The End of My Adventure...For Now.

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Hello everyone! Once again, it's been a while. I've now been back in the US for just over a week (it feels like longer) and I really need to finish this last update before I forget all the details! So, in my last post, I left off right before my mother and I headed for Guilin.

So we arrived early in the morning in Guilin and took a shuttle into town. After getting off the shuttle (which didn't drop us off at our hotel) we discovered that some of the taxi drivers in Guilin have a bit of a 'cabbie's union' sort of deal going on. We quickly learned that in order to get a cabbie that uses a meter, and not a flat rate, you need to flag one down from the street. Any cabbie that is parked on the sidewalk and is trying to get you to take his cab will charge a flat rate and will not negotiate. Lesson learned! While my guidebook had warned us about the cabbies' aggressiveness, this important lesson was excluded. So be warned!

Guilin's natural beauty is stunning, but so is its poverty. Guilin, even more so than Shanghai, is a city being built from the ground up. Only recently (the past 15 years or so) has Guilin been on the radar of tourists, so it is still going through a heavy overhaul to make it more tourist friendly. My mother, not wanting to take chances in Guilin, booked us a room at one of the better hotels in town- the Sheraton. I recommend it to anyone who can afford it. There are many sketchy parts in Guilin, and having a nice hotel to come back to is comforting. I also ran into my classmate, Jason, again. He was also staying at the Sheraton. The first day we were in Guilin, we just hung out in town and checked out the shopping and night markets.

On our second day in Guilin (we had 2 full days, 3 nights) we took a tour group to Longji, where the mountain rice terraces are located. When we first arrived in Guilin, there was a booth at the airport that arranged tour groups. These groups were run by the local government and were cheaper than any of the hotel tours. We know this because they happened to have all the brochures from the local hotels. Very handy. So the tour was about 400 RMB, half the price of our hotel’s price. So, when we got picked up the next day, it turned out we were the only ones signed up for the tour, so we got a private tour, with a private van, and a private guide. It was fantastic. The trip to the mountain terraces was about 2 hours, and was definitely worth it. Despite being asked by everyone we met, my mom and I did not go to Guilin for the river cruise (like everyone else who goes to Guilin). We went for the terraces. Everyone seemed confused by this, but yes, the terraces were our goal. The terraces looked amazing on the Discovery channel, so we had to see for ourselves! While there, we very coincidentally met a family from our hometown. They live about 2 miles away from us back in the US! What are the odds?? I find myself saying that a lot here in China, but that’s because crazy stuff like that always seems to be happening!

Anyway, the view was amazing. The hike up the hill was a bit strenuous in the heat, but if the hike is a problem, you can always pay willing and able-bodied locals who will carry you up in a rickshaw. Not only that, but there is an awesome hillside village nestled into the side of the mountain at the top. There are many hotels, and there is a continuous line of locals carrying up the luggage of hotel guests. Talk about being fit! It was hard enough with just the heat, so I can’t imagine hauling other peoples’ stuff up the side of the mountain. The heat, our tour guide explained, was part of the reason why we had the tour to ourselves. The main travel season to Longji is in April and May, when it is cooler, but there is a downside. The rice patties are not filled with water until June-ish, and the water makes the view much better. The sun reflects off of the water and makes the patties beautiful.

Also, before arriving at the patties, as part of the tour, we went to a small village where the girls never cut their hair. Except at age 18, they continuously grow their hair. There are three ways they wear their hair, with the use of a hair scarf, that show whether they are either single, married, or married with kids. They also have large earrings that they wear since the day they get married. After a very cheesy performance, the girls finally let down their hair for photos. It’s incredible to imagine how heavy their hair must be!

On our second full day in Guilin, we took it easy and just toured around town. We went to the Reed Caves, where locals once took shelter during bombings during the World War. The caves were lit up with all sorts of cheesy colored lights, which normally I would be against, but they definitely made for better pictures. We hired a cab to get us there, and because it was out of town and we didn’t want to get caught in another ‘cabbie union’ trap (being stuck at the whims of corrupt cabbies!) we paid him to wait one hour. It came out to the equivalent of $3. Not bad. Definitely worth not having to worry about how we would get back to the hotel. If you’re planning on traveling around Guilin without a tour guide, knowing some Chinese is a necessity. After the caves, we went to Elephant Rock park and walked around. Then in the evening we watched an underwhelming water show behind our hotel, near the night markets.

The next day we took a plane back to Shanghai. And with perfect timing, my mother got a little sick. Thankfully, being on the last leg of our trip, it wasn’t a big deal. We stayed at the Shanghai Classical Hotel this time, which is located next the Yu Garden Bazaar. It was a lot of fun being near the bazaar, where we could spend lots of time wandering around and buying last-minute souvenirs. On our second to last day, we went into the Yu Gardens themselves and walked around. We eventually got chased out by the rain, though.

I really don’t know how to sum up my four months in China. And really, it makes me a little sad thinking about it like that. This is not something I want to (nor can I) sum up and put a pretty bow on. My trip to China has been an incredible adventure that has allowed me to experience many new things (good and not-so-good) and learn so much. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to share my experiences and stories with all of you and I thank you all for taking the time to read my blog! I hope you have all likewise enjoyed reading my blog!

And to answer a few frequently-asked questions, yes, I miss China terribly. For the most part. And yes, I have already acclimated back to my US lifestyle. And yes, I will definitely go back, but not in the near future. It’s time to finish up my studies and figure out what to do with all that I’ve learned in China!

Thank you everyone for reading my blog and supporting me through my adventure!!!! I hope that not too much time will pass before I can next entertain everyone with my experiences from abroad!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, let me know!

(This was published June 27th, but labeled as June 10th, so it will be included in my China 'trip' catagory!)

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Photos

River
In front of our hotel

Suspension Bridge
Leading to the village of the long-haired women

Chickens
These cute little guys were everywhere

Long Hair
Only married women are allowed to let others see their hair. Single women must save their hair for their future husbands

Comments

[Fritz Perry]

Enjoyed your blog
Hi Meg, I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed traveling with you via your blog. Well done! Fritz

[Stephanie]

Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your experience with me. It will likely be the only way I will get to see and know China.

[Chrissy]

Meg your blog has been entertaining and insightful. Thanks so much for sharing! I'm sure you've learned and grown much more than you can express here but what you have written shows a nice slice-of-life representation of your time abroad. Cheers to you : )