Funny Women

Bright flashes. Booming thunder. It is cold inside the hotel room. Lifting my head to the open window, a gust of warm tropical air rushes over my face. The incessant rain is continuing. I lie back in bed, but a splash of cold water hits my face from the air-conditioning unit above me.

In the other bed is a pretty face, peaceful in sleep. Sun Yee is a member of the ever growing class of Chinese tourists. We encountered each other on the bus into this small town from the city of Guillin and joined forces in finding accommodation. Both of us are translators and social shmoozers, so a hotel with internet access was crucial. Sun Yee’s local upbringing and social disposition make her a fantastic haggler and pretty soon she found us a budget priced hotel with all we need, which is where I am writing this down.

But within minutes of dropping our bags in the room Sun Yee had also arranged a private cruise on a motorised bamboo raft along the Li River. I found myself suddenly transported away, floating downstream with a couple of beautiful women on a clear tropical river amid the stunning karst formations for which the area is known. I say a couple of beautiful women because, to be fair, Penelope came along. Our close friendship is one that cannot be supplanted by another temporary travel companion. Sun Yee was actually excited to meet P, but apart from accepting a polite introduction and participating in some vague small talk, Penelope kept a low profile in order, as she later put it, not to ‘cramp my style’.

Women are funny that way.

Today it is raining. A heavy, tropical rain. This is an outdoor town; there is nothing to do in the rain. Except maybe to catch up on some sleep or write your memoirs. Sun Yee and P are fast asleep. That leaves me to write some memoirs.

Let's try that then, shall we?