Yangshuo

  Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang, China
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Heading downstream from Guilin

Sunday 10th August
 
Alison: We had to be up early to get the bus at 8.30 which would take us to our boat to Yangshuo. The 3 hour boat ride down the Li River (or Li Jiang) was quite stunning with the river winding its way between the amazing karsts dotting the landscape.

Superb reflections along the river bank

I kept on taking more and more photos and it wasn't easy selecting which ones to include in this blog! On the bus & then boat ride we met a delightful family from Seattle, the Kuklinskis, with whom we happily chatted, Michael always more interested in talking to people than looking at scenery.

Selling Mike a crystal for Rachel

He also bought Rachel an egg shaped crystal coloured in an Amethyst colour which she loved from a vendor on a bamboo raft who poled up to the side of the boat as we were passing and roped his flimsy craft next to us. Quite a few of them did this, selling various types of souvenirs and fruit etc.
 
When we arrived at the dock, accompanied by our Yangshuo guide Paula, we collected our bags from the bus which had driven there separately and went to the Riverview Hotel by taxi. We arranged with her to do a bike ride and bamboo rafting the next day.

Arriving in Yangshuo

Our family room was very pleasant overlooking the river and we happily collapsed onto the beds and relaxed. Then we headed out for an early dinner at a nearby restaurant after which Mike did a bit of bargaining at the market and bought ten silk scarves for a reasonable price. I have kept insisting that presents must be light weight and take minimal room so silk scarves are a good option!
 
Finally we headed back to watch the Olympics and go to bed, weary after not enough sleep the night before.
 
 

Tom & Mike on their tandem bike ahead of us

Monday 11th August
 
Alison: I had breakfast with the kids while Mike spent a long time on the Internet doing some work. He kept on putting off poor Paula but eventually we got ourselves on our 2 tandem bikes - Rachel and I on one and Mike and Tom on the other - and we headed out.

Mike and Tom next to us

We rode about 6 kms through absolutely stunning scenery to the spot where our bamboo rafts were waiting for us. Then Paula took herself and the bikes off to where we would eventually arrive near Moon Hill (Yueliang Shan) while we sat down on our 2 rafts and were punted along by 2 cheerful chaps downstream past scenery beyond belief.

Rachel shooting water

We happily spent 3 hours being poled down the river, every now and then going over little rapids of about half a metre. We stopped at one point and had a beautiful swim in the warm water which refreshed us nicely.

Having a dip in the river

We also stopped at some of the bigger rafts sitting in the middle of the stream selling beer, soft drinks and snacks such as fish, corn cobs or chicken roasted on braziers. It was extraordinarily relaxing and peaceful and one of the highlights of the trip. Then we finally met up with Paula who was wondering why on earth we took so long, and together we rod to Moon Hill where at 4.00 we had a late lunch at the restaurant there. Finally we rode another 6 kms back to the hotel.

Raft food vendors getting our business

 
At 7.20 we left by taxi to see an amazing Light Show directed by Zhang Yimou, the famous film director who had directed the Opening Ceremony. We saw the Kuklinskis who we'd met the day before there as we were going in so it was nice to compare notes of how we were all loving Yangshuo, but unfortunately they were seated in a different spot from us so we didn't see them after that. The show was quite spellbinding, with hundreds of people from the local tribes participating in an extraordinary display using lighting, costumes, boats, huge strips of material and various floats to create an amazing spectacle.

More of the light show

We could notice elements of the Opening Ceremony having their genesis in the kinds of things he did in this. Afterwards we caught a taxi back to the hotel and happily collapsed into bed.
 
 
Tuesday 12th August
 
Alison: I had brekky with the kids and then packed while Mike and Rachel went shopping in the market, Rachel wanting to try out some of the Chinese she had learnt in her bargaining. They got back just in time for us to bring the bags down and catch our taxi to the Guilin airport, about an hour and a half's drive away.

View from our hotel window

 
We had lunch at the airport and then caught our flight to Kunming where we had to collect our luggage and check in once more for Lijiang. We waited for the plane and just as we were boarding it realised that we had left Tom's new DS Lite on board the previous plane in the seat pocket - DISASTER! We spent ages trying to see if it had been found and put in lost property but with no luck. The crew thought it likely that the cleaners would have stolen it, and considering their poor wages this was very likely. However, it was very disappointing for poor Tom and we assured him we would do our best to get him another one if we could in Beijing....