Guilin = Love at First Sight

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Let's do the math on this one. Really nice hostel = $4 a night. Lunch of dumplings and noodles in the most beautiful park I've ever seen = $1.50. One-hour massages by highly skilled therapists = $3.50. The temperature outside = 79 degrees. They have mountains, palm trees, and wild monkeys. We may never leave this town!

Ah, Guilin. This is the spot I was most looking forward to, and it does not disappoint. After another hearty breakfast at our hostel, we hitched the bus down to the river and were immediately at home in the humidity, the palm trees, and the ambiance of, funnily enough, a small southern city like Savannah or Charleston. Aside from the crazy karst mountain formations everywhere and the Chinese signs, we could almost be home...

Unfortunately the gray and overcast has followed us down from the north, so the weather wasn't ideal, but we certainly made the best of it. Our first (and only, really) stop was Seven Stars Park and Scenic Area, a collection of mountains, caves, waterfalls, rock formations, and man-made parks and gardens. It was a small taste of paradise, to say the least! I was ecstatic when I spotted a wild monkey up in a tree, thinking it would be a rare sight. Then we rounded the corner and discovered their "zoo" was actually a whole troupe of wild monkeys that live and roam around in the park!! There must have been fifty of them, running around, up and down trees, stealing bananas from each other, squealing at tourists that got too close. It was amazing to be standing in the middle of it instead of peering through bars at a zoo.

After the monkeys, we wandered through waterfalls and past "Camel Hill," a funky karst formation that actually does resemble a dromedary (and I know you're all wondering what "karst" means, and I honestly don't know. It's the name they give for the jagged, oddly shaped mountains in this area, so we're going with that). Next was the Seven Stars Cave, which I am proud to announce I went into and survived!! (Last year in Arizona I attempted to hike into a cave with my family, had a massive panic attack, and vowed to never enter another cave as long as I live...) And am I glad I went!! It was sublime, lit up with every color of the rainbow like something out of Candy Land. It was actually quite humorous, as our tour guide spoke only Chinese and we listened in the dark (no pun intended) for an hour as she explained different formations and entertained everyone but us with, I'm sure, very interesting tales...And, on a very funny side note, today at the caves, a couple approached us and wanted to take a photo...WITH JEREMY!!! I laughed hysterically as he posed with them - now he knows what it feels like ha ha!!

Lunch consisted of dumplings and noodles with veggies in an outdoor cafe for 10 yuan...about $1.50. As the clouds were still looming everywhere, we decided to call it a day as far as sight-seeing and started walking back towards the bus stop. And then, like a beacon of light with angelic chorus, there it was. One-hour TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) massages...25 yuan...a little under $3.50 I admit, I felt guilty and still feel really guilty that I got an excellent massage for less than the price of a coffee at Starbucks. TCM is massage done over clothing, no oil or undressing required, using lots of pressure points, stretching, kneading, tapping, and a little energy work. It's good stuff; I'd never really been exposed to it before, but I like it!!

After we (guiltily) paid the cashier and headed outside, we took a moment to sit by the street and try to take it all in. Our brains and muscles were mush from the massage, and between the monkeys, caves, waterfalls, and scenery...it's been a busy but great day!!

So here we are, chilling at our very chill hostel. Norah Jones is playing in the background at "Bamboo Bar," and I'm working on the blog in the lounge while Jeremy has played pool against a host of Russians, Frenchies, and now a little Chinese girl. We are in love with the hostel's little Australian Shepherd puppy, "Jutao," which literally means "Pig-Headed" or stubborn. She's the cutest thing ever and has been chasing around the staff and fellow backpackers, chewing up a storm and prancing around like she owns the place. She crawled all over my lap and left little paw prints on my freshly-washed pants, sigh...oh well. It's nice to be around a dog again. It's still pleasantly warm this evening, and while we're hoping for better weather tomorrow, the forecast calls for more clouds and an actual chance of rain (we haven't seen a drop of rain in 11 days). We have two more days here in Guilin before we'll hop either a ferry or a bus to a small town about 50 miles downriver from here called Yangshuo, where the mountains are said to be especially spectacular. So for now, we are signing off...time to go beat Jeremy in a game of pool...

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Comments

[ina]

those pictures in the cave are gorgeous!!!!!!!

[Sam]

Hey!
Sounds like an adventure. Getting there sounded a little rough, but it definitely looks like it was worth it. The caves are amazing. Also can't believe the prices your describing.... $4 a night!!!! That's way cheaper than South America! Awsome!