Last Friday, Kathy and I went to bar Si Hai to go dancing. I'd been looking forward to going dancing all week, but when I stood on the dance floor, I just couldn't make my body move.... I was too tired. I stayed until midnight and then I went home, leaving Kathy at bar Si Hai, playing a beer game with dice with Ricky, the Chinese bartender. I was sure something would happen between Kathy and Ricky that night, but when I met Kathy for lunch the next day, - after a very relaxing massage - she said that nothing had happened. Hmmm....

After lunch with Kathy, I went to the mountain in the park with the aim of getting a bit of peace & quiet. I couldn't have picked a worse spot! The October festival in Yangshuo ended on Thursday, Oct. 8 and it's been a lot quieter since then, but it was as if everyone had decided to go to the mountain in the park on Saturday afternoon before saying a final goodbye to Yangshuo. Really, I don't know why there were so many people on top of the mountain when I was there - and everybody wanted to talk to me! I signed at least 15 notebooks while I was there. My goodness!

When I walked back to my apartment after a not so peaceful and quiet afternoon, I ran into Jack, Kathy's Chinese (ex?)boyfriend. 'Jack is very happy to see you!', he said with a big smile. I talked to him for a while and then I moved on. When I turned around the corner, I literally bumped into Kristen, my American friend and yoga teacher. Or more accurately: Kristen bumped into me. It was her last day in Yangshuo and she was crying, so she didn't really see where she was going. I gave her a hug and then she sobbed:'I must really go now...' A lot of my foreign friends have left Yangshuo. With the Chinese tourists gone after the October festival and many of my foreign friends gone, it has become really quiet. On Saturday night, however, I met three new foreign people: Joanna from England, Stefan from Switzerland and Naomi from Denmark. Kathy and I had dinner with them on Saturday night. Kathy knew Joanna and Naomi from before. We went to a vegetarian restaurant and the food was very good.

After dinner, Kathy and I went to bar Loove for a drink. We wanted to go dancing, but it was still too early. Soon, we were joined by Kathy's Chinese friend Eric. Eric told us that he knew card tricks that were magic. Show us! He did and we had a lot of fun, because Kathy and I had no idea how the tricke worked. Eric had the time of his life, impressing two foreign ladies, hihi!

Around 10.30 pm, Kathy and I went to Si Hai to go dancing. It was quiet and the music wasn't great, but at least we didn't have to use kung fu techniques to keep the Chinese men at a distance. Ricky was there as well and he persuaded Kathy to play the beer game with him. He couldn't persuade me! I just sat at the bar and watched them play. Around 12.30 am, Kathy and I went back to Loove. Philip (from Australia) and Kev (from England) were there and I started talking with them. Ricky had followed Kathy, so they went to another table and talked there. While the sparks were flying over where Kathy and Ricky were sitting, I had to deal with the complete opposite... Philip received an email on his i-phone from his girlfriend back in Australia in which she dumped him - after 6 years. What do you say to someone who's devastated? I stayed until 2.30 pm and by that time I was so cold and tired, that I really wanted to go home. I walked back to my apartment, but I couldn't really sleep. I woke up early, checked my email and cleaned the bathroom (!). After my lunch with Kathy, I ran into Philip. He told me that he'd slept like a baby... I spent Sunday afternoon walking, reading and enjoying the sun. It was really hot again yesterday. In the evening, I went to Kathy's new place. Yesterday, she moved into a 3-bedroom apartment. Tom & Naomi (couple from England) will be living with her as well. It looked really nice and spacious and Kathy was clearly pleased. Kathy and I had dinner at Gan's Noodle in the centre of Yangshuo, and after that, I went home. I had to prepare Monday's class. I taught this afternoon and I'll be teaching tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday afternoon as well. Not the rest of the week, though, because on Thursday, I'll be going to Shanghai. Looking forward to it!