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Published: November 9th 2006
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Rice paddies of Yangshuo
Just one of the beautiful views en route to the Yulong River on bicycle Well, my entree into mainland China was both interesting and exciting.
Travel advice from Hong Kong with regards to any travel except flying was minimal so I arrived at Shenzhen (the border of Hong Kong and mainland China) a little after midday in the hope of getting an overnight train or bus to Yangshuo.
And I should have studied up on my mandarin before getting here.......unfortunately, I still have Arabic floating through my brain so trying to ask for a ticket and what time I will arrive at my destination was all too much. Thankfully there were a few bilingual Chinese passengers to help me out with my bus ticket. As time has gone by since then, I have started to remember and learn phrases that get me by. In particular, I have become addicted to milk tea (nai cha - like the 'bubble cups' you can get in Oz with beads in the bottom) so I have even managed the full sentence of "I would like milk tea".
Anyway, back to the story...After a long wait, and meeting 2 lovely girls from Switzerland , the sleeper bus left at 7:30pm
Yulong River
Bamboo rafting down the river bound for Yangshuo. I won't mention the one toilet break en route - best left unspoken and to your own imagination as to what passes for an adequate toilet in China - I arrived in Yangshou at 7 am. As mentioned in my hostel host's email to me, there were plenty of touts pretending to be him at the bus stop, scamming, trying to get weary travellers to their hostels whilst posing as my host! I called Wei and was picked up several minutes later by the bona fide host. And did I select well!?! Wei and his wife gave me breakfast on arrival and had my room ready for me to sleep away the morning. I explored the township in the afternoon, including having the first of three 2 hour massages of my stay (just amazing and sooooooo cheap - less than AUS$20), and returned for dinner at 6:30 pm.
After all my talk of becoming a vegetarian in China to avoid the pig meat issue (I really do not like any form of pig meat - pork, ham, bacon) and also learning the Chinese characters for the same, my resolve was broken on day 1 in China.
Moon Hill
Looking down from the top.... Wei's wife and sister-in-law had cooked up heaps of food for dinner which included several pork dishes. What was I to do? My mother had taught me to eat what was put in front of me - so I did! At least in Chinese dishes, the taste and smell of searing pig flesh is masked in the fantastic sauces and spices.
So what else did I do in Yangshuo?
Well, the town had everything. I......
* Hired a bicycle and explored the local rice paddies
* Travelled down the Yulong river on a bamboo raft
* Cruised up and down the beautiful Li River
* Walked to Moon Hill for a great view over the local area
* Watched cormorant fishing - not at all pleasant but I just wanted to see the ancient art in action. For those of you who don't know, it involves cormorants having a band tied around their necks so that they cannot swallow their catch, instead the fisherman capture them and have them give up their fish.
* Went to a local market and really enjoyed being the only foreigner there. Lots of cute 'hellos' from little kids which made a
Yangshuo
One of the more touristy streets in town. great and welcome contrast from the 'hellos' I had received in Egypt! The lowlight of the visit was having my backpack zips opened by a pickpocket within 30 seconds of my arrival. Thankfully, no loss for me as I no longer carry anything of value that is accessible in my pack. The would-be thief got a big glare from me and walked off, and my backpack became a front pack for the remainder of my visit.
That's about it for Yangshuo. Definitely a place I could stay in for a lengthy period of time and never tire of it and one I would recommend all travellers to China visit.
My next major stop was to be Lijiang in Yunnan province so I first had to travel to Guilin to get there. One day in Guilin was plenty. I wandered about town and the Seven Peak Scenic area - pretty but not worthy of a long visit.
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Simone
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Great times in china?
Hi Merryn, Great stories..and pics. China looks beautiful. I was just wondering how you were doing in china...but it seems that you get along just fine (and how is you're chinese now? lost you're arabic?) I'm already home for several weeks and everything is back to normal again...and i miss the travelling a lot (and it is cold!! it is freezing at night..very nice!) Enjoy the last part of you're trip because before you know it you're back at work and wondered if you did al that traveling or that it was just a dream (but luckely you have you're pictures). Well have fun and enjoy everything!..and thanks again for the nice time in Hong Kong. greeting, Simone