New Century Yangshuo

... visiter ses parents a Shanghai et ils visitaient tous les trois la Chine. Elle parle aussi le francais car elle a habite la Suisse. Elle est aussi tri-athlete et se prepare pour le prochain Iron Man. J'ai aussi rencontre un client (il portait un collier a "badge" autour du cou portant l'insigne de ABB) mais la pensee du bureau et du travail m'est sortie tres vite de l'esprit!<br><br>A notre arrivee, une etroite allee de vendeurs de bebelles nous ...

... 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 ...

... to go find some cormorant fishermen, watch the dawn, and go for a swim. <br>Unbeliavable, when te alarm went off with it's doom sounding tones at 5, I fell out of my top bunk, to find her awake in the bottom, and we went out in to the quiet, sleepy city in the warm darkness, straight to the river. Ania was leaving at 7, she had a train at 10 to the Yellow Mountain. Jon did not want to get up, with his shoulder he couldn't get up anyway. So we walked down to the river, to find very few ...

... and gals. They had a special "Trash and Tarts" night, which means the guys all dress up like women and meet at a local bar. Lindsey hasn't had an opportunity to wear her nice dress yet, so we figured, why not give Ben and opportunity to do so? <br><br>So, that night, Lindsey fit Ben into her black dress, decorated him with light ...

... my body clock is going to be off for a few days. Everyone had already left to breakfast and work. I decided to ease into the China thing so I went to the restaurant near the Juice bar that serves western breakfasts. For less then $3.00 you get juice, tea, two eggs, bacon, a toasted cheese sandwich, which is expensive compare to the traditional Chinese breakfast. After I had my western breakfast I headed over to the 49 Juice Bar to catch up on all ...

... make it. At a couple of points, Gabe hopped out and helped pushed, and he was even able to pedal at one point! As we headed out of town and towards the hills, the scenery became breath-taking. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changed from backpacker haven to rice paddy. <br><br>The Yangshuo Outside Inn, where I had booked us for three nights on a whim, is a real paradise and we couldn't have dreamed up a better place ...

... 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. <br><br>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 ...

... scrambled eggs and bananas. We had been given one free Liquan Beer per couple, but other tables did not want theirs, so it ended up on our table. All this time we watched Don and Tim eat their deluxe meal from the Sheraton (lox, sandwiches, cookies,...) After our filling lunch we headed back up top and arrived in Yangshuo shortly afterward. There must have been at least 50 other boats that made the same trip today. We docked and walked up West Street. We dropped our bags ...

... this time. The fruit there is so good, so fresh, soo sweet. Best fruit I have ever had. Anyways, haha, we got on this shabby little bus, on the last 'real' seats available. BUT, the bus stopped along the way, calling for more people to get on. They try to get as much money as they can out of each trip, even though it wasn't very far away. People were sitting on stools in the aisles, and standing. Not very safe. Well, turns out the police thought the same thing, when they pulled the ...