Intoxicated in China..by nature!. Review on Guilin

Continuing with my recent reviews on Hong Kong and Beijing (all posted on Moutshut itself in the relevant sections or can be viewed by visiting my blog, refer to my profile), this segment covers two days in the final leg of my trip!

DAY 9 – Gulin and Yangshuo

After a pleasant night on the train (to read more about Chinese trains, visit my blog!), I reached Guilin around at 1630 and took a walk around the pretty little streets, specially the long Zhongshanzhong road that is just opposite the railway station. I have to admit, after the big, dull streets of Beijing, the ones in Guilin was refreshingly different. There is a deliberate attempt to make the city beautiful with greenery and clean roads, so it was nice! I met a friend, deposited my bag with her and boarded the “slow” bus to Yangshuo, which took just over an hour. It was wonderful being surrounded by small, weird shaped hills covered with greenery all around you! It has to be seen to be believed. I walked from the bus station towards West Street. All along small stalls selling fruits and souvenirs were set up and all the vendors were trying out their marketing skills! After enquiring in many places for rooms at a reasonable rate, I found the Bamboo Inn (just off West Street) to be the best value for money. I got a spacious, clean single room with bath plus TV for just RMB 40. The street below was lively with tourists and locals shopping, dining and generally having a good time. I joined them and strolled around the place, enjoying a nice meal after a bit of shopping. In Yangshuo, Fish in Beer is a specialty and a delicacy. Weird huh!

DAY 10 – Moon Hill & Li River Cruise

At 8am, I was off on my mountain bike (rented from the hotel) towards Moon Hill. It’s a very pleasant 45 minute ride, provided the weather is good, and on the way you will pass a few mud caves and also the butterfly cave. The 40 minute trek up Moon Hill is strenuous, even though there are just steps to climb. I counted around 600 steps up the sinuous route. Once on top, however, the view was worth it. One could easily see the town of Yangshuo down below and it was a good way to catch your breath! The area on the peak does not have much to be explored, but it was peaceful. I bicycled back to my room, checked out at 12 noon and caught a bus to Xingping, a fishing village 45 minutes away from Yangshuo. The idea was to cruise the famous Li River between Xingping and Yangti and view the strange mountains up close and all around. I negotiated the deal to RMB 35 for the 1.5 hour cruise, which I was told was a rock bottom price! I was joined by six other tourists and we all had a blast, it was a really beautiful cruise. The river water was muddy though, probably because of the rainy season. I saw so many different shapes of these green mountains, which were sometimes enveloped by the mist, that it’s just hard to explain! At 20.00 I bade farewell to Guilin and boarded my train to Shenzhen, from where I would proceed to Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China.

Macau..coming soon!

Shaz