10/17/98: We wandered around this tiny riverside town a little bit today. A different pace and way of living for sure… Ruth sneaked off and managed to find a bakery, and then surprised me at dinner with a birthday cake full of candles. It was quite charming, while we sat at an outdoor cafe, everyone at the place took notice of the candles in the dim lighting… Ruth gave me the gift of a beautiful set of Chinese calligraphy tools: brushes, ink block and well, and marble stamps with dish of red ink. We took it to an engraver here in town and had him cut a design of our own making. I can’t wait to get home and put it to use…
NOTE: The photo above shows a courtyard doorway in a riverside village in Yangshuo, China.
