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Published: October 23rd 2007
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In a bid to escape the hordes and the hotel prices of Yangshuo, we decamped upstream to Xingping, whose own karst-surrounded stretch of the Li River is so renowned that it features on the back of the 20 yuan note. Rooms were a little less astronomically priced here, but the quality was lower and it also turned out to be an unsuitable base.
Misty karst scenery in this region is a mainstay of Chinese landscape painting, and the received wisdom is that viewing the limestone peaks is best done from the water. It would be hard to overstate the popularity of this activity. Large tour boats ply the Guilin-to-Yangshuo-and-back route every couple of minutes with umpteen smaller craft (predominantly motorised bamboo rafts with seating for up to 5 people) buzzing around them. The parade of vessels is constant throughout the day. Drifting peacefully along absorbed in the landscape is not an option.
We attempted to hike upriver to Yangdi, a venture that would enable us to see the karst at our own pace and in relative solitude. The mistiness and lack of sun were atmospheric but didn't lend themselves to good photos. We made slow progress and eventually stopped
completely when LA Woman's shoe buckle broke. A passing rafter pulled in to shore and we negotiated a possibly overpriced fare back to Xingping. The journey was interesting as it was like being on a watery version of the M25. We were asked to pay some spurious tax as we neared Xingping, which no-one else seemed to be paying, and then were set down about as far away from the centre of Xingping as it was possible to be and still be in Xingping. It seemed as though hardly anyone actually was staying in the village, with the vast majority of visitors apparently on daytrips from Yangshuo.
We encountered some amusing dual pricing at a cafe we ate in on consecutive days. The first day, they gave us the English menu and we paid for a fried rice. The second day, they gave us the Chinese menu - though we can't read much in Chinese, fried rice is one menu item we've seen so often as to recognise it. And it was half the price of the English menu. The staff, who recognised us from the previous day, then tried to make us order from the English menu but
we pointed at what we wanted on the Chinese one and ended up with the Chinese price. There was much laughing among the staff so I think they realised what had happened. I don't mind being subjected to foreigner pricing every so often, but please - either be brazen about it or don't give the means to figure it out.
I also had the weirdest chocolate cake that any kitchen anywhere in the world has ever dished up to me. What appeared to be a slightly warm piece of plain sponge, drizzled with a smidgin of chocolate sauce and accompanied by a row of sugared cucumber slices, met my mystified gaze when the order was served to me. This brought to mind a rule we'd established on our first trip to China, namely that Chinese versions of Western food generally fall furthest from the mark when it comes to desserts.
I reflected on this as I munched on the cucumber component of my chocolate cake.
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Crazy Canucks
Matt
Ah Memories of China!
Thanks for making me laugh, man does this blog bring back memories of China. All I can say is China is like no place on earth when it comes to mass tourist rip offs, close 2nd is Egypt.