Blogs from Yangshuo, Guangxi, China, Asia - page 46

It is hard to put everything I see, hear, taste and experience into words. I went for a 'hair wash' yesterday. My hair was washed while sitting in the chair opposite the mirror, I received a wonderful head and neck massage for about 20 minutes then I was headed over to the wash basin where I lay down on a comfy leather bed with my head on a leather pillow inside the wash basin, the shampoo and condition was rinsed out and afterward I was asked how I would like my hair blowdried.. $3 and 45 minutes later my hair was so soft and beautiful. We have been told that the best way to settle into our new homes and not go into too much 'Culture Shock' is to set a routine as early as possible.. ... read more

Today I got out and did one of the things I was really looking forward to in Yangshuo - Rock Climbing! In yet another amazing coincidence, I was left a short comment on this blog by a poster jess tipping me off to a great climbing company known as Xclimber, noting that for a real challenge, I should get to the cliffs. Little did they know, I had booked a half-day climb with the same company only 2 hours beforehand! Craziness. Now to the climb. I arrived at Xclimber at 10am, ready to get to work. I was to be joined today by a slightly older man, who sat quietly on a couch inside with a look of doom plastered across his face. I gave him a Hello, responded immediately by a rather quivering Hola. My ... read more

Somebody has to be up there planning these things... Following my death-defying motorcycle down to Yangshuo, I awoke the next morning with a sense of both excitement and confusion. I was ready to get out and explore the area, but hadn't done much research and didn't know where to head first. So I didn't. Instead, I enjoyed a fine chocolate banana pancake and yogurt muesli at the aptly named Minnie Mao's Cafe. Breakfast, though not quite a pancake, just can't get much better when dining on a small lakefront with an overarching karst peak sitting directly behind. I strolled town for the remainder of the morning, shopping for cheap hotel rooms and what not. It is the off-season down here, and therefore a deal is to be had at every corner. Quite literally too, as every ... read more

Took a bike ride today, in the opposite direction as yesterday. Road through a bunch of little villages, and farm land. The farmland is impressively groomed, clean, well taken care of. The villages are dirty, garbage alll around, generally uncared for. A weird disconnect there to me, but I guess to them the priority is the fields. It was another sunny nice day, a perfect day for a ride. Got a flat tire on the way back, but managed to find a few places with bike pumps along the way, it usually lasted a half hour or more before needing to be pumped up. Tough being without my tools! Could have made some adjustments on the bike, like tightening the seat. But it was in good shape overall. Had a good lunch at a river village, ... read more

Finally I am in Yangshuo! Great place, beautiful karst peaked scenery, river, and farms. I'm staying at the Yangshuo Culture House, a place run by a man named Wei. The family lives here, they have rooms for up to 8 guests, and I get all my meals cooked for me. Tonight's was delicious. The room is clean, simple, nice. Getting here today was an adventure. Some of which was great, some was tiresome, some was just silly. I booked a river tour yesterday for a boat trip down the Li river, which flows between Guilin and Yangshuo. So I had to be ready to go by 8:00. Well, at about 8:40, the tour director comes rushing in and hurries us (there were 2 women waiting also) out to the bus. So, about maybe 45 minutes later ... read more