多年前朋友夫妇和我们一起横跨美国,近年他们去了台湾工作生活。圣诞假期,我们一家周游美国的西部,他们则带着孩子去了附近的桂林阳朔。征得同意,我把朋友的POST转贴如下。
东岭山庄
All past inn keepers I’ve met were middle-aged or older; these two were very young.
They were not from here. He came to this town as a tourist and liked it. He quit his job and started a tiny inn downtown. He likes photography, so he made his inn to attract guests with similar interests. He was able to make enough money to pay rent for the inn during the “golden weeks” (holiday weeks in China). After that, he locked up the inn and went on photography trips. That was more than two years ago.
We picked this inn because it is top-rated on Trip Advisor and because it is away from the tourists’ hot spots in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is in Southwest China. The region has incomparable, natural beauties.
The young couple met in Shengzhen. This is one of the most famous modern cities in China, not because it had any particular history but because this former fishing village turned into a booming city overnight, after China opened its door to the Western world in the 80s. For twenty years, people went there looking for opportunities. They were among them.
She worked for eight years up the corporate ladder until she became a manager. He was an engineer, working for a Taiwanese-owned company. They had very narrow responsibilities – For efficiency sake their companies were run like assembly lines. Housing was expensive, they commuted. Work was demanding, they put in long hours. It was normal for the boss to call any time, even midnight. She had sleeping problems. They quit.
The air is fresher than downtown. Guests are nice. I like the peace here on the hilltop. Our friends say we are taking an early retirement. I enjoy it. Although our sleep pattern depends on the schedule of the guests, I do not have to commute and get to the office by a certain hour. I sleep much better. My anxiety is gone. Indeed, they both are easy-going and relaxed.
They are adding 13 more rooms. Yes, we’ll be very busy and might need to hire new people. We hired one person but soon she left. She must have felt awkward being the only non-family member among us. Oh yes, when in the beginning we ran into lots of problems, like the drainage. The owner didn’t install a U-tube, the bathroom stank like mad. We dug up all bathroom floors and re-installed it. Over the two years the engineer learned to fix a lot of things. Yes, there were a few memorable guests, like the one who complained about cold water. He should have let the water run a bit, it takes time for hot water to reach the room; or the Dutch couple who fought drunk and ran out of the room naked. There were days we worried to death because a foreigner-guest didn’t return until past midnight. No, we have to wait until everyone comes back. We feel responsible for the guests.
No, we do not actively market the rooms right now. We like it this way. We are working but not busy. We’ve been busy all year. It is time for us to take a little break.
Everyday, we got up, ate the meal their mother cooked and went to the places Liuli and Beizi suggested. If we go to Yangshuo again, we would stay in the same inn again.
*Photo courtesy of Liuli and Beizi.