China: Yangshuo

The view upstream from Yangshuo wharf.

Travel Date 22-25th April 2012.
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We had no plans for tours or excursions in Yangshuo. We wanted to simply relax, with no plans and no need to do anything but wind down after seeing and travelling so much in a short month.

The souvenir markets are down by the wharf.

 

I had arranged the boat trip, including drivers to meet us in the Guilin hotel and on arrival in Yangshuo, through the Secret Garden Guest House. From their web page it sounded perfect as a place to do nothing at all. We were picked up in town and taken out into the countryside. We thought the location was idyllic. 

 

The room was large and the bed soft, but we discovered a problem in paradise. My wife is allergic to mosquitoes and they are unavoidable in a place surrounded by rice paddy fields. Maybe we chose the wrong time of year. The people were lovely and the food was excellent, but sadly we had to leave after one night. I took these pictures on the drive back to town.

 

 

Yangshuo is very much a tourist town, with a lot of Chinese tourists but also a high number of international tourists. Consequently there are two centres. One is past the bus terminal with shops for the locals and accommodation at cheaper back-packer tariffs. We didn't stay here, but it seemed popular: 

 

The bus station is on the right.

 

There is also 'downtown' for more shops, a multitude of restaurants of many cuisines - including the golden arches and KFC - and the slightly more up-market hostels and hotels.

The town was nearly booked out but we found a room, a little over our budget, for two nights at the Bamboo Resort. The room was luxurious, but strangely arranged by Western standards with the spa bath in the centre of the room, the toilet in an open corner with no privacy and the clear-glass shower in another. Bathroom privacy is obviously not a major requirement in Chinese hotels.

 

The electric cars are for hotel guests. A ticket must be bought from a booth near their terminal.

The view from the Golden Arches.

This was delicious from one of the restaurants. The meat was crispy and the orange sauce out of this world. I've never seen it before or since; I am searching the web for recipes.

More Engrish, for meaning rather than spelling.

Cash movement time. I was surprised they allowed the photo without a problem.

I'm glad my fellow passengers on the bus to Guilin were suitably warned. I didn't want to find a cobra in the luggage rack.

 

We returned to Guilin on the bus and departed the next morning for home via Kuala Lumpur. And so we said goodbye to China. I had a marvellous time in an ancient land full of contradictions and paradox. Maybe some day I will be able to return to wander more slowly in some of the places we missed.

Cheers, Alan.

China: Floating Down the Li River

Travel Date 22nd April 2012.
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The Li River flows from its headwaters in the Mao'er Mountains in Xing'an County. In the section between Guilin and Yangshuo it cuts its way through the karst hills and mountains, resulting in a simply stunning short cruise down the river. The Li River is famous in China for the scene on the 20 Yuan note. 

We arranged the trip via the web. A driver turned up at the hotel dead on time. It took about 45 minutes to reach the wharf, south of Guilin. 

I spent most of the trip taking photographs so I'll let them tell most of the story.

There are two main forms of cruising down the river. The larger boats, like ours, leave the wharf about 9am and arrive in the early afternoon. Further downriver we met the fleets of smaller boats, effectively rafts of imitation bamboo (using PVC pipes) for much smaller groups. 

We noticed suppliers of groceries delivering to the stern of the large boats as we travelled along.

One advantage of the larger boats was an on-board lunch, although in our case the timing was more like morning tea. Each boat had a kitchen on the stern. We were served an excellent meal very early at 10:30 am. We guessed the staff wanted to finish clearing up well before arrival. About 1:30 pm after I arrived I felt like a hobbit and had a second lunch.

 

The small raft-boats stopped along the way for picnic lunches.

Arrival in Yangshuo.

The cormorant fishermen no longer ply their ancient trade; I'm not sure why not, possibly it was hard on the birds. They probably make more yuan posing for the tourists these days.

After a relaxing and enjoyable cruise we alighted at Yangshuo and went looking for the car to our accommodation.

Cheers, Alan