And so into China! Not
a new country for us of course, but still, two new pins to stick in the map –
Guilin and Yangshuo. They were the only two stops we made in the south of
China, and were conveniently less than an hour apart, which is ridiculously
close by Chinese standards, it’s a pretty big country! I’ll group them both
together in this entry as we only spent a few days in the area, and they’re both quite similar in terms of scenery, just
like a couple of Halong Bays, without the water.
Well, with less water...
As I mentioned last
time around, we got a night train from Hanoi straight through to Nanning, a
fairly pleasant journey all things considered. The only minor inconvenience was
waking up at 3am to go through immigration at the Chinese border. But as Vietnamese
trains go, it wasn’t too shabby at all, especially considering our previous
outings (Vinh to Hanoi – eight hours of hard seats, and HCMC to Hoi An – sharing
our bunks with a family of six!). So imagine our delight when we walked into
our sleeper cabin this time, to be greeted by, not only a pair of fellow whities
but, a lovely pair of Scots – Katie and Andrew. And as it turned out, we both
had similar plans and similar accommodation in Guilin, so we paired up with
them for the next few days.
When we pulled into
Nanning, we sorted tickets for the next leg of our travels (despite a severe
lack of English anywhere), grabbed some mediocre food and hopped on a train to
Guilin, arriving at our accommodation almost a full 24 hours after we left
Hanoi.
We had only planned to
spend a day in Guilin, so to maximise our time here, we arranged a driver
through the hostel to chauffeur us around town, taking us to the Reed Flute
Cave, Solitary Beauty Peak and then to Banyan Lake where we went on a boat tour of
the city. We had read in a brochure that you should be looking to pay around 50
quid for this which, between the four of us, wouldn’t have been too bad, but at
the hostel they said it would only be 20 RMB, around €2... We thought there
must’ve been some misunderstanding, but we went with it, perfectly willing to
pay more if asked for it. But no, that was it! Two Euro for our own driver. And
that’s €2 total, not each! I usually feel great about getting a bargain, but
this was so cheap that I almost felt bad about it... almost.
Yup, that's "a centipede frightened by a magic mirror"...! It really made our experience a lot more interesting though, trying to find the most outrageous name possible!
Next up was Solitary Beauty Peak, another nice place with a short but steep climb up to the peak itself. But again, the best thing about the park was the signs, and one in particular with their rules and regulations, the so-called "Chinese Citizen Domestic Travel Civilized Behavior Convention".
Some of the highlights being:
Some of the highlights being:
- "No pandemonium"
- "Don't chase, hit and feed the animal at random"
- "Don't gain petty advantages"
- "Don't talk billingsgate"
- "Resist superstition. Refuse pornography"
We were thankfully able to control ourselves, while in the park at least...
We were thankfully able to control ourselves, while in the park at least...
Later that afternoon, we went on a nice little boat ride around the lakes and rivers of Guilin, a pleasant trip, but more interestingly, there was a fancy boat-elevator thing on the edge of the lake. So basically, you drive up to this contraption which closes off a little area of water around the boat. You're then lowered, water and all, down about 20m to the river below, and off you go!
Well, I thought it was interesting anyway.
After the boat trip, we had a nice walk along the river and then on to our last stop of the day, Brocade Hill. It seemed to be a pretty happening place too with lots of activities and attractions on the way up, like caves, shrines, a 5D cinema (???), but at that stage it was around half 5 and we were eager to make it up to the top for sunset.
The sun didn't actually end up setting for another hour and a half...
We did have plenty to keep us occupied though while we waited for the sun to go down, with streams of locals coming up wanting to take pictures with us! This has happened to us a couple of times on our travels, the odd person now and again, but here they were practically queuing up for us! We were only delighted though, a nice ego boost, even if they only wanted us for the colour of our skin (and the shape of our eyes!).
Well, I thought it was interesting anyway.
After the boat trip, we had a nice walk along the river and then on to our last stop of the day, Brocade Hill. It seemed to be a pretty happening place too with lots of activities and attractions on the way up, like caves, shrines, a 5D cinema (???), but at that stage it was around half 5 and we were eager to make it up to the top for sunset.
The sun didn't actually end up setting for another hour and a half...
We did have plenty to keep us occupied though while we waited for the sun to go down, with streams of locals coming up wanting to take pictures with us! This has happened to us a couple of times on our travels, the odd person now and again, but here they were practically queuing up for us! We were only delighted though, a nice ego boost, even if they only wanted us for the colour of our skin (and the shape of our eyes!).
A boy
even fainted up there. It was more than likely from the heat, but we like to
think he was a little star-struck…
The sun
finally set after 7pm, but it was definitely worth waiting for. We may have
only had one day in Guilin but we certainly made the most of it.
That
evening we all had a nice dinner in a local place along the main street. Like
many of the local restaurants in town, they had big basins and cages outside
filled with super fresh (i.e. living) ingredients - from fish and crabs, to chickens
and ducks, and even a couple of… well, I have no idea!
Some sort
of rodents, maybe…? Hedgehogs? Any guesses? Needless to say, we
stayed well clear of anything that looked remotely suspicious.
After
dinner, we walked along by Banyan Lake, where we had earlier started our river
cruise. It was much more impressive at night though, especially with the Sun
and Moon Pagodas all lit up.
And that
was Guilin! The next morning we got a bus down the road to the smaller, quieter
and more beautiful Yangshuo. As we were staying in different accommodation to
the two Scots, we split up, checked in, got bikes and met up with them again a
while later for a day of cycling.
We were
planning on cycling to the Dragon Bridge that afternoon but after our two attempts to find it
were halted by roadworks, we had to go somewhere else. That other place was the Butterfly Spring, which we just happened across. It was quite similar to what we had already seen in Guilin - scenic views, nicely lit caves - although, unfortunately it was severely lacking in the funny sign department.
Afterwards, we cycled back to the town, parked our bikes and took a stroll through the open-air markets, which sold your usual scarves, jewellery, paintings and all of that sort of thing. But there was a very nice ambiance around the place, much different to the big city feel of Guilin. For the remainder of the evening, we just got some food and chilled out in a couple of rooftop bars. And although that only marked the end of our first day in Yangshuo, it was the first and last day for our Scottish comrades, so we had to bid them farewell before cycling back to our accommodation in the dark.
The next morning, we got up, grabbed some brekkie and then tackled the Dragon Bridge once more! This time we took the much less scenic, but much less confusing main road for most of the journey, before veering off into the countryside and finally reaching our target at the third attempt.
And we're glad we gave it another shot, as the surrounding scenery was some of the best we had seen. As I mentioned before, on the surface it was quite similar to Guilin in terms of the vast, undulating limestone peaks, but Yangshuo definitely won hands down for its natural and untainted beauty. This area in particular along the riverside was especially beautiful. Rivers always make things look better anyway, but the quiet trail of bamboo rafts floating downstream certainly added an extra level of tranquility to the scene.
On the way back, we decided to try the scenic route again, with the logic that it should be a lot easier to go to Yangshuo than from it. It was basically just a case of following the river all the way, and the plan was going pretty well, leading us through some tiny villages and beautiful countryside, that is until I got a flat tyre... Being in the middle of nowhere is great when you're free and easy, not so much when you need help.
It was also the second time in a week that I got a flat tire, after the same thing happened to me in Halong Bay!
At that stage, we were probably about 9km from Yangshuo and not entirely sure that we were going in the right direction, so Aisling cycled on ahead in search of help while I just wheeled along slowly behind her. Eventually she came across a local man, and although he had no English, he did have a bamboo raft. He also seemed to understand our problem, so we followed him through the fields, down to the river and climbed aboard. Next stop, Yangshuo!
Well, not quite. He actually just brought us across the river to a little place called Yima Village. We were, I guess, one step closer to home but still had a looong way to go, and my bike was still out of action. On the plus side, we were in a village now, instead of just wandering the countryside, so had a better chance of actually finding some help. And after enquiring at a guesthouse and an English school to no avail, we finally stumbled across a bike repair man in a little stall at the side of the road who promptly (and cheaply) patched me up, and pointed us in the right direction. Phew! We were back on track! We came across the roadworks too that had halted our progress the day before, and spotted a little path that looped around them. It turns out we could have gone through the day before and never knew it!
Oh! I nearly died as well! For realz! As we were coming along the main road back into Yangshuo, I was cycling alongside a trailer full of rubbish. The driver obviously mustn't have seen me as she veered out to the left, knocking me off balance. I instinctively put my foot down and just about managed to keep myself upright. It was a good thing too as, if I had fallen, that was me gone for good under the oncoming traffic. Someone was definitely out to get me that afternoon.
The following day, and our last in Yangshuo, was just as enjoyable although thankfully less threatening. We grabbed some bikes again (different ones this time) and headed off to Moon Hill, which was just the same as all the other peaks around, except for the big circular hole in the middle.
It was a long way up to the top, especially under the hot sun, but again worth it for the views below and to see the Moon Hill itself up close. We even met some people rock climbing at the top, inside the circular cut-out. As tourist attractions in China go though, it was very quiet, so we decided to find a secluded spot and make another video diary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSEwIkSc1nk&feature=youtu.be
Well, what we thought was a secluded spot. This is actually one of our favourite ever video diaries, just because of our unexpected guest. She was a hoot! And we actually did buy some postcards from her afterwards!
Serious respect to her too. She must have to walk up and down that hill several times a day while we struggled to do it once! Ah well, there go our dreams of selling postcards on Moon Hill!
And that was the end of our time in Yangshuo! That night we got a sleeper bus to Shenzhen, and when we landed the next morning, we hopped across the border back into Hong Kong. Home sweet home, for just a day, with a flight to Osaka the next morning. Part 1 of our summer holidays done, plenty more to come!
Afterwards, we cycled back to the town, parked our bikes and took a stroll through the open-air markets, which sold your usual scarves, jewellery, paintings and all of that sort of thing. But there was a very nice ambiance around the place, much different to the big city feel of Guilin. For the remainder of the evening, we just got some food and chilled out in a couple of rooftop bars. And although that only marked the end of our first day in Yangshuo, it was the first and last day for our Scottish comrades, so we had to bid them farewell before cycling back to our accommodation in the dark.
The next morning, we got up, grabbed some brekkie and then tackled the Dragon Bridge once more! This time we took the much less scenic, but much less confusing main road for most of the journey, before veering off into the countryside and finally reaching our target at the third attempt.
And we're glad we gave it another shot, as the surrounding scenery was some of the best we had seen. As I mentioned before, on the surface it was quite similar to Guilin in terms of the vast, undulating limestone peaks, but Yangshuo definitely won hands down for its natural and untainted beauty. This area in particular along the riverside was especially beautiful. Rivers always make things look better anyway, but the quiet trail of bamboo rafts floating downstream certainly added an extra level of tranquility to the scene.
On the way back, we decided to try the scenic route again, with the logic that it should be a lot easier to go to Yangshuo than from it. It was basically just a case of following the river all the way, and the plan was going pretty well, leading us through some tiny villages and beautiful countryside, that is until I got a flat tyre... Being in the middle of nowhere is great when you're free and easy, not so much when you need help.
It was also the second time in a week that I got a flat tire, after the same thing happened to me in Halong Bay!
At that stage, we were probably about 9km from Yangshuo and not entirely sure that we were going in the right direction, so Aisling cycled on ahead in search of help while I just wheeled along slowly behind her. Eventually she came across a local man, and although he had no English, he did have a bamboo raft. He also seemed to understand our problem, so we followed him through the fields, down to the river and climbed aboard. Next stop, Yangshuo!
Well, not quite. He actually just brought us across the river to a little place called Yima Village. We were, I guess, one step closer to home but still had a looong way to go, and my bike was still out of action. On the plus side, we were in a village now, instead of just wandering the countryside, so had a better chance of actually finding some help. And after enquiring at a guesthouse and an English school to no avail, we finally stumbled across a bike repair man in a little stall at the side of the road who promptly (and cheaply) patched me up, and pointed us in the right direction. Phew! We were back on track! We came across the roadworks too that had halted our progress the day before, and spotted a little path that looped around them. It turns out we could have gone through the day before and never knew it!
Oh! I nearly died as well! For realz! As we were coming along the main road back into Yangshuo, I was cycling alongside a trailer full of rubbish. The driver obviously mustn't have seen me as she veered out to the left, knocking me off balance. I instinctively put my foot down and just about managed to keep myself upright. It was a good thing too as, if I had fallen, that was me gone for good under the oncoming traffic. Someone was definitely out to get me that afternoon.
The following day, and our last in Yangshuo, was just as enjoyable although thankfully less threatening. We grabbed some bikes again (different ones this time) and headed off to Moon Hill, which was just the same as all the other peaks around, except for the big circular hole in the middle.
It was a long way up to the top, especially under the hot sun, but again worth it for the views below and to see the Moon Hill itself up close. We even met some people rock climbing at the top, inside the circular cut-out. As tourist attractions in China go though, it was very quiet, so we decided to find a secluded spot and make another video diary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSEwIkSc1nk&feature=youtu.be
Well, what we thought was a secluded spot. This is actually one of our favourite ever video diaries, just because of our unexpected guest. She was a hoot! And we actually did buy some postcards from her afterwards!
Serious respect to her too. She must have to walk up and down that hill several times a day while we struggled to do it once! Ah well, there go our dreams of selling postcards on Moon Hill!
And that was the end of our time in Yangshuo! That night we got a sleeper bus to Shenzhen, and when we landed the next morning, we hopped across the border back into Hong Kong. Home sweet home, for just a day, with a flight to Osaka the next morning. Part 1 of our summer holidays done, plenty more to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment