Yangshuo China

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Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last entry, and I've more than I can possibly put into words. It all begins with a 24 hour "soft-sleeper" train ride from Shanghai to Guilin. If you've never ridden a Chinese style train, you're in for a treat! There are different comfort levels: hard-sleeper=dormitory style with plywood bunkbeds. Softsleeper=private 4 berth room with a relatively softer bed. While the train is rolling along, you have snack carts going up and down the isle offering everything from fresh fruit to hot Chinese style meals for the cost of $2! Well worth the experience! Heading from Shanghai to Guilin is similar to That of a New Yorker heading south to Florida, but without the retirement community and add some mind bending geography....In guilin we then boarded a tourist boat for a 4 hour cruise down the famous Li River en route to the Karst Region where amazing Limestone Pinnacles that were shaped by glaciers many millenium ago jut out of the landscape. The photos speak for themselves, but they do NOT do it justice. You just cannot imagine how "surreal" this landscape is in person. I suppose that the myths and legends of ages past can play into the mystique, however, taken on face value it is extremely dramatic, to put it mildly.

We arrived in the ancient town of Yangshuo, which is endowed with thousand year old cobblestone streets, and original Chinese architecture which has been preserved through the centuries, to thier benefit. The locals have learned the value of tourism and have adjusted their lives to hospitality and made real effort to smile and say "hello!" There are many western style cafes and shops, however the Chinese flavor lingers where ever you go, and you can find specialty Yangshuo noodle shops wherever you go in this town.
The next day Lillian and I rented mountain bikes and trekked out to the countryside on old cow trails and to see what type of trouble we could rouse. The countryside is filled with all types of orchards; lime; another fruit of which I cannot recall is a giant citrus the size of a human head, persimmon, pomegranate. We were able to rouse very little trouble with the laid back Chinese country folk. In fact they were downright accommodating to us "foreigners" (as they refer to us) and were happy to guide us back to the correct path any time we became lost.
We happened across a small village beside the river with an ancient bridge connecting the other side. It was a slow moving river with a beautiful jade glow to it, and deep! I couldn't resist jumping in and cooling off, since it was a hot and humid day.
A totaly of four days and nights in Yangshuo flew by like a dream, and I am now in a small ancient fishing village of XingPing about 17 miles upriver from Yangshuo. This is a less touristy spot and more of a gateway to hiking and rockclimbing (western tourist attractions) which slims down the souvenir crowds quite a lot!
I've checked into This Old Place Hostel and enjoying a nice mellow evening of internet "catch up."

I love you all and miss you and wish you could be here (cliche, I know) but its true!
Enjoy the photos!
Danny boy

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Photos

Local ginger candy
Kind of like the taffy makers in the U.S. but all by hand!

Karst Pinnacle
Early morning trek up one of the local Pinnacles

Riverside Village
This is where I jumped into the river and cooled off.

Rural Chinese Life
Life goes on for the farmers, as the world develops.

Local machinery
Funky jelopy. These old things are all over the place here in Southern China!

Brand New Freeway
very cool freeway embankment. The Chinese don't mess around, they build things to last a thousand years!