Blogs from Guangxi, China, Asia - page 9

Xingping: The quieter and more quainter version of the commercialised Yangshuo, with less tourists and more of an authentic town feel. Made up of quaint narrow streets, with brick and wooden shop exteriors all lined together in long terraced rows, it almost looked untouched from a distant past. If that was not enough reason to visit, the small town was beautifully built at the foot of huge karst mountains overlooking the Li River. On our arrival (via 40min bus from Yangshuo) we walked through the small streets in search of our hostel. Passing under cloth canopies strung between shops and illuminated lanterns, we heard the faint sound of traditional music being played. As we got closer there was a small group of locals; some smoking, some playing instruments whilst others played cards. Then out of nowhere ... 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

Wednesday 20 May - Yangshuo We were supposed to enjoy and experience hiking in an early morning, the sunrise on the summit of Longji Rice Terraces. However, I set the alarm clock, got dressed at 6.15am, walked down stairs and looked outside. It was pouring with rain. So I turned around and went back into our room and went back to sleep!!!! I bit disappointing but we had a great viewing the day before. We then had to walk down the steep steps in the rain. We took it slowly and all went well. Fortunately, we had a different local bus driver who drove steadily and cautiously down the mountain back to where we had stored our larger bags. We were all very relieved!! We got back into our minivan and drove to Yangshuo from Longji, ... 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

“Sean, I booked us a hotel in the middle of nowhere and it’s too late to cancel.” I look up from my tablet. “I have no idea how I did this,” I say as I wave a hand at my tablet and my stupid reservation on Booking.com. “I thought this hotel was in Yangshuo because it was called the Xingping Yangshou Hotel. How was I supposed to know that Xingping is another city an hour outside Yangshou?” Sean smirks and looks at me. “I’m sure it will turn out alright.” “Yeah, I guess...” my voice trails off as I consider again the travel instructions provided by the hotel. “It says here that there is a local bus that goes from Yangshou to Xingping... if we can figure out how to catch it, we are golden.” For ... read more