Blogs from Yangshuo, Guangxi, China, Asia - page 2

Ces deux derniers jours, on a vécu des montagnes russes d’émotions! On trippe sur les paysages et les activités qu’on fait ici, mais maudit qu’on déteste l’ambiance générale axée sur le tourisme. Nous autres, on s’en sacre d’habitude que ce soit touristique. Ex à Santorini, en Grèce, c’était hyper touristique, bondé de monde, avec des serveurs qui essaient de t’attirer dans leur restaurant et des psychopathes à kodak partout. C’est la même chose dans certains quartiers de Paris, et à Barcelone, à New York, un peu partout, bref! Mais ici, le problème, c’est qu’on se sent comme des machines à cash et on a l’impression que les Chinois d’ici, ceux qui vivent du tourisme, sont tous arrangés ensemble pour nous vendre le plus possible, profiter de nous et nous donner les mauvaises infos. Il n’y a ... read more

Sunday 1st November 2015 We checked out of the apartment and flagged down a taxi at midday to take us 20 mins and £2.80 later to Chengdu East Railway station. Here we would board the train south to Guilin which would take 25 hours. We had 2 hours to wait in the train station, so stocked up on noodles and various other snacks to keep us fed and watered during the trip. We had a McDonald's lunch and when the time came to get the train we joined the queue of people at the ticket barrier for what we knew would be a mad rush. We don't really understand why, but despite people having reserved seats/beds which you have to have on this train, people went absolutely berserk rushing and shouting their way through the ticket ... read more

Am Donnerstag schlafe ich in Ruhe aus - schließlich regnet es heute und es ziehen dicke Wolken durch die Reisfelder. Ein schöner Anblick, auch wenn ich dem Abstieg im Dauerregen nicht mit Wohlwollen entgegen trete. Ich starte mit der französischen Truppe Richtung Bus, wo sich unsere Wege dann trennen werden. 9 Franzosen auf einen Haufen, das wird mir mit der Zeit zu anstrengend, auch wenn ich meine Sprachkenntnisse auffrischen kann. Der Busfahrer gibt auf dem Weg nach Yangshouh alles, um mich nah an den Rand eines Herzinfarktes zu bringen. Schließlich sind die engen Gebirgsstraßen nicht für Massentourismus ausgelegt. In Yangshou selber folge ich dem Tipp von Philipp und starte mein Hostelexperiment im 6 Betten Schlafsaal für 11 EUR für 2 Nächte. Ich teile mir das Zimmer mit zwei chinesischen Kletterern, die leider nicht so kommunikationsfreudig sind. ... read more

'One day it started raining, and it didn’t quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain… and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night...' - Forrest Gump The last few weeks have been pretty wet. Wet and hot. A guy at work told me the rain would last for 2 months. Ha I thought, no way. I come from England, 'I've seen proper rain. Turns out he was right. This time of year things get pretty moist. Still, the massive amounts of rain have been really watering the plants. Everything is getting really lush and green. The track I go running on has turned into a jungle. It's ... read more

The food here is both various and abundant. Wherever you are you can be sure there is somewhere to eat nearby. Whether it be from a dusty street food vendor selling dumplings and pastries, to full blown shiny restaurants complete with private rooms and revolving tables. There is something here for everybodys tastes. The range of cuisines I've found so far are; Chinese, Korean, Indian and Western. In fact some of the Western food is better than that found at home. I'm a big fan of the burgers at the Giggling Tree hotel just outside town by the Yulong river. That's not to say that the food isn't without its minefields. I'm a fan of chilllies and never shy away from the challenge of chucking a few in my mouth but every now and again one ... read more