Bucklang Hotel Yangshuo

... naturellement; "lookie, lookie", "hello", "ok-ok"!! Ouf, c'est un petit village de 300 000 (petits aux standards de la Chine) qui s'est recement developpe tres rapidement autour du tourisme avec les cotes moins agreables qui viennent avec. Nous nous promenons dans le centre de la ville et une dame qui offre de cirer les chaussures nous poursuit a chaque tournant. C'est un peu harcelant.

Ici aussi, il y a des "oliviers odorants" ou ...

... and it was also really nice to have a chance to see a bit more of the rural countryside outside the city than I'd seen up until now. While in Yangshou I went bamboo rafting, we rented bicycles and cycled out through some villages and then climbed up Moon Hill and I also did a Chinese cooking class. The cooking class was really amazing - I made some beer fish - a local specialty dish, eggplant and vegetarian dumplings. We got to eat the food we'd ...

... other side to be met by a throng of photo taking tourists, panting from the climb. We soon left them behind, and made our way up a windy little path up the side of the hill, to finally reach the most perfect outlook over the whole scene for miles and miles, sheer drops to the bottom on all sides, and we sat there in silence for almost an hour. It was majestic, there were no words required, we all just soaked in the beauty, the rice paddies, the fish farms and the villages with their ...

... a year to join a pre-set tour around mainly Asia and Africa, climbing whatever they can get their hands on along the way. That is if they can get out of bed early enough and ward off last night's libations. They are a cheerful, adventurous, and need I say hilarious group to get mixed up in.

We certainly did get mixed up with these ...

... 1497;וו 03; הכפר ש'ינגפ
497;נג, שם רציתי לעצור ללילה. ושוב השתעמ 02;תי לחתור בזרם האיטי. עצרתי סירת ...

... was happen or going to happen.

A couple from Holland wanted to use the Juice Bar to give a talk and get some information about tourism. I said sure no problem. I invited them to our open talk that evening. I told them I was not sure if anyone would show up because it was my first day back.

That evening the word got around and several of the regulars were there and very happy to have me back. The couple from Holland had a great time ...

... stay. The rooms are located in Western-renovated farmhouses that are integrated into a tiny village called Chao Long, right on the River Yulong, whose name means "meet the dragon". The managers are Dutch and super-friendly, and it's a great place to meet fellow travelers because of the wide-open space between the rooms and the little restuarant- there is a beergarden, a little pond, hammocks, deck chairs, a computer room, a ...

... of those days that everyone is just kicking back. I went over to the river to see the sites. Same old, same old, raft guides waiting for tourists, grandmas with their grandbabies.

The guides park their rafts on the river near the juice bar and I have gotten to know a few. They no longer ask me to take a ride. I have never taken a ride from this point but many from other villages along the river. Maybe I ...

... Fabio and Patrice's hotel (they are from Brazil) by the KFC. We decided to spend our hour exploring the town with Don and Tim. First we spotted an ice cream cooler and had a Magnum. Tim loves ice cream and had never heard of Magnums. I think that he approves! Bill asked a woman where the market was. At first she took us to a grocery store and then understood that we wanted to go to a real market. By the time we walked there, it was time to turn around and go back. We had to ...

... over at a check point just before a tunnel. They walked throught the bus all authoritativly, it was kind of scary for me, ha ha, and told the lady that there were too many people and some had to get off. So the lady got back on after they got off, and went through the seats whispering, telling some people to get off. I couldn't understand everything she was saying. But, some the people in front of us asked why wasn't telling us to get off, and she was like, "They don't understand ...