Blogs from Bei Hai, Guangxi, China, Asia

Beihai was once among the ranks of legendary beaches in the world with its sparkling silver sand that was so loose you would sink a little into the beach every time you took a step. Stories have been told where the beach was once so clean that on a sunny day, the beach would be so bright from the reflecting sun rays that everyone would have to wear a pair of sunglasses just to be able to see. A crowd as legendary as New York City's Times Square would be sitting with umbrellas propped up in the sand and people would swim in the ocean that was so clean you could see the sand 50 feet down. Alas, these stories were from ten years ago when times were simpler and pollution hasn't peaked yet. The Beihai ... read more

When we last made a blog entry we were on our way to a local shopping district in Guilin, the Le river had flooded parts of the city and all river cruises were called off. We did indeed go to a local shopping area. Very interesting as not many tourists and many locals around. It was like a giant flea market. It was fun to meet and try to speak with the local folks. We stayed there about an hour or so and then headed to lunch. We had a nice meal ( the food in Guilin really has been the best) and then we went to a tea plantation. On the way our guide “Lewis” presented each girl with a small gift. He was so taken by our girls because they are from the same ... read more

Obwohl ich schon fast drei Monate in China unterwegs bin, fuhr ich an jenem Tag zum ersten Mal in der billigsten, der Hardseat-Klasse, weniger weil ich dafür zu bequem wäre (die alten Reisebusse in Sichuan waren wesentlich unbequemer), als vielmehr weil ich bisher meist in Nachtzügen unterwegs war und ich mich dann doch lieber in der Horizontalen befinde, um wenigstens etwas Schlaf abzubekommen. Die Fahrt nach Beihai dauerte aber nur zweieinhalb Stunden, so dass das kein Problem darstellte. Beihai bedeutet wörtlich Nordsee, wobei in diesem Falle eher "nördlich der See" gemeint ist. Beihai liegt im Süden der Provinz Guangxi und ist unter Chinesen ein beliebtes Reiseziel für den Sommer. Jetzt im Winter ist hier tote Hose, obwohl es immer noch Temperaturen hat, die an der deutschen Nordsee auch als sommerlich durchgehen würden. Die Nebensaison hatte den ... read more

Moving day. The maid at the hotel had woken us up by banging on the door. Probably just as well, as we were up until 5am watching football. We had to catch the ferry to Hainan at 6pm, so we dumped our bags at reception, and took the bus into the 'centre' of Bei Hai. We found a bite to eat at a massive food hall (point to it and it comes; great for us), and then spent the afternoon walking around and using the internet. We caught the bus back to the hotel in time for a quick game of ping pong, and headed for the ferry terminal. We loaded up with instant noodles (very traditional for locals i assure you) and got on the ferry. After being hassled into staying at the ***** part ... read more

Apres 3 jours fort sympathiques a Yangshuo, nous voila partis en bus de nuit pour Beihai sur la cote, d'ou nous voulions prendre un bateau le soir meme pour Haikou, capitale de l'ile d'Hainan. Nous arrivons donc a 6h du mat' a Beihai, ou un taxi nous dit qu'on trouvera jamais de ticket pour Hainan a cause des vacances, mais nous emmene quand meme a l'agence. La on attend l'ouverture a 7h, ou on nous confirme effectivement que tous les bateaux sont pleins jusqu'au 5 mai, dans 3 jours. Comme Beihai n'est pas une ville des plus jolies et palpitantes, ca ne nous interessait pas trop de rester 3 jours ici. Le taxi nous proposait de passer par une agence de voyage et acheter un ticket a 560yuan, soit 56E, un peu trop cher pour ... read more