Blogs from Guangxi, China, Asia - page 10

18 fév Je suis à Yangshuo, petite ville touristique ceinturée de montagnes en tourelles. Je suis dans une toile accrochée au dessus des banquettes du buffet Fu-Lam, rue Jean-Talon. Yangshuo est touristique. Les chinois y viennent nombreux pour assister à ce décor en montagnes russes hallucinées. L'artère principale de la ville est occupée par les nombreuses boutiques modernes vendant des produits locaux et par les restaurants chics. Spécialités italiennes de ce côté, et délices allemands de l'autre. Ce sont des restos exotiques pour les chinois ça. Certains regardent les menus intrigués, confus devant les plats de choucroute proposés par les allemands sur la rue. Un gamin en vacances pointe la photo d'un gros hot-dog choux-moutarde en s'exclamant à ses parents. Ça m'a fait sourire. Et dire que le même gamin aurait probablement souri aussi... en me ... read more

14 fév * "Guangzhou (Canton) : Avoid visiting during Chinese New Year, which sees the largest annual human migration in the world". Lonely Planet * Chinese New Year 2015: 18-19-20 février La nouvelle année chinoise arrive bien vite. Je l'avais prévu. Et j'ai bien l'intention de la vivre loin des grands centres urbains où tout se figera et s'arrêtera pour plusieurs jours de festivités. C'est pourquoi je prévois me rendre à Guilin aujourd'hui, en passant par Guangzhou (Canton), au lieu d'être prisonnier des transports pour la prochaine semaine. Avant de quitter l'hostel de Shenzhen, je demande au jeune étudiant derrière le comptoir de m'écrire en chinois les infos utiles à mon achat de billet de bus. Il parle vaguement anglais mais il le parle certainement mieux que quiconque à des milles à la ronde. "Bus de ... read more

The weather did NOT improve at all as I set off on my ride on Sunday morning. I left the hostel around 10am and into the cold rain. I took precautions to ensure that I stayed completely weatherproof. Waterproof shoes, gaitors, pants, jacket. I was good to go; so I thought. The ride started smoothly enough, heading south out of Guilin. The road was good and the rain was light. After a few kilometers, I got off the main road and was heading into the Karst landscape of the region. I don't know really how to describe the geography of this area. The flat plains are interrupted by tall jagged peaks that seemingly come out of nowhere. I am in deep southern China, perhaps on the same latitude as Miami, so the climate is tropical. That ... read more

Hi Loyal followers, So our morning plans were to get up early and head to breakfast, this disappeared when we decided to have a lie in, so breakfast was skipped and we packed to get our pick up to our river Li trip at 8am. Our bus was late (typical) but eventually arrived and we boarded, it was packed and we managed to get the last 2 seats. Once on the train, I managed to get some ladies attention, she lent over and said my son thinks your very handsome and strong (kid was 3 years old), this was the 5th lady in 12 hours to show me attention. (Vick laughed but has been giving me extra attention all day). Our tour guy was a nice guy and was very animated!! When we got there he ... read more

We board our Air China flight to Guilin. Remember what Qantas was like 20 years ago when the flight attendants smiled and you got this awesome array of little boxes and a foil covered steaming hot package that you lifted the lid on with great anticipation? Well, this is Air China. We stuff ourselves silly on the copious amounts of food and before we know it, we're touching down over spectacular mountainous peaks and the Guangxi province. We're in for a delightful few days. We cab to our hotel and have fallen from grace. The Guilin Sapphire Hotel was, I'm sure, a gem in its hay day but the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke sends me running back to reception to request a non-smoking room. That's better but still its original condition 1970s glamour. At 50 ... read more