April13, Final day in Guilin and Li River Cruise

---

The wake up call came at 6:45 for our last day in Guilin. Tonight we take the 2 hour flight to Shanghai, for the last leg of our journey. Before that we are taking a scenic cruise on the Li River.



Today it is a little warm, somewhat cloudy but dry, no rain in the forecast. After another buffet breakfast we headed to the bus for the 45 minute ride to the port where we boarded our river cruise ship.



On the way our guide, Sue, filled us in on a little history of the Li River. Normally the river is very clear and blue, but due to the excessive rain in the last few days, it was quite muddy. Oh well, if you have ever been to Toledo and seen the muddy Maumee, you will know what the Li looked like today.



This river is deemed by the government as a national scenic treasure. As such it is protected. No one can build anything along the river that may take away from the view. This made the view from the river a natural wonderland. Many artists, photographers and painters come to the Li River to paint or photograph the scenery. There is one spot in the river that is used for the back of the twenty Yuan bill. Of course we all go the shot from the top deck of the boat.



I did learn something very interesting about the concern by the government for the environment. It seems that the government is very environmentally concerned, especially with clean water. If you have 3 Billion people you must have clean water, so the government has some strict regulations designed to preserve this limited resource. Maybe a good market for my company in the future.



To preserve the clean water, the government actually closed several factories along rivers that were polluting the local waters. Something our government could consider. They also planted bamboo along the river both to beautify the area and to provide construction materials for local inhabitants. They use bamboo to make small rafts used for fishing.



Speaking about fishing, here the fishermen use trained Cormorants to catch fish. Let me explain. A Cormorant is a water bird that swims underwater and eats fish. Local fishermen buy a baby Cormorant, 500 to 1000 CYN and train it to catch fish.



The young bird is fitted with a string around it's neck. This serves two purposes; one to retrieve the bird, the second to prevent the bird from eating the fish! The string will allow the bird to eat small fish but not swallow larger fish. These the bird brings back to the fisherman who retrieves the fresh fish. Amazing to say the least. The birds may live 20 years but after 15, are too old to fish. I thought they would be eaten at the point, but they are not, the fisherman treats the bird like a treasured member of the family and allows the bird to enjoy his retirement. A true appreciation for a job well done.



The river boat served a buffet lunch. If you wanted something special like Turtle Soup, Steamed Turtle, fresh fish or other local delacacy, like snails, you placed your order before the boat left the dock. The order was sent to the kitchen, who then placed the order with the local fishing boat, while steaming up river!. The fisherman transfered the very fresh catch from one boat to the other and the kitchen prepared the meal.



I chose not to eat lunch today. I ate a hearty breakfast and wanted to stay on the observation deck to enjoy the view. John and I took some amazing photos, including a photo with each of our beautiful guides, John is in love by the way. The scenery was indeed absolutely beautiful, the photos amazing and the cruse a highlight of the day.



Our cruise is now coming to the end and we are about to disembark, Jo just handed me a mouse pad sovineer . Our next stop Yang Shuo for some touring and shopping. I was able to buy for my beautiful bride a "Love Ball, made by hand. I hope when I throw it to her, as is tradition, she will still choose to catch it.



Ricky bought another beautiful print for his friend Marvin's wife. It was indeed beautiful and I negotiated one hell of a price for him. Dick also bought a new print for his own enjoyment. I was also able to help John score some really cool masks for his sons. All in all we did well.



My buddy John took a very interesting photo this morning. He found a group of folks with a sign saying "You should be here". He and a group of perfect strangers posed for the shot. Wish I found it first. Nice work John.



After the shoping, I was hungry. The river cruise included a lunch, but our guide told us the food was somewhere between yucky and yummy. So John and I stayed on the upper observation deck while others ate. So now we were starved. Just before we headed toward the bus we passed a Chinese restaurant serving German food, so, of course, we had to stop. John and I got a hot dog and French fries, Ricky got water and Dick chose nothing.



Now the hot dog was actually at German sausage on a fresh bun. The most interesting part was the presentation of the condiments on the hot dog. They actually drew a river of mustard and ketchup across the sausage. I almost didn't want to eat it it was so pretty. I did take a picture to preserve the memory.



The only problem was the fries. We finished out hot dogs, drank most of our beverages and no fries. We thought, perhaps, they forgot them. As it turns out this restaurant does not serve French fries! So to fulfill our request, they sent the server to another restaurant, ordered our fries, then ran down the street to serve them to us. Can you see that happening in Toledo?



It was getting late, and Dick was a little anxious to head back to the bus, so he split and the remaining three of us, finished the fries and headed out.



We arrived back to the meeting spot, in plenty of time to walk a few hundred yards back to the bus. I was getting a little tired so I made a bed in the back of the bus and promptly fell into a deep sleep. The tour stopped at a local house to see how the locals live, but I slept. Then we stopped to take some more pictures, I still slept. John was kind enough to let me know I snore, OK Cathy, I guess I believe you now.



Our next stop was the airport for our flight to Shanghai . We arrived a little early so we checked our bags and enjoyed another fine dinner. Brian, a cattle rancher, led us in a very interesting discussion. He first asked what was the best part so far. For him it was the Great Wall. John responded with the Terra Cotta Army, while Dick chimed in with the river cruise. I went little philosophical and said that the best part of the trip was the people. I had expected them to be standoffish, or at least distant . They are not. I was amazed as to the degree of friendliness they presented to total strangers. It was not what I expected. Ricky replied "what he said." Heidi went with the rice paddies. We all agreed that the trip was great in every way.



We continued our discourse with a discussion on the economy, politics of China vs the US, and several more deep points not expected to be discussed on vacation. This is one of the best groups of folks I have ever had the privilege of traveling with. They made the trip more than I ever imagined. Thank you all.



After dinner we headed to the dreaded security line. I guess we must be getting better at this as we flew through the lines. Now I am writing this in the flight waiting area. Soon we board the flight and the next 4 days in Shanghai. I can't wait.

---

Photos

Tea Farm
Learning how to prepare the Tea Leaves

Li River
Beautiful Views and Excellent Music on the Li River

Li River
Public park view

Li River
Modern Pagoda

Li River
Glass Bridge in the park

Li River
Our River Boat Cruise

Li River
Fishing Boat delivering Fresh Fish to our cruise boat

Li River
Beautiful Views

Li River
Beautiful Views

Li River
Enjoying my cruise