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On Friday and Saturday July 11^th and 12^th, China Odyssey Tours’ FIT and Marketing Department team members went out for a kayaking adventure.

We took a private bus to Yangshuo after work on Friday. Upon arriving in Yangshuo, we went out for a nice dinner of Yangshuo’s famous Beer Fish. It is a local specialty. We all had a wonderful time talking and eating. It is nice to be able to spend some time with your coworkers outside of work and really connect.

We spent the night in Yangshuo and in the morning we went to the Fuli Dock where we rented Kayaks. Few of us had used one before, so before we were allowed out on the river, we had a safety and orientation course. The kayaking was wonderful! We cruised down the river dwarfed by Guilin’s famous mountains. The riverbanks were lined with bamboo groves, where water buffalos were relaxing in the shade and women were doing their laundry. It was really picturesque and a lot of fun! Some of the guys jumped in the water and had fun splashing everybody with water. By the end of the trip, we were all soaked, but it didn’t matter because it was so hot.

We kayaked down river to the village of Liugong. It is an ancient village located on the banks of the river. It was really beautiful. We explored its maze of alleys and streets and almost got lost a couple times. The villagers were really friendly and smiled a lot. They seem to really enjoy life. We then went to Linjiazhou Village, where we had lunch, and later went swimming to cool off. After exploring the village we rode back to Guilin. We all had a lot of fun. 

Our trip was a wonderful way for us to get to know each other better and blow off some steam.

The torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has 136 stops around the world in 21 countries. There are 113 stops scheduled in China, with three in Guangxi, our home province. One in Nanning, one in Baise, and one here in Guilin. The torch relay really brings the Olympics home. Most of us will not be able to attend them because tickets are very difficult to get, and they are being held so very far away, so we will just watch them on TV. With the torch relay, we feel like we are a part of the Olympics, and can share in the experience with the rest of the country. It was a really great feeling.

  We were all very excited to see the torch relay. The people of China are so proud that the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing. The excitment could be seen in the faces of the throngs of people who got up early to stand along the torch route. Our team members at China Odyssey Tours arrived at 7:30 in the morning with our flags, banners, stickers on our faces, and company t-shirts that we had made for this important occasion. The streets along the torch route were partitioned off and onlookers got to stand along the sides of the street. The first thing we saw was a police car coming down the road to announce that the torch was on its way.

 After a while, several trucks decorated by the major sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics drove past followed by many busses filled with other runners of the Guilin leg of the torch relay and Olympic and city officials. Finally came the torch runner. It was the moment we were waiting for. The runner was escorted by police on motorcycles, and several security personal running alongside. It was so exciting. We could hear it coming from quite a ways away by the roar of the crowds. The excitment was electric as onlookers screamed, waved flags and held their children on their shoulders to get a better view.

 Since this is the first Olympics in history to be held in Beijing it was a great honor to be able to be a small part of it. It is something that we will always be proud to say we were there, and will be able to tell our children about it some day.