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Published: July 13th 2006
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We've covered very little ground since our last update, but we fear that our route over the next seven to ten days may take us past very few modern luxuries, let alone an internet connection. Although we have not travelled very far from Guangzhou, as the crow flies it's probably only a couple of hundred kilometers (or just round the corner in Chinese terms), we have used just about every method of transport imaginable, and seen the landscape turn from the industry and wealth of southern Guangdong, to the "other-worldly topography" of Guilin and Yangshuo.
We travelled from Guangzhou to Guilin on an over night bus, which is always a bit of a lottery in China. There are various thing running through your mind as you approach the departure stand: is it going to be a rickety old minibus with over-sized tractor tyres? Will we once again have been allocated the back row with the vertical back rests, and leg room scarcely ample enough for a small child? How many people will be smoking on the bus? Will this one have suspension? I'm sure you get the picture. And so we could hardly believe it when we were welcomed at the
door of our coach-liner by a smartly dressed, smiling stewardess(!) and shown aboard to our leather reclining chairs! Okay, we probably should have guessed from the relatively expensive ticket that there was going to be a bit of a bling element to this bus trip, but price is not normally a good indicator of quality in China (we refer in particular to admission fees in this regard), and this did seem very out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, in China, you can lead a good bus to a highway, but you can not make it travel quickly! What was scheduled to be an eight hour overnight haul, arriving in Guilin at 9am, turned into a 13 hour gruel-athon. By the time we arrived the bus had been somewhat de-blinged by its occupants, and we were more than happy to see the back of it.
We stayed in a cracking hostel in Guilin (Flowers YH), just across from the train station which was very convenient for getting around Guilin and the countryside, but we did experience our first problem with booking a room since we've been in China. Perhaps it is because we are now getting further into July, or it could
be that Guilin is heavilly over-run with tourists anyway, but the usual experience of being able to see pretty much the entire hostel/guesthouse and choose where we thought was best, was replaced with having to take it or leave it - the cheek! The room was fine, but when things are that busy, it seriously undermines your bargaining power.
Guilin is a relatively small city, and has a few nice parks, but it is more famous for its situation, surrounded by karsk lanscape and bisected by the Li river. The Chinese love this place, and are extremely proud of its influence over artists and poets. We can't say that we fell in love with the place (perhaps due to our tiredness from the bus saga, or maybe because it rained pretty heavily), but the hostel was a very relaxing place to be, and we met a few nice people.
Alasdair perhaps had a bit more of a bitter impression of Guilin, which unfortuanately followed him onto Yangshuo. Whether or not is was merely bad luck, or a representation of the area, we found ourselves on the receiving end of some pretty underhand, yet bare-faced, treatment from local tourist poachers. This
kicked off as soon as we stepped off the bus in Guilin and had to pay Y15 for a 5 minute taxi ride, because the lady refused to put the meter on, as did all the other taxis in that area. Compare this with a 20 minute taxi ride the next day for Y5. In near perfect symmetry, when we were catching the bus to Yangshuo we were hawked outside the train station and initially had Y20 per person bawled at us before another operator yelled Y15 and snatched the money out of Alison's hands before literally shoving us onto the bus - we saw every other local pay Y6 when on board. When the bus finally trundled into Yangshuo we were bundled off the bus, not at the bus station, but at a main intersection where we were pounced upon by an eager hotel rep. We agreed that we would go and JUST LOOK at what he had to offer, which he promised was on Xi Jie, the main tourist street. He arranged a pick up on the back of a motorcycle/army van and off we went. His hotel was pretty dingy and we decided to look elsewhere. At
this point he truned a bit nasty and insisted we paid for the transport. Obviously we refused and his response was to wish us bad luck in Yangshuo. Slightly rocked by this we trudged off to see if we could find some places we had been recommended. This was when we realised we were nowhere near Xi Jie, and had been taken for a ride for the third time since arriving in the vicinity of Guilin.
Fortunately, none of these experiences in themselves are particularly serious. Nobody got hurt, and the upshot was that we paid a bit too much (50p?) and got very hot and sweaty stomping through Yangshuo. However, each of these experiences chips away at the trust and confidence we have built up towards travelling in China and dealing with the local people. If we cast our minds back to when we first arrived in Beijing, everyone was a potential con-artist, thief or would be scoundrel, because that is a fairly natural response when you first leave your home and travel to strange, far off lands. Since then we have come to trust China enormously, and rely on the kindness and sincerity of its people, believing that
we are treated fairly, and somewhat equally. We have to say that Guilin and Yangshuo disappointed us in this respect. In fairness, these do seem to have been isolated incidents, and in the past two days we have once again been received by wonderful people, and have had no reason to doubt them, but we probably still need a bit of time to replenish our trust to what it was before.
Yangshuo certainly lives up to its billing as a traveller's Mecca, and also a base from which to see some of the most spectacular scenery that might exist anywhere. Much to Alasdair's delight the best way to explore the countryside is by bike, but to his equal horror this meant having to compromise the level of bicycle he has become accustomed to! Nevertheless, the bikes were ridable, and we headed off into the Karst countryside for an unforgettable journey. The first day we cycled out to Moon Hill with Carrie and Carolin, two friends we had made in Guilin. It was a gentle cycle out, followed by a short but steep hike up to the hill itself from where we got an excellent view of the surrounding countryside. Alasdair
and Carrie did some excellent bartering for some Chinese hats to get us in the mood and they certainly seemed to provoke a reaction! We were accompanied to the top of Moon Hill by our "little old Chinese-lady support team" (as was everyone else!) eagerly trying to sell us drinks along the way, but they were really kind and provided us with some added amusement on the way down as they grappled to help us young things down the slippy steps! Very impressive. Our journey home was a bit more adventurous as we strayed off track and ended up tramping through rice terraces and getting a bamboo raft across the river before arriving in Yangshuo in the dark and torrential rain - the hats we bought earlier that day certainly came in useful! The next day, we hired some better bikes and headed off alongside the Li river for a longer cycle. The scenery was stunning and we were virtually alone as we trundled along the riverside tracks, save for the few villagers and workers we passed on our way. By contrast, this was a scorcher of a day and being on a bike was a real blessing as it
provided a bit of a breeze, however the heat and humidity soon began to take their toll and after four hours cycling we were exhausted and ready for some serious air-con! We are now preparing to leave Yangshuo and head north to Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces from where we should be able to head out on a few different trails. From there we are looking into entering Guizhou province the hard way (fancy that!) - how this actually pans out, remains to be seen!
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iain C
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hi alasdair, alison, i'm liking your choice of Hats, very stylish. enjoying reading the updates on the trip, it looks amazing all the best iain,