Return to China

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First stop Guangzhou!! But only for a few hours to wait for my connecting flight to Guilin, my flight was a little delayed but that just made it less of a wait so I wasn’t too bothered. However that fact that it took an hour and a half just too clear immigration was annoying, in the middle of the day when they have flights arriving all the time I understand but at 1 in the morning when we were the only flight! Really! Well at least I didn’t have to wait for my bag to arrive; it had probably been around the carousel a dozen times by the time I got chance to collect it. Anyway all I then had to do was make my way over to the domestic departures to relax for a few hours before my early morning flight. I met a group of possibly Turkish men who were also waiting for a connecting flight so we followed the signs into the ‘shut for the night’ part of the airport. We soon bumped into some security guys who were interested in where we were going so we explained to them we had an early morning flight and just wanted to sit down to wait for a few hours. They were very helpful, rushing us over to where we could check in, we kept trying to tell them we didn’t need to rush we couldn’t check in for 3hours and we could find it ourselves but they insisted on showing us. When we got there they pointed to a counter for where we could check in as if they could see someone there and fully expected us to be able to but everything was dark. They then tried to tell us we should stay in a hotel and come back tomorrow. They wouldn’t listen when we told them tomorrow was actually today and there was little point in getting a hotel when we could check in in 3hours! It was amusing though when one of them got quite upset about it and started stomping in the middle of the airport! At that point I walked away and found some seats to wait by, the commission must be good for the hotels!

Arriving into Guilin it was really easy to get to the centre and find my hostel, much easier than in Istanbul and I didn’t even have directions this time! I arrived early but after taking a shower crashed instantly and woke a few hours later, no idea what time it was. I thought about going for a walk by the river but it was so hot I never made it that for, instead I went for I little walk, got a bite to eat and relaxed some more. As it got cooler I took a bus to near where the Scenic Beauty Hill is, it advertised a price of 88rmb but they weren’t changing and I was able to walk straight in, no idea why. It’s nice to have a walk around but definitely not worth 88rmb. After I walked back down the main street and stopped off at the night market which is nice before making my way back to the hostel.

I had jetlag and my bed was comfy so I woke late, a new roommate had arrived during the night and we quickly made plans to do something together for the day. While I jumped in the shower she went to check a few things then we intended in having breakfast somewhere but she came back and asked if I wanted to go bamboo rafting, I said ok and she confirmed it. Then returned and said we would be leaving in 10 minutes! And that was my day planned.

We got picked up from the guesthouse and then had about an hour or so trip by bus towards Yangshou, the town I would be moving to the following day (note don’t make plans the second you get out of bed quickly). We then got on a bamboo raft (which wasn’t really bamboo it was plastic) and travelled down the river for 90minutes. The scenery was amazingly beautiful and the weather was perfect, it was definitely worth the trip. It was relaxing as there were only 4 per raft and you could just enjoy the views and take lots of photos : ) After the rafting we got taken to Yangshou to make our own way back to Guilin. It was now 3pm and we still hadn’t eaten so we headed down West Street which is a beautiful Chinese market street and found some good Chinese food before looking around the markets. It was then time to take the bus back to Guilin as it was dumpling making at 7 and we really wanted to make it back in time!

The bus trip was slow and traffic in China is a nightmare but we made it back just in time. We made dumplings stuffed with corn, pork, leek and some type of locus I think. They taught us how to roll the dough, stuff and fold them. Then they were steamed and eaten with chilli, mmm. Rolling them wasn’t east, but it was good fun watching everyone try. They are a traditional Chinese dish but you couldn’t really make only a few you would have to make a large batch, but there pretty easy to make and tasted delicious.

It was my last day in Guilin but I was in no rush to get to Yangshou so I walked down by the river. Most parks in China have an entry fee but you could walk down by the river on one side for free. It was a beautiful walk and so quiet but not far from the busy main street. After I stopped off at a noodle place hoping to eat noodles but instead I got the biggest plate of dumplings imaginable. I mean there delicious and I don’t mind eating them but I look forward to learning more Chinese so I can have what I want. I then picked up my bags and caught the bus to Yangshou, surprisingly easy considering how complicated it could be, after arriving I borrowed a guys phone who had also been on the bus to contact Bucklands. They came to pick me up from the bus station and were there in 15minutes (and that’s unheard of in Asia!)

I would be working for Bucklands for the next year but first I had a week of orientation and training to do before been sent to my school in Gansu, Northern China. They checked me into my hotel where I would be sharing a room with Melissa and Katie before we walked over to the office for paperwork. The paperwork was pretty simple and it gave me the rest of the evening to shower and organise my things.

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