Blogs from Yangshuo, Guangxi, China, Asia - page 8

My last stop before Hong Kong on my all too short tour of China was Yangshuo. I really did love the town and surrounding countryside, but there were a few things I could have done without and one awful situation that occurred while I was leaving the city (the ugly). The Good I think Yangshuo has to be my favourite stop in China. There really is nowhere in the world like Guilin provence (unless you believe Avatar is not just a movie). When you first see the triangle-shaped mountains, you can't help but blink your eyes to ensure they are really there. They look that surreal. I never got sick of looking at them, and would have happily spent much more time exploring the region and going to lesser visited spots had time permitted. The best ... read more

We made it again to Guilin and we already knew where to go to look for further transport. We went to the same sales women as before (who was acting like a ticket office for local buses) and we got tickets for the next bus (18Y/1,8£). Buses are leaving every 10 min so there is no rush at all. In the end Yangshuo is one of the most popular destinations served by Guilin bus companies. Unfortunately weather did not improve and it was still pouring down with rain ;-( We were really tired after our 'Dazai adventure'and we just wanted to get to Yangshuo and rest. We agreed that is we found a guesthouse with nice warm rooms and 24h hot water we would stay for longer just to simply rest. The scenery around Guilin is ... read more

Today was a most excellent day and it was full of surprises. We took a bus out of Yangshuo about 25 minutes to the small town of Putao.　　Ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｓ　ｒｉｄｅ　ｗａｓ　ｕｎｅｖｅｎｔｆｕｌ　ｅｘｃｅｐｔ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｍａｎ　ｗｈｏ　ｂｏａｒｄｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　ｇｒｏｃｅｒｙ　ｂａｇ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｄｏｇ　ｌｅｇｓ　ｓｔｉｃｋｉｎｇ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｆ　ｉｔ．　　Ｈｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ｓｍｏｋｅｄ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｓ　ｄｅｓｐｉｔｅ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ａｓｋｅｄ　ｎｏｔ　ｔｏ　ｂｙ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｒｉｖｅｒ．　　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｗａｓ　ｏｕｒ　ｆｉｒｓｔ　ｃｏｎｆｉｒｍｅｄ　ｅｎｃｏｕｎｔｅｒ　ｏｆ　ｄｏｇ　ｅａｔｉｎｇ．　 Ｉｎ　Ｐｕｔａｏ we both hopped on the back of a motorcycle for a gorgeous winding ride to the tiny mountain village of Shitoucheng. Shitoucheng (besides having a hilarious name) is also known as Stone City. It's an ancient city with houses and pathways all built out of large flat stones. Ｉｄｏｎ＇ｔ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｍｏｒｅ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｉｔ　ｔｈａｎ　ｔｈａｔ． Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｃｒａｚｙ　ｔｈａｔ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｍｏｓｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｏｕｓｅｓ　ａｒｅ　ａｂａｎｄｏｎｅｄ　ａｎｄ　ｆａｌｌｉｎｇ　ａｐａｒｔ，　ｓｏｍｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｉｎ　ｕｓｅ．　　Ｗｅ　ｃｏｕｌｄ　ｅｖｅｎ　ｈｅａｒ　ａ　ｔｖ　ｏｎ　ｉｎ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅｍ． Ｎｏｒａ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｂｏｔｈ　ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇ　ｓｏｍｅｗ... read more

There are a lot flavors to life in China that make it a unique experience. So often travellers only share their most epic stories. Here is a list of the little things that make China, China. Riding a bicycle along with 30 or more mopeds and there being zero noise since they're all electric. The friendly "hello" from Chinese people using their only English word on a Westerner. The fun game of charades that occurs while attempting to converse. The disgusting squatty toilets with water(?) all over the floor, a sink for hand washing and never any soap or hand towel. The weird tractors with the motor exposed loudly spewing black exhaust that you see everywhere. Hot water available on the trains to heat up your loose leaf tea (that you brought on board) or your ... read more

Ok so I’m still really behind with posting these but I will endeavour to get more on top of things soon! But now casting my mind back to Guilin... Our time in Guilin was very fleeting, having flown from Chengdu in order to avoid the 26 hour train journey (the flight was only 1.5 hours so god knows where the train goes?!) We stayed in the lovely ‘How Flowers’ hostel, chilled out for a day or two and decided to postpone our travel arrangements to Hong Kong for 3 days in order to visit the nearby UNESCO heritage site of Yangshuo. As we had flown to the previous 3 places and were living far too much of a jet-set lifestyle for travellers, we decided this time to go by…bamboo raft! This took us about 4 hours ... read more