Yima - Rural Village

Just outside Yangshuo, China is a small village called Yima which sits in a rural area surrounded by beautiful karst hills, paddy fields and a river which is a tributary of the main Li River. Rice, vegetables and many fruits are grown in the rich soil close to the river. The river provides good transportation and you can see many bamboo boats moving up and down the river.

In this small village of Yima is a wonderful Qing Dynasty house, known as the Pan House as the household here are the descendants of General Pan, a great hero of the Qing Dynasty.

Here you can view what life was like many years ago, water being pulled from a hand pump in the yard, a grinding millstone and a simple log-fired kitchen.

The main room of the house with wonderful old carvings and Chinese pictures decorating the bare stone walls.

Volcanic Vegetables

The rich volcanic soil on the banks of Lake Batur in Bali beneath the active volcano, Gunung Batur, provides a rich and fertile base for the growth of local vegetables. As you drive round the lake you can see many local farmers in the vegetable fields tending to their crops.

One of the best and most simple meals I had was right here in the middle of the vegetable fields where a small restaurant served up local rice along with fresh vegetables from the fields and fish caught from the lake .... washed down with the local Bintang beer of course!

Paddy Workers

These two lovely ladies were working in the rice paddy fields on the outskirts of Ubud when we walked by. The colourful batik costume of the seated lady stood out in contrast to all the greens of the surrounding grass and jungle. But it was their serene smiles that really shone out so maybe something to be said for the simple Balinese life that we can all learn from.