Melons and snickers milkshakes

It was with much relief that we got on our train to Guilin, leaving Kunming far far behind. We ended up with another fairly vigorous snorer in our sleeping bay, but this time we were armed with ear plugs. Josh joined in the snoring at one point, so I had to lean over and poke him with a water bottle, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to feel superior and annoyed at the man making all the noise…

Our train got into Guilin around lunchtime and we successfully navigated our way to the bus station and jumped on a bus to Yangshuo for a 1.5 hour trip. Yangshuo itself is the most touristy place we’ve been so far – in the first day we saw more Westerners than we’ve seen on the whole trip, and it’s the first place where there’s Western food on the menu in restaurants (apart from at hostels). Josh had been feeling superior to anyone eating Western food here in China, but he has now been sucked in by the Snickers milkshake that seems to feature heavily around here (which I’m fairly sure isn’t traditional Chinese fare).

(J – It’s not traditional, but I challenge you to find a better milkshake anywhere on the planet. Anyway here are some pictures of Yangshuo, including me using the public exercise equipment in the main square, which we also saw from the walls in Xi’an, along with Penny’s “It’s 4PM and I need some lunch, enough with the photos” face).

 

 

We had decided to stay at a hostel about 15 minutes drive out of the city, to enjoy the beautiful countryside. It’s a bit more expensive than what we’ve been paying (a whopping $30 per night), but we thought we’d splash out on somewhere with beds that don’t resemble pool tables and a bathroom where you don’t have to remove the toilet paper before you shower (they don’t really do shower curtains or screens here, and the bathrooms are usually so tiny that the shower sprays directly onto the toilet….anyone who has visited South East Asia would be familiar with this set-up).

There’s a good reason why everyone is coming here though (apart from just the Snickers milkshakes)…the countryside is stunning. The showpieces are the Li and Yulong Rivers, and everywhere you look are towering, unusually shaped karsts.

(J – Which you can see here. The first view is from our bedroom balcony, as the sun was setting on the first night…. the next day it got foggy and we didn’t see the sun, or any shadows for the next 2 days, which was totally surreal. The other picture is the view from the main entrance to the hostel. Remember, you can click on any image to see a larger version.)

For our first day we rented some bikes, then took a bamboo raft down the Yulong River. You sit on a chair while a guy poles you down the river, using the pole as a paddle when the river gets too deep. It’s a great way to experience the river…very peaceful (apart from the occasional guy yelling at you from his floating shop to buy the photo of you that he took going over the mini waterfall).

(J – Here’s what it looked like to us…. the nose of the boat actually goes straight underwater and the whole thing starts to sink, but the water drains out through the gaps in the bamboo before it gets too bad… just don’t forget to lift your feet. Or buy some plastic bags from the insistant ladies on the docks BEFORE you board your raft).

 

  

Then we collected our bikes at the end of the trip and cycled to Moon Hill, which is a Karst formation with a natural hole through it…it was a nice hike up to the “moon” for an amazing view over the whole area.

 

 

Riding back, I was feeling confident I could find the track back to our hostel (after my Tiger Leaping Gorge moment of  triumph)…but I led us to a rubbish dump (although it could have just been someone’s backyard…they have some rubbish disposal problems here). So Josh found the right path and we made our way back through chicken farms and people tending their crops.

Today was another one of my ideas where I have some vague directions from the Lonely Planet, a dodgy map from the hostel and assurances from others that the path is easy to find. Once we figured out the first bit and crossed the river, the path was…sort of…easy to follow.

The plan was to bus to Yangdi then walk to Xing Ping before bussing back to Yangshuo. We pretty much did that, and were offered several hundred bamboo boat rides along the way. Then when we actually needed a bamboo raft because it was getting a little dark and we had no idea how far we were from Xing Ping – there weren’t any around. We got a crazy tractor/taxi/motorised cart thing the rest of the way and collapsed on the bus.

(J – I’ll be honest… I’d lost my patience by then… every 5 minutes some Bamboo Raft scammer tells you that you can’t walk any further and THIS is where you need to cross… then, I stepped in mud upto my ankle and found out my shoes weren’t even remotely water resistant…at least the scenery was awesome). 

 

  

We had aquired two giant melons along the way – as a present from a lady in return from us carrying her groceries (she had a two year old strapped to her back). We didn’t have the implements to eat them but I didn’t want to waste them…so they added a couple of kilos to our hiking load. Admittedly, Josh did carry the backpack most of the time…

 

(J – Penny hates this photo because she looks a little umm.. stocky? But I like it because it highlights how surreal the river and Karst formations were. The mists were shrouding them and creating this wierd double vision effect. It almost looked like something from a bad CG movie. Occasionally when the mist cleared a little, the mountains had no real definition to them, and looked like they were hand painted in 2D, with no details… anyway, that hefty penny photo was taken at midday, with the flash… it was that dark and creepy. The second photo features some ducks, and I walked a long way to get that photo.. and the ducks swam off every time I got near them, then this woman yelled at me because I was going the wrong way… so enjoy the ducks!)