Amazing limestone karst scenery around Yangshuo

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Day 424: Thursday 27th August - Travelling to Guilin

Normally you’re in a rush to get on the way when your day is going to be taken up travelling. After two days in Chengyang though I’m starting to get used to this slow, slow pace of life and just take my time to get ready and enjoy my last few hours in this beautiful village. At 10am, I catch the bus to Sanjiang where I must wait a further hour to catch a bus to Guilin. I feel like an exhibit in the zoo as I walk into Sanjiang’s bus station when dozens of eyes turn in my direction, intrigued by the white man! It is four hours in the bus to Guilin, which is still red hot even in the late afternoon.

I’ve come to Guilin solely to take a bamboo raft down the Li River to Yangshuo tomorrow. The hostel I check in at offers this trip which is decidedly cheaper than a tourist boat and I’m sure it will be quieter and be a better experience. If they didn’t offer the trip I would have gone straight to Yangshuo as Guilin offers nothing of interest. The surroundings are supposed to be beautiful, but the city itself is nothing special. Not that I take the bother to explore it, I basically head straight for the hostel and spend the rest of the evening there.

Day 425: Friday 28th August - Li River Cruise

I leave Guilin at just after 9am. The three other boys I’m sharing the dorm with are also doing the trip with me as well as another Englishman, Gary. The guys in the dorm are all studying together at Loughborough, so it’s 5 English men together on the boat. Before we get to the Li River we must first take a bus from Guilin to Chaoping. The boat described as a bamboo raft to us is slightly more sophisticated than that, being equipped with a motor, but it is a small vessel. There is just the five of us and the skipper.

The boat trip takes us from Chaoping to Xingping - the section of the Li River that is considered the most beautiful. Magnificent limestone karst peaks tower above the river as we float serenely downstream. I’ve seen limestone karst scenery throughout Asia so it doesn’t get an immediate reaction of ‘Wow’! However, the section between Yangdi and Xingping is simply amazing and is undoubtedly the pick of all of the limestone karst scenery I’ve seen. This boat trip is in many of the guides as one of the must do’s in China, and now I see why and I agree. For three and a half hours we’re on the boat, including a stop for lunch and time for a swim and for the skipper to catch a dead fish in the river and gut it in front of us! This scenery has been much copied - on paintings, on products and even on the 20 Yuan note because of its phenomenal beauty. I’m so pleased I decided to take one of the cheaper smaller boats, firstly because it’s the most relaxing way to do the trip, seeing the scenery at the pace it deserves to be seen and second because of the company on the way down the river.

At Xingping we get off the boat and transfer to a bus again which takes us the remainder of the journey to Yangshuo, albeit at an incredibly slow pace. I’ve already booked into a hostel in Yangshuo - Flowers the sister hostel of the one at Guilin - and the others have booked ahead also, but into a different hostel. Stupidly, I didn’t write down the address of the hostel and my guidebook hasn’t got it listed so I follow the others blindly hoping I will stumble across it. I don’t and I’m told it’s actually up by the bus station from where we’ve walked from. I agree to meet the others later in the evening and go off in search for the hostel. It takes me a while to find and tramping around Yangshuo in the mid afternoon heat and humidity with a heavy backpack is not recommended. My progress is not aided by a couple of guys on motorbikes who offer to take me there for 5 Yuan instead of doing the noble thing and pointing that it is around the corner. They get the evil eye when I realise and walk past them for a second time. If looks could kill!

The hostel in Yangshuo grows on me over my stay. Initially I’m not too impressed with the small communal area. However, the attentive, friendly and helpful staff win me over as do the many friendly Chinese backpackers who are staying here. They are really interested to hear my story and make me feel very welcome in their country.

I walk down to Xi Jie the main street in Yangshuo. It is known as ‘Foreigner Street’ but it has a very cosmopolitan feel and the Chinese tourists easily outnumber their western counterparts. It’s got a nice atmosphere despite being very touristy. The town is full of souvenir shops (although tastefully done) and restaurants which spill out on to the streets. I spot the Loughborough boys in a bar as I’m walking around and agree to meet them in half an hour after I’ve finished looking around town. The town also has a few canals running through it and I conclude that it would be a great place just to spend a few days in the cafes and bars reading a book. My plans are a little more energetic than that though.

I meet the Loughborough boys a little later as planned; Gary and another English guy join us also for dinner. Eating as a group is definitely the way forward in China as it allows you to sample so many more dishes and it also invariably ends up costing less. The food is excellent - duck, beef, pork, chicken and eggplant dishes along with the staple of rice and washed down with a couple of beers. After dinner, we walk through town in the hunt for establishments serving cheap beers. Prices vary wildly you can pay UK city prices in one bar and around the corner it is less than a pound for a big bottle. Needless to say we go for the latter option. We have a few games of dice whilst drinking which seems all the rage in China. But there’s no dancing, all the bars with the dance music are expensive for drinks so we have to make do with our dice!! It’s a good night and it’s been a great day. Nice lads, good food, a few beers, gorgeous weather and a dash of China’s magic, again its wonderful scenery.

Day 426: Saturday 29th August - More magic at the Impressions Liu Sanjie

With all this wonderful scenery surrounding Yangshuo it would be wasteful to sit in Yangshuo and enjoy its cafe and bar scene. If I had more time I would enjoy relaxing but with my flight to Japan only a week away and with Hong Kong and Macau still to pack in time is not on my side. My plan today is to hire a bike and cycle to Xingping. Xingping is 25 kilometres away and is where we got off the boat yesterday. After seeing the Li River between Chaoping and Xingping my idea is to see the section between Yangshuo and Xingping. The Dorset girls also spoke fondly of the time they spent in Xingping so I want to see it for myself.

As it happens the bike ride doesn’t take me along the Li River. Instead, after crossing the river just south of Yangshuo, the road heads east and away from the river for 8 kilometres to Fuli. There may be no river to look at but there is plenty of spectacular limestone karst peaks to avert your gaze from the road. From Fuli, the road heads north for another 17 kilometres passing numerous rice paddies and limestone peaks in the distance. This section is much quieter too, which makes the cycling more enjoyable. I pass through several villages on the way to Xingping, including one where a few men are washing a dog which they have clearly just killed. On the way back I see no dog, but in the same place I see plenty of chunks of meat. It’s a different world or a different culture that’s for sure!

It takes me two hours to reach Xingping and as soon as I get there I am hounded and followed by numerous local women trying to sell me a bamboo raft trip back to Yangshuo. Initially I encourage such attention as I’m interested in seeing the section of the Li River between Xingping and Yangshuo. Whilst it is not meant to be as stunning as the section we cruised along yesterday I bet it will be beautiful nonetheless. The sticking point is price. I have in my mind 50 Yuan (£5) but they won’t go below 130 Yuan no matter which woman I approach or how long I discuss it for. It’s a shame in one respect but I’ve done my cruise on the Li River and if I’m to do a second the price has to be right which it isn’t. I stop in Xingping to get refreshment and for a wander around but there’s nothing too much to detain me for long.

With the boat being too expensive, I now have to choose between getting the bus or cycling back. The bus will only be 7 Yuan (70 pence) but it feels like I’m cheating so I decide to cycle back. The scenery will be the same but it is beautiful scenery. The temperature is not conducive to doing a 50 kilometre round trip however as the mercury hits the high 30’s and the humidity is stifling too. I’m exhausted by the time I make it back to Yangshuo and well in need of a rest.

I’ve tentatively agreed to meet the rest of the boys at 5:30pm in the centre of town. I told them I was going to the Impressions Liu Sanjie show this evening but I’d meet them beforehand to check what they were doing. I wait for quarter of an hour but there’s no sign so I go to the bookshop instead to finally get a Mandarin phrasebook, get a Japan guidebook to finalise my Japan trip and do a book exchange. Not a wasted walk into town after all.

The show I go to later in the evening provides today’s magic. The show is set on the Li river, surrounding limestone peaks providing a natural amphitheatre for the sound and light show. Several hundred performers take part in the ‘folk musical’ in traditional dress. It is wonderfully choreographed and the hour long show is probably best described as magical. Definitely a must do if you’re in Yangshuo. The 160 Yuan (£15) entrance fee may seem a bit steep but I thought it was worth every penny.

Day 427: Sunday 30th August - A balloon ride, a television interview and ending up upside down in a heap in a rice paddy

It’s an early start for me today. I have to be up at 5am as I booked a hot air balloon ride yesterday. I’ve done a hot air balloon ride before but the urge to do another was resistless as I want to see this incredible scenery from a different angle. I have an image in my head from a BBC show on China which may or may not have been filmed on the Li River but the scenery looks very similar and their overhead shots, presumably from a helicopter were something else.

The balloon ride is good value for money. 500 Yuan (£45) is money well spent to see the full panorama of the limestone scenery. Seeing the peaks at dawn is an amazing experience. The only downside is that the weather doesn’t behave 100% and after the sunrise it remains cloudy. To see the same view on a clear, sunny day would have been truly unbelievable. Nevermind, I am just grateful for having another special experience. After an hour in the hot air balloon we land safely where upon a TV crew from Yangshuo TV descends on our group and wants to interview us. I’m up first, answering the unexciting questions in a dull manner. I wish I had something more exciting to say but at 7am my brain is not fully awake and switched on. Still, I could be on TV as a promotional tool for Guanxi tourism!

I go back to bed for an hour when I get back to the hostel. It could and should have been more but my Chinese room mates are leaving and I wake up with all the activity. It is probably for the best as I’ve got another day of cycling planned today. I check out myself and then hire a bike again for the day and set off north-west along the main artery to Guilin, turning off the highway at Baisha, 9 kilometres north of Yangshuo. Women on bikes seem to appear on my shoulder everytime I need to question directions. I cycle for a further 2 kilometres and come to the Dragon bridge which crosses the Yulong River. I soon figure out why the women kept appearing - they want me to do a bamboo raft trip down the river! However, I want to cycle alongside the Yulong River which is supposed to be as scenic as the Li River in its own right. I choose the west bank so cross the river where I pick up a dirt track.

The dirt track is bumpy, and as I’ve opted for a cheap and cheerful bike rather than a mountain bike my ride is a bit uncomfortable. The dirt track soon disappears and I find myself amongst rice paddies and fields of crops. I have to dismount my bike as it is impossible to continue to ride. This can’t be the right path can it? I get sick of pushing my bike so I get back on it to ride on the narrow walls between the rice paddies. This proves to be the wrong decision, as barely a minute later I am lying on my back in the bottom of a dry rice paddy, staring up as my bike hovers on the embankment 5 feet above me cursing my inability to stay on the narrow path. Yet another fateful bike ride, I reckon 50% of the time I get on a bike something happens! I push/carry my bike through several fields before I eventually find the dirt track again. I follow the dirt track for a few kilometres southeast until it turns into a smoother road which ends at a ferry crossing.

The ferry crossing is a frustrating experience. Cycling along the Yulong River alongside rice paddies, surrounded by limestone peaks has if anything been better than yesterday but even though I’m relaxed I can’t help but get annoyed by the crossing. The Yulong River must be less than 10 metres wide at this point. I could swim across if I didn’t have my bike and my bag, but I do so I can’t. Three Chinese men are sitting waiting opportunistically on my side of the river in the event of any tourists wanting to cross. The price is whatever they say which happens to be 10 Yuan (£1) for a journey on the raft which takes all of a minute.

On the east bank of the Yulong River I follow the road along the river until it links up with the main road again. At this point despite being tired after cycling about 25 kilometres today already I decide that with only another 2 kilometres to go to Moon Hill that I should really make the effort. Moon Hill is a limestone pinnacle with a moon-shaped hole in it. The view from the top is incredible. I have to earn this view though. On top of the approaching 30 kilometres of cycling, I have to climb over 1000 steps up to the top. I am knackered by the time I get there and give a Chinese couple short shrift when they ask me to take a photo of them. I soon recover to take the photo and enjoy the amazing view. At the time I was thinking the climb wasn’t worth it but in hindsight it definitely was. From Moon Hill it is 10 kilometres back to Yangshuo. I’m wrecked but I still manage to pass all the Chinese tourists who cycle at a very relaxing pace and without any care to what could be coming behind them!

After resting from a 40 kilometre cycle today to go on top of yesterday’s even longer one, I venture in to town to get a bite to eat. I’m hoping to bump into the boys but no such luck. It would be nice to get a drink with them before I leave later this evening on the night bus. Yesterday was never really going to work out with my plans being as they were and it didn’t really matter but tonight is different. As I can’t find them I sample Yangshuo’s speciality on my own. Yangshuo’s speciality is beerfish. Now I like fish and I like beer so it has to be a given that I’ll like beerfish! The meal doesn’t disappoint when I eventually pick a restaurant, it’s tasty and the portion is huge but I do get a surprise when the bill is more than I expected.

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