Yangshuo and Guilin, Guangxi Zhiang Province

Photos of Yangshuo town

I was in a room full of Chinese again, this time they all came in at about 10 p.m. and carried on talking for ages. At least in Lijiang I never heard my room-mates. I got up early to go to Xingping for the Bamboo boat rafting. The rafting cost 160 yuan and the receptionist explained that I needed to go to the bus station and get a bus to Xingping. She didn't tell me that I would need to pay for transport in Xingping, I was very annoyed when I got off the bus in Xingping only to be told that I had to pay for a rickshaw down to the raft, they charged me 10 yuan for a jouirney of about 1 km!

My 'rafter' easing us on to the river.

The river was very relaxing, interesting scenery. Only me on the raft, for a while I felt like the queen, as I was the only westerner around and all the chinese wanted to take photos of me! For some reason we seemed to go very slowly and all the other rafts overtook us.

The view on the back of a 20 yuan note!

Spectacular scenery.

Bamboo growing up the side of the river.
The hills had a strange 3D effect as they sat one in front of the other.

It kept raining, I was wearing shorts, because it had been very hot the previous day, so fortunately only my legs got wet. we stopped a couple of times then at 10.45 we stopped on a shingle beach and a woman came and told me that we would have to wait until 12.30 as it was

too dangerous to continue as all the big boats were coming up from Guilin, so I got off the raft
and had something to eat at one of the stalls, it was a fritter of some kind of baby fish from the river. Then I wondered for a bit until I discovered I was being bitten, Why didn't I think to put some anti-bite stuff on? I went back to sit on the raft and watch the midges and be bitten some more.

The porta-loo hiding in the trees!

There were dozens of big boats coming up from Guilin, to Yangshuo, we had to wait until 12.15 then we started off again.

Police boats on the river.

When we got back to Xingping the heavens opened and it just poured, the streets were streams. I waited in the shade for a little while then realised that my feet were getting soaked anyway, from the water bouncing off the road, so I carried on walking. I walked back to the bus station and got the bus. Three hours later it stopped raining! It was too early for dinner but all I had had to eat was a croissant, a banana and a small fritter, so I went to look for food.

I decided to cancel my last night in Yangshuo and spend a night in Guilin, that way I could leave my luggage in the hostel until I needed to go to the station, my only problem was that the internet seemd to be playing up again, chinese interenet seemed to do that regularly. I could find a hostel but I couldn't book it.

In the evening there was a video in the hostel so I decided to watch it, I assumed it would be shown on the TV so I sat and watched the TV, it was sound only, no picture, so I gave up and went to bed with a book. I thought it was only me and a Chinese lad in the room, he went to bed with a book as well, more importantly he put on the air-con. I had seen the remote control the day before but didn't realise what it was for. By 10 he had stopped reading so when I finished I turned off the light, when I woke up in the morning there were 4 of us in the room! The other 2 must have been very quiet.

Monday

Another very hot day. I started by wearing shorts, despite my bitten legs. the hostel staff gave me some stuff to put on the bites. At least I didn't feel as unclean as I did the first time, may this be a lesson to me to remember anti-bug lotions.

I had breakfast in a bar I have taken a fancy to, from the window I could see an old man punting a raft with his cormorants. I took some photos, then went for a walk, when I came back that way some Dutch were taking his photo, he was close to the shore so I went to take another photo, this time he raised his hand and said 5 yuan. i didn't take his photo but I felt very mean afterwards, I could easily have paid him the 5 yuan, though I would probably have fallen in trying to get it to him!
I wondered around and then bought an enormous case, too big I think, maybe. Apart from that I had a lazy day, I was harrassed by people trying to sell me things, there are loads of stalls, all selling the same stuff; silk scarves, pashminas, embroidered cushion covers and batik. Anything I wanted to buy I bought in Lijiand and Dali.

When I got back to the hostel I discovered that they did do food, it took me 2 days to discover that! So I stayed in and eat there. I tried to book a hostel again but my credit card was refused, not sure why, I only wanted to pay £2! I also discovered that the video is displayed on the wall opposite the TV, I had been looking in the wrong direction.

Tuesday - I itched!
I got the bus to Guilin and found the hostel I'd been trying to book, it was a bit basic, which was why it had plenty of spare rooms! It was right opposite the main station so there were plenty of taxis around. I believed that my train went from the North station. I was in a room for 4, 1 chinese man and 2 French ladies, one my age and one very young, the young one is doing a round the world tour, the older is spending 2 months in China.

I visited Elephant Trunk Hill and walked around the park and up the hill, there is too much pollution to get a good view. There was a concert in the park, young people performing some Chinese opera and then dancing, what I assume was local dances.
There was very little selling of stuff in Guilin but lots of people saying hello!
Wednesday - still itching!

Slept well with the aircon on. I got up as late as possible. Apparently I managed to leave my passport in reception yesterday! Not sensible. There were workmen around renovating rooms and building new furniture, the place was having a much needed re-vamp. I don't know what wood they were using but it smelt lovely.

I went to the station to check where my train leaves from and discovered that I do not need to go to the North station after all, that was really good news. I went for a wander to kill time, then thought it was after 11 soi rushed back. I found that the cleaners had already been in and changed the bed, what's more they had opened the window as well. I quickly closed it and put on the aircon for a few minutes to cool the temperature down again. After I checked out I discovered that it was only 10.45, so I still had loads of time to kill. I had thought of eating in the hostel but as I had so much time I went out. A lottle man on a bike persuaded me to buy some lychees, then I found a nice restaurant, near the river, with an english menu, they had something called 'green tomato scrambled eggs', I had to try this for the sake of Ling, who ate my green tomatoes last year, it wasn't green tomatoes but green peppers!

When I went back to the hostel I discovered a book that I'm sure wasn't there the day before, it was 'Troublemakers' by Harry Wu. Some brave person had brought it in from Indonesia, I suspect the police would have confiscated it had they been aware. I spent the rest of the day sitting in the hostel reading it. Wu writes about the factories in China that use prisoners as slave labour. he mentions one in Kunming. When I left Kunming I saw 4 watch-towers in the middle of the city, it seemed strange, I suspect that these may be connected to these factories. It left me wondering whether I should have bought anything in China.

Finally I had to leave and go to the station. There I discovered that if you pay 5 yuan you can use the soft-seat waiting room even if you have a hard seat ticket, at least you can if you're a westerner. I wish I had known this earlier.

Dali, Yunnan Province and more train journeys

Thursday, 5th May

I got the train without any problem. I had a 'hard' seat and had been a little worried about luggage space but we were sitting in the sleeper compartments so there was loads of space, The empty bunks were used for luggage. I opted to sit on the seat in the aisle, so I could look out of the window, this was not a good idea, fortunately it was just a short trip, because once the standing people got on they commandeered every free seat and mine was taken, if I had needed to get up I would have lost my aisle seat. A lesson for future day journeys. Somehow I was one of the first off the train and onto the bus, so I got a seat. There were 2 Chinese looking ladies who spoke excellent English, they had asked me for guidance on the seat numbers on the train! Surprisingly enough I'd been able to help them, so on the bus they checked with the driver to make sure I got off at the right place. I don't know where they were from because they spoke fluent Mandarin as well.

The hostel, The Lily Pad, was lovely and very quiet. I had opted for a single room, at 45 yuan (£4.50) it was a bargain.

The bathroom was something special as well.

I had lunch here when I arrived, which was very good, there was a good choice on the menu. There was a lovely sitting room with a TV and DVD's and a computer and internet access.

Outside sitting area.

The outside of the hostel. The houses here are very different from Lijiang with these lovely painted friezes.


The hostel was outside the old town, but only just. I had to cross the highway to Tibet, the picture below shows just what a rush there is to go to Tibet!

One of the gates into the old town.

I wondered around the old town first.

Screens made from cut stone.

A street!
Different ways of carrying your shopping.

I was intrigued by these plants for sale.


Traditional embroidery for sale.


Childrens regional costumes.Batik.
A rather blurred picture of a girl weaving.
I think this is the original city wall, visible through the trees.
Before and after! There was a whole street of stone-masons, some of them could be seen working.

After I wondered around the town I decided to walk down to the lake, I walked a little over half way, then gave up and walked back, then saw a bus stop and got the bus down. According to the bus the temperature was 31 degrees C, it certainly felt warm and I had forgotten to take a bottle of water with me. The bus fare was 1 yuan (10p) so that was a bargain as well.
On the road down to the lake farmers were spreading something on the road, presumably to dry, they didn't seem to mind traffic driving over it.
I saw many women wearing regional dress, it was different to Lijiang as well. I saw a group of ladies sitting having lunch in a garden, I thought they must have been part of a tourist promotion, but when I came back they were digging out the foundations of a new house and carting the soil up to a lorry further up the road, all in pretty red clothes.

Friday

Up early to get to the station for 08.18. The bus journey from the station had taken nearly an hour, and as you have to go through a security check, and they don't let you on in the last 5 minutes, I wanted to allow myself plenty of time, but I had forgotten to clear this with the owner! I had got used to hostels being up and running at 7 a.m. so at quarter to I was at the front gate, only to find it locked. I stood around for a while expecting movement, but nothing happened, then I rang a bell by the gate but I think the batteries had died, still nothing happened. I started to get desperate, then I saw a card stuck to the gate, with contact details for the owner. I didn't have a mobile with me but I remembered the phone in the reception area, which was unlocked, so I went and rang Erin's mobile. By the time she came down I was pretty worried, I rushed for the bus, narrowly missing one, then caught the next. I thought 7 a.m. would be quiet on the roads but it's rush hour in China! The driver seemed to drive through Dali at walking speed and there were loads of people at every bus stop. I got to the train station at 08.05. It is the only train station I saw where there was nothing written in English. I walked towards the doors I had come out of but they were closed, with no sign of life, then I saw people walking up a ramp to an upper floor so I followed them. I managed to get to the train with about 10 minutes to spare. It was a 7 hour journey, 'hard' seat but sitting on 'hard' sleepers again, so there was plenty of room. This time I stayed on my seat, which was next to the window any way, though the train was not full and there was no-one standing. It got very hot as the day went on, I think there was air conditioning but it was not very efficient. We had a couple of long stops, when everything else passes, even freight trains. I saw freight trains with 40+ carriages! The toilets are locked during stops, on this occasion there had been a short stop just before I decided to go but the doors were not re-opened, it was a very long wait!

A village seen from the train.
I saw a lot of these, I think either a cemetery or shrines to commemorate the dead.

I had promised myself to prepare for journeys, with food and drink, but on this occasion I didn't do it very well. I arrived in Kunming hungry and exhausted. I walked around looking for a McD or KFC but couldn't find either. The alternative seemed to be to buy food and eat on the hoof, but I desperately wanted to sit down, eventually I found a Dico's, China's answer to McD. I had chicken pieces in Cumin, and chips, highly nutritious! Then I went on a hunt for some nibbles, they do some nice little crisp/snack/biscuit things that I like, usually they are easy to find but I walked around dozens of shops and couldn't find any, then I found them in the station shop!

Then I went to the waiting room, I arrived very early, I wasn't sure if there was some kind of earliest time you could be there but they let me in. The 'soft-seat' waiting room, with lovely comfy chairs, I looked like 'bag woman' as I had been acquiring things on the way. Railway staff kept coming to check my ticket to make sure I was in the right place. I had tea, a constant supply of hot water and a nice comfy seat. The journey from Kunming to Guilin was the longest I did, 19.30 to 13.00, so I felt it needed the 'soft' sleeper. I shared the compartment with a Chinese woman with BO and 2 Chinese men, who talked non-stop. Though they did stop to go to sleep. Each journey I have had my ticket taken from me and I have been issued with a plastic card, as the card is totally in Chinese I have no idea why. The cards are issued to the people on the bottom bunk, regardless of nationality.

Saturday

The 2 men got off at Nanning, before Nanning the countryside was very different, miles of banana plantations and very much a hot humid feel, even inside the train.

A village somewhere.
A very blurred picture but I tried very hard to get a photo of oxen working the fields, we always went past very fast or I didn't get my camera ready in time!

After Nanning the land remained very red, sand-stoney, but the predominate crop was rice. There were lots of people working in the fields and oxen used for ploughing, even though it was early morning. Then there were lots of hills, they looked like volcanic plugs but I understand this is a 'karst' landscape. Limestone worked by the weather.

The woman insisted on keeping the compartment door shut, I like to be able to see the view each side, but she got off before me and after that I could keep the door open.

When I got to Guilin I booked my onward ticket to Guangzhou, I had the most helpful ticket clerk I met anywhere. She spoke little to no English but was happy to giggle her way through. When I left the station I was collared by someone asking if I was going to Yangshuo, I had understood that I would need to get to the bus station, on the other side of town, and I was going to get a taxi, so I accepted this offer of a bus, he charged me 30 yuan and took it off me. I know this was more than anyone else paid and for a little while I wondered if he was just going to pocket my money and disappear but he didn't. The bus filled up along the way, the conductor seemed to use the same high pressures selling techniques on everyone, we waited at each stop until he was sure he could not persuade someone else that they wanted to go to Yangshuo. When we got to Yangshuo the bus did not go to the bus station but I was told to get off at the edge of town. There was nothing written in English or Pingyin and I could not find out where I was in relation to the map I had. I had a silly little diagrammatic map, done for tourists but singularly unhelpful. There is no point providing poor tourists with maps in English that say 'East Street' or 'Peach Blossom Mountain' if the road signs are going to say 'Dong Dajie' or God knows what, it isn't even possible to ask for directions with English language maps. I was offered lifts by hopeful taxi drivers, or any driver, but as I had no idea where I was, or where I was going, I had to turn them down and just walk. Eventually I kind of found the right spot, then I found a 'Tourist Information Office' that declared, in large letters 'Free Information'. I went in and pointed to the sign and said: 'Free information?' The reply was: 'No!' so I made to go out then I thought better of it, I showed him my map and the name of the hostel, it appeared I was just a few feet from the road I wanted, so he signed me around the corner and I found the hostel.

The hostel was OK. It had internet but no food. I booked a raft excursion for the next day and wondered off to the tourist area to find food. The weather was very hot and sticky but the town seemed interesting.