Guilin Part 1

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Well every journey of however many miles begins with a single step. My step landed in a big puddle as I left my house for the train station this afternoon. Kunming is in the midst of its annual winter storm and I choose this fine occasion to leave the city for a few days. I had spent the morning running errands in a mixture of sleet, rain, and snow. Wind, too, of course. I went to my favorite bike shop and had a chat with my friend that works there while he added a luggage rack and mud guards to my newly acquired mountain bike. A friend of mine had recently gone back home and left me his Giant mountain bike free of charge. I had already installed disk brakes, a new crank set, bottom bracket, and other improvements before today's latest additions. A replacement tube and a lightweight hand pump rounded out the necessities. This bike is all set for some travel, and so am I. After the bike shop, I went to the supermarket to pick up some other necessities for the trip and got back home, had a shower, some lunch, and was off!

Where am I going? This trip is headed East to Guangxi province, Guilin county. I am in search of the back of the 20rmb note: the Li River amidst karst typography. Part of a UNESCO world heritage site (Kunming's Stone Forest is also a part of the same site), this trip promises to be yet another memorable exploration of China's fabulous natural splendor.

So, out my door and into the freezing rain of the early afternoon. Gortex coat and gloves, rain pants, gortex shoes and some new mud guards. I'm ready for anything. I made it to and through the station in record time. A fortunate thing as I was the last passenger to board the train before they closed the doors. I secured my bike and headed to my sleeping berth. I've got 5 college coeds that I'm forced to share accommodations with for the next 17 hours. What a drag! I somehow managed to lose the sandwich I had prepared amidst the hustle and bustle of the bureaucracy that has become Kunming railway station. Looks like an instant noodle dinner for me, which I will prepare soon. As for now, I have my bunk all situated, bags and bike stowed, dry clothes on, and am watching the world go by. The hills of Kunming have already leveled out a bit and are giving way to forests and farmland. The snow mixture has sprinkled a light powder on the pine trees; the ground being spared its own frosty coat until later in the evening. The farms are harvested for the year and the wheat and corn stalks are stacked and tied together into little huts reminiscent of a Monet painting. The train is full of students going home for winter vacation. Dozing, reading, or watching movies, the stress of another exam period relieved, another semester finished. The relaxing students along with the harvested crops, this train gives the warm, satisfactory feeling of a job well done. I share the feeling as I sip on my large can of German schwartzbier: my own reward for another semester finished; job well done. The snow is beginning to fall more heavily now and is beginning to stick to the ground as my train rumbles its way through the countryside. Dusk has arrived and daylight is fading fast. Tomorrow, the adventure begins.

Awake! 7am and the lights are flicked on and the chatter begins. I fell asleep around 9pm, so I don't really mind. Through the night, we lost about 2,000 meters of altitude. The snow has become rain again. Harvested fields are now filled with sugar cane. Villages of white, densely packed houses dot the landscape. All but one of my bunkmates have gotten off the train already. My stop is next. I'll be in Guilin in an hour.

Last on the train and last off. The logistics of the placement of my bicycle and the way a certain door swung open and closed made it difficult for me to get out. Nevertheless, I was out and riding into the Guilin morning. Rain of course greeted me upon exiting the train station. I headed first to my guesthouse that was warmly recommended on wikivoyage and Lonely Planet. I had some trouble navigating the town as Guilin is much smaller than Kunming. I kept missing my roads by several blocks, not realizing the streets that appeared large on my map were nothing more than two lane alleyways. Eventually, I found my guesthouse only to have it closed for renovations. Grumble. Back into the rain. Luckily I had planned for this kind of situation and had a second guesthouse lined up back near the train station. I arrived with little difficulty, as I already knew my way TO the train station. This guesthouse is nice. Courtyard, very friendly staff (overly so, one might say), warm, lively, and DRY. I decided to NOT opt for the dormitory today and got my own room and bathroom. After settling down, I got breakfast in the guesthouse and headed off for the day. The rain had lessened a bit, so I was back on my bike. I rode out to Reed Flute Cave just East of the town. A really impressive cave system with some of the tallest columns I've ever seen. Very spectacular actually. The cave was a guided tour (in Chinese), but the goofy names the Chinese give to the physical features of the cave are pretty easy to understand. "Lion Waterfall, Vegetable Garden, Angel Hair, etc." I met a girl about my age in the cave. Where else would one find girls? After our tour we wandered around the park next to the cave, and a mountain park farther down the road. The mountain park had a carved buddha (that you could touch!) that was over 1,500 years old. Yeah, I touched it. Perhaps the oldest man made object I've ever laid my hands on. It was nice to have someone to chat with for a while, but the best part of finding a friend on the road is that you can eat together. She used her phone to find out what and where we could eat. She found a restaurant serving the local specialties. We ate a big bowl of snails from the river, fried tofu, and some interesting small pies stuffed with vegetables. On paper doesn't sound so fantastic, but it was quite a good meal to us!

I will call it an early day as I plan to wake up early to catch the sunrise and head out to the next town. Let us all hope for sunny weather and a beeaaauuutiful sunrise!

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Photos

Haystacks
Speeding by the freshly harvested fields of Guangxi

Snowfall
The open plains on the Yunnan/Guangxi border

Bunkmates
College gals chatting away in the evening. No shortage of snacks

Western Mountain Park
Wandering through the big park at the center of town. Note the interesting landscape!

Dinner in Guilin
From left to right: Vegetable pies, Li River snails, and fried tofu

Comments

[Brooke]

Amazing!!
You are amazing michael!! I love your blog and share it with everyone I can!!! My kids read it, my parents!! Enjoy your journey and know that we are living it through you!!