Zhengfu Hostel Wujiang

... rivers and down silent rural paths. After donning protective helmets we entered the creepy, dripping cave by boat, then spent the next 3 hours scrambling up and down slippery rock staircases. The high point of the tour had to be the mud bath...which was too much fun to describe!

... back from the main road. Yoong was reluctant, and particularly didn't like the unmade lane leading into it, nor the number of steps we had to climb, as it was built up the side of a limestone karst. However, the room we saw was big and comfortable with a great mountain view. [It turned out that this unmade lane would be subject to roadwork for the length of our stay. The residents had paid for the road in to be paved. It will look very inviting when it is finished, but we ...

... their faces off and I think 2 or 3 succeeded. They tried to teach me this dice game that everyone was playing but once again language was a big issue. First full day weather was cold and cloudy but I figured that was going to be it for the duration so decided to hire a bike and a guide to take me around the nice spots in the countryside around the city. About 15 mins in it started pouring and would not let up. We stopped at a small shack near the road where ...

... company was trying to cheat us when they ushered us into an empty restaraunt and told us we had to pay for a special car that they will order for us to get back to Yangshuo. But we were wrong as the bus company conveniently decided to call a strike whilst we were on the cruise that left us an hour out of Yangshuo. It took some time to bargain down a car to get everyone back but it was three hours later and it took a few cars to do so.

... but due to eye-wateringly foggy and rainy weather we skipped half of the wonders that laied around. We also got a SMS from Heidi's mother in Kanton saying that their flight had been cancelled to Guilin the same morning we arrived. A pity since they have even more limited time than us (managed to fly the same evening!). Still, we managed to go a local park which had lovely pinnacles, a huge, propably very beautiful ...

... look at how the other half of the world likes to relax, some of them even asking for photos with us. Despite being undeniably touristy, Yangshuo was a good place to kick back for a while and offered the opportunity to get out into the countryside on a mountain bike, cruise on the Li River and try my hand at rock climbing. The highlight was climbing to the top of "Moon Hill" for breathtaking views of the surreal landscape.

... next planned stop, Yangshuo. We transfered from train to local bus for the two hour (70Km) journey from Guilin to Yangshuo (10RMB each/ 70p)arriving around 2pm in search of our prebooked accommodation and just in time for a tropical downpour. As the bus pulled away it began to rain..and how! We got soaked, but at least it was warm rain! Yangshuo is situated on the Li River smack in the heart of the most beautiful and dramatic Karst scenery. The enormous Limestone peaks rise up from ...

... I have been dragging with me since leaving India (no power cuts in China) and ceremoniously sent them up in smoke in a French restaurant. I met Ronald, a Dutchman who was based here, doing tours for Dutch travel companies, and we got asked by to help out by volounteering to teach English to a school in an isolated village where foreigners hardly venture. This effort is run by an elderly Canadian called Laurie who thought his retirement time would be spent better doing ...

... that kept running up to us and saying 'hello, good afternoon' and then a load of stuff in chinese that they all found incredibly amusing...wonder what they were saying! Thursday was an amazing day, our favourite day so far. A local lady acted as our tour guide for the day and took us cycling through the countryside, it was gorgeous. In the morning we went on a nice bamboo raft for an hour and a half and then on a 3 hour tour through some caves, which weren ...

... been in there before obviously had serious problems with their ability to aim! Oh god, I'll never forget that, I'm traumatised! Anyway, we're in Yangshuo now and it is just as gorgeous as we'd imagined! We've got a bargain hotel room, it's got its own bathroom and air con and costs less than 2 quid each a night! We've pretty much spent today catching up on sleep and wandering around town but we'll be more active tomorrow! Tara for now!...