Yangshuo

Off the bus at Yangshuo, ignored the hordes of taxi drivers, and found my way to West Street. Holy hell it was busy! Managed to find the alleyway that had the hostel I had decided on, checked in and had a walk around.

So many bars! And stalls, and people! The immediate scenery however, was amazing. Canals down most streets, karst peaks everywhere you looked, and lovely parks. I had some street food, then headed back to the hostel and what became a nightly ritual, the rooftop bar. Cheap drinks, friendly and talkative staff,, a view over the river and nearby peak, and a decent number of other travelers to talk to. Bingo. After about three months of hectic travel and sightseeing, I decided to take a few days to just relax and have a holiday.

A few walks around the city, the nearby palk, down the Li river from Yangdi, and even a scooter ride around the nearby attractions. Stunning sights everywhere. However, on the scooter I did manage to hit a very large pothole and come undone. A visit to a local clinic and I had a very large bandage on my head for several days, followed by a very large scab, and even today a noticeable scar. Fun times!

However, the most memorable part of Yangshuo was the drinking. The rooftop bar shut at about midnight, so I would venture down to the now near empty streets and seek out other bars. The first night I ended up going to some random bar that I couldn't find again on subsequent nights, but where I did learn to play a popular dice game with the bar staff (neither of whom spoke very much English, so I was quite chuffed with myself). The main bar I spent most of my mornings at was Kaya bar, which was open until VERY late, run by very friendly staff, and was constantly pumping out reggae tunes. I met more than a couple of scoundrels at that bar :).

After about 5 days in paradise I was ready to move on. Booked a flight from Guilin to Kunming, said my goodbyes to the local bar staff, and got on a bus back to Guilin.