A backpacker's paradise in China

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Hi again, and here is the rest as promised,
From Chengdu I had a flight to Guilin, near a nice town called Yangshou. Originally - a nice place to finish my trip. Eventually - the flight that marked the beginning of the rest of my trip. I left in Chengdu and in that area all the people I met at the beginning of the trip. They were all going to different places. I flew alone to a new place. From this point I am really on my own - either travel alone or with people I will meet along the way.
Yangshou is a good place to start - because it has many things to do and to see, and it's very organized and comfortable for tourists, even for the foreigners.
My first day wasn't that good. In Guilin I looked for the bus going to Yangshou, and a motorbike driver offered to take me to Yangshou for about the same price as the bus. I knew that in this area you ride around with these drivers, so i took him. He was driving around Guilin for a few minutes, going in circles, and I understood something is wrong. Then he stopped and pointed at a bus, and asked for his money. I started shouting at him that I am not paying for a ride around town, and that I could have found the bus by myself (no, I wasn't shouting in Chinese).
I took the bus to Yangshou, only to discover that it's so full with Chinese that it's hard to find a place to stay. There is a big Chinese holiday around May 1st (a real communist country), and all of them are traveling and doing shopping (a real communist country???).
It was very hot, and then it started raining, and I was walking around with all my stuff looking for a place to sleep. A great way to begin.
The next day I had to get away from the crowd. I took a bike and went to the village area around. At the beginning I was with all the other tourists riding their bikes, but about an hour away I was quite alone.
The area is amazing. There are two rivers here, with thousands of steep hills popping out of the ground. There are rice fields all over, and at this time they are filled with water and the farmers are sticking the little rice plants in the mud. I circled around for hours, from one village to another, crossing the river from side to side on bridges.
The villages are very small and poor, made of wood, stones, or mud bricks, and the scenery is amazing.
I was going on real roads first, then dirt roads, and even small paths that were too narrow for the bike.
The bike did OK all along, and only 5 minutes before I returned to town, already on the main road, I got a flat tire! Did the rest of the way walking...
After returning the bike I went along the river bank in town. There are local fishermen here who use cormorant birds for fishing - they put a metal ring around the bird's neck, and when the bird catches a fish it can't swallow it, and the fishermen takes it out. It became a tourist attraction to join these fishing rides, but I thought it was too cruel.
The next day was even hotter, and I was so tired and sun burnt because of the bike ride that I barely did anything. In the afternoon I took a boat ride down the river, which gave me a new angel of the hills. It was very nice. I discovered that I can look at this scenery for hours.
When we came back it started raining again, so I hid in a restaurant for dinner.
The town itself has many western restaurants and cafes, and even a western bar. There are many foreigners working here, and it's actually a very nice place for resting after a long and hard month of traveling. I decided to take it easy around here, rest for a while, eat well, and recharge for the next part of the trip. I also needed the time for planning that part, because I didn't come prepared for anything after Yangshou, so I had to read, talk to people, get some recommendations from home, etc.
If only there were less Chinese here...
R.

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Photos

A farmer walking his pet
This is the same path I was driving my bike on...

Working in the rice fields IV
Noticed that there are all women?

Comments

[Leslie]

Great Photos
I love your photos. I'm designing a nationwide elementary program/curriculum where kids are on a make-believe hike through asia: starting at rice fields and eventually hiking up the mountains. Do you care if I share your photos with groups of kids? All the best, Leslie

[R Eldar]

To Leslie
Hi. Please contact about this matter through "contact R-Eldar", which will send me a mail and will let us discuss it in private. Will be happy to assist, R.