Yangshuo
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2008
1
29
Trip End
Nov 11, 2008
Yangshuo,
Guangxi Zhuang,
China
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
In the morning we had to trek back down the mountain for about 45 mins to get to the bus stop where we caught a local bus to the place where our bags were held. The next bus that we caught from here was packed and I had to sit on the back seat with six other people which was very tight but better than sitting in the aisle on an oil drum! After another (more comfortable) bus journey we arrived in Yangshuo which is a tourist town in the centre of miles of karsk mountains.
Today I didnt have any plans so I wandered around the town which is full of tourist shops, bars and restaurants. In the evening we went to Monkey Jane's (our last local guide) roof top bar where we had a few drinks and played some drinking games.
23/10
Today we had a bike ride planned but the weather was terrible. This is the first time it has properly rained since being in China though so I cannot really complain. I decided that I wasn't going to get soaked for the sake of a bike ride but fortunately it was cancelled anyway.
Having nothing to do I had a lazy morning and an early lunch before spending a couple of hours in an internet cafe. In the afternoon I took part in a cookery class. Before it started we were taken to the market, here there was a section for dogs where there were dogs held in cages behind where other dogs were being chopped up. It wasn't very nice and has put me off eating dog (not that I wanted to eat it anyway). At the cooking class I made five dishes which were surprisingly really nice although Im not sure that I could cook them again because there were so many different steps and alot to do in a short space of time.
In the evening Simone, Me, Gavin and Anna went back to Monkey Janes. We intended to stay fro just one but one lead to a few (and a few more). We were talking to some other people and I met a girl who is good friends with someone that I was good friends with at Emory University when I was in the US, it's true that it is a small world.
The other two girls in the group really dont like the four of us who always spend our time together which is a shame because Im not entirely sure what we have done to make them dislike us that much. But its not really a problem because they are very strange anyway!
24/10
The cancelled bike ride was resheduled for the morning today and although it started spitting just as we were leaving the weather was nice the whole day which was good. Unfortunately the paths were very muddy and by the time I finished the bike ride I was totally covered in mud but I guess thats all part of the fun. You won't be surprised to hear that the cycling was great and the countryside around Yangshuo is spectacular. Half way into the journey we stopped at moon mountain where a few of us took the eight hundred step journey to the top where the views were great. It was alot quicker going down than going up! For lunch our guide took us to a random farmhouse where he cooked us lunch. He also gave us an insight about how the Chinese dating system works, although Im not sure whether what he told us is the normal way because he sounds like abit of a player!
In the afternoon we took a bus journey back to Guillin where we were catching the overnight train to Hong Kong. The trains are alot better than the ones that I experienced in Vietnam because they are really clean (you even get clean bedding).I was sharing a cabin with five other Chinese people who were all really friendly although they didnt speak any english. A few of us headed to the restaurant carriage where we played cards and had a beer before I returned to my cozy bunk for some sleep.
