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Published: July 27th 2009
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Finding the
express bus in Guilin to Yangshuo was very easy. Within 15 minutes the bus left after it was completely stacked with people. Even the Chinese people became really angry with the driver that they had to pay and could not have a seat in the bus. 1 ½ hours later, a tout tried to sell me all kind of tours. I memorized all the prices, but then I had to insist that he would take me to my hostel first before I would decide a tour.
The hostel,
the Giggling Tree, is situated almost 5 kilometres from the city centre on the country side. It is a beautiful place between the
Karst Mountains and the rice fields, truly relaxing... I arrived there around 9 am, so I could not get into the room yet. I went on bike to the city centre, tried to arrange a boot trip on the most beautiful part of the Li river, and went to explore the village. At first, I thought it was a very nice town. But within 20 minutes it became clear that everything is fake and put together for the tourists. It made me really glad that I’m staying
in a hostel on the country side!
Next, I took a bus to Xing Ping, got on a little boot and explored the Karst Mountains from the
Li River. I liked it a lot, but after an hour or so, I got quite bored with it, because you cannot do more than sit and watch the scenery. So in the end I fell asleep...
When I returned on bike to the Giggling Tree on the super mud street, I noticed that it should have been raining a lot, and it turned out it did. Luckily, I did not had any rain! After diner, I went to the local show put together by a famous guy. There were hundreds of actors playing in the show and it looked immense. Chinese, however, walk around, shout, talk, take phone calls, and leave before the end of the show. Very funny to experience...
The next day started with the eclipse (in Shanghai was a total eclipse, but not in South China). Next I was picked up together with a couple from Amsterdam to go for my
cooking class! We started at the local market, where a fourth person joined us (another
The Giggling Tree
Very nice hostel/ guesthouse 3 km outside of touristic Yangshuo Dutch girl). There we could ask about all the veggies we saw and how they are prepared. The barking dog (we didn´t go to see it) and the other animals still alive where of course also part of the Chinese market experience. In the class itself, our teacher showed us how we had to cut and wok everything. In the end -of course - we ate our self prepared meal. And I have to say: it was delicious! I hope I will be able to redo everything when I get home in more than three months.
In the afternoon, I went with someone from the hostel to the famous
Moon Hill by bike. It was a nice bike ride and walking up the stairs up to Moon Hill in the heat wasn´t easy, but the view was worth it. On the way back, the sunset looked beautiful. When we passed some kind of lookout, when went on it. There we found six professional photographers that hired a bamboo rafter that posed for them. The reflection of it in the water made it a picture perfect!
The day after, I was picked up at 5:20 for a
hot air balloon trip. The ride to the starting point was made in complete dark, but there were already many people walking there water buffalo to the fields. To see it getting lighter and lighter was very pretty. I found the trip in the balloon very scary at first. It keeps going up and down and there is nothing below the basket.... But after a while I got used to it. The scenery was beautiful! Seeing all those mountains from above was a very nice experience. Also seeing another balloon get stuck on a hill and the clash of our balloon with another was very special... Later on I heard that the Chinese company had had many small incidents this year. I am very glad I didn´t hear that beforehand! The rest of the day I planned to do a long bike ride, but in the end I just wanted to relax and I only went to town to be able to pay my bill when would leave. The environment around the Giggling Tree is so beautiful that it is a perfect place to indeed do nothing!
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Luc
non-member comment
WHAAAH, wat vet!
Holy shit Tessa, je hebt echt mooie foto's erbij zitten!! En die ballonvaart... ik heb 2x een ballonvaart gedaan, supergaaf hoor, maar in zo'n omgeving waar jij zit verpletteren jouw foto's mijn herinneringen. Blijf genieten daar!