked to Kelly's Place for dinner. We sat outside (it's still warm here!) and soon we were joined by Chris and Paul. Gina and Patrick (from Canada) stopped by for a chat as well and later that evening, Jim and Lara, a couple from Alaska, joined us. Yangshuo is so small that you always run into people. Most restaurants have their tables on the street, so even if you sit alone, you're never alone for a long time! I went home around 9 pm, because I had to pick up Kathy's rice cooker and give it back to her. When I entered Kathy's room, my dinner almost ended up on her bed - the awful smell of herbs lingered in her room. Ugh! Kathy looked pretty awful (pale, cross eyed), but she said that she's determined to finish all the herbs. Respect! Kathy and I talked for a while on her balcony (I couldn't stay in her room...) and then I walked back to the centre where I joined Freaky Frank, Johnny and Patrick at The Alley Bar. When they left around 11 pm, I went home as well.

Yesterday, I treated myself to a 90-minute Thai oil massage. Mmmm! Much better than the traditional Chinese massage I had last week. I still have bruises on my body from that massage... Because Hanna, the masseuse, used oil this time, it wasn't as painful as last week. I felt very relaxed and re-energized afterwards and I told Hanna I'll be back next week.

After my massage, I went to the mountain in the park. When I was at the top, my phone rang (I have a Chinese number). It was Jayne, a Chinese girl I'd met at Tom's bbq on Saturday. She asked me if I could go to the Kaya Bar, because there was a Chinese television station shooting an item about an 80-year old paper cutting artist and they needed foreigners to admire the artist's work. Sure! The 80-year old artist turned out to be a short, grey, and friendly man who didn't speak any English. All I had to do, was sit and smile. Sounds familiar?!? That's what the Japanese made me do all the time. This time, however, I enjoyed it. The artist showed us some of his work and it was really beautiful. He gave me two pieces of art as well to thank me for being there. Everything was filmed, so I might be on Chinese television!

At 5.30 pm, I had dinner at New Start. From 7 - 8.30 pm I attended English Corner (booooring....) and after that, I went to Bar '98 to play trivia/pubquiz. And guess what? The Dutch team won last night, so all the team members got a free drink! Most of the team members had already left when the winner was announced, but Ronald, Sinan, Sinan's Chinese girlfriend Ping and I were still there and we decided to play a game of poolbiljart (is that what you call it in English?). I didn't get home until 12.30 am, but hey, who cares? I had a lot of fun and I could sleep in this morning. I stil enjoy sleeping in very much. Don't think I'll ever get tired of that!

Have a great day!