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.
2011-12-10
Guilin
I've decided to take the day off from writing, so I've got some time to do some writing! Herein lies my recollection of visiting Guilin.
The internet fora suggested to look out for a popular scam where the bus driver drops you off well away from the official bus stop for Guilin, and his taxi driver mates then charge you exorbitant fees to take you the rest of the way. Being wary of this, I put up a fuss when the driver dropped us off on the side of the highway, with no bus station in sight. Two Chinese girls also got off with me and asked me where I was going. A phone call later and one of them was escorting me on the local bus to my hostel!
After seeing me to my hostel, my guide waved goodbye and I checked in. Showered, changed my clothes, sought out the washing machine, then headed off into the night.
A pleasant walk down to the city centre, but I had trouble finding a beer at a decent price. There were also a lot of touts around trying to direct me to their bars and massage parlors. One particularly adventurous tout started progressed rapidly from 'foot massage', to 'massage', 'lady massage', before yelling out 'SEX?!' as I was walking away. Amazing.
Walked around some more, down past the quite pretty river front, and then back to my hostel. I then sat down to do some writing, and organising my future travels. I was up until about 2 am talking to the hostel workers about where to go, how to get there, and also picking up some more Chinese language skills.
The next morning I stepped out and went to the 7 Star Park. A cheap bowl of noodles, then I set off. The park is HUGE, and I took most of the day walking around, up and down hills, avoiding monkeys, and marveling at the natural beauty. I then went to some more of the parks around the city, but got sick of paying to enter each one. A walk around the city, taking in more sights, before heading down to the temporary street markets.
The city was pretty, and the parks and water features were delightful, but it was a bit of a let down after all the hype I heard from Chinese people I'd talked to before arriving. I decided to cut my stay short, and get on a bus to Yangshuo. At the bus station I was a bit confused, as the gate written on the ticket wasn't the correct one. An ex-pat Australian found me and directed me to the correct gate where he was also going. Had a chat, then boarded a full but comfortable bus. Nap time.
The internet fora suggested to look out for a popular scam where the bus driver drops you off well away from the official bus stop for Guilin, and his taxi driver mates then charge you exorbitant fees to take you the rest of the way. Being wary of this, I put up a fuss when the driver dropped us off on the side of the highway, with no bus station in sight. Two Chinese girls also got off with me and asked me where I was going. A phone call later and one of them was escorting me on the local bus to my hostel!
After seeing me to my hostel, my guide waved goodbye and I checked in. Showered, changed my clothes, sought out the washing machine, then headed off into the night.
A pleasant walk down to the city centre, but I had trouble finding a beer at a decent price. There were also a lot of touts around trying to direct me to their bars and massage parlors. One particularly adventurous tout started progressed rapidly from 'foot massage', to 'massage', 'lady massage', before yelling out 'SEX?!' as I was walking away. Amazing.
Walked around some more, down past the quite pretty river front, and then back to my hostel. I then sat down to do some writing, and organising my future travels. I was up until about 2 am talking to the hostel workers about where to go, how to get there, and also picking up some more Chinese language skills.
The next morning I stepped out and went to the 7 Star Park. A cheap bowl of noodles, then I set off. The park is HUGE, and I took most of the day walking around, up and down hills, avoiding monkeys, and marveling at the natural beauty. I then went to some more of the parks around the city, but got sick of paying to enter each one. A walk around the city, taking in more sights, before heading down to the temporary street markets.
The city was pretty, and the parks and water features were delightful, but it was a bit of a let down after all the hype I heard from Chinese people I'd talked to before arriving. I decided to cut my stay short, and get on a bus to Yangshuo. At the bus station I was a bit confused, as the gate written on the ticket wasn't the correct one. An ex-pat Australian found me and directed me to the correct gate where he was also going. Had a chat, then boarded a full but comfortable bus. Nap time.
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