First Days in Yangshuo

Hi everyone,

In order to begin our tour of southern China, we flew from Shanghai to Guilin, boarding the plane as the final boarding call was being announced. We stayed in Guilin for one night, and not finding much in the way of sights there, decided to make our way to Yangshuo by bus in the morning.

Yangshuo is simply beautiful. The town itself is teeming with tourists, mainly because the trips from the city are fantastic. We are staying at a hostel which is very nice but which did not find it necessary to install western toilets. Chinese toilets are rather annoying, as they are on the floor and require much squatting.

On our first day, we walked around the town, had a vendor draw caricatures of us on T-shirts, and went to a bar with some people we met. It was fun, and it is clear that Yangshuo is a good place to be at night, but the nightlife is nothing compared to the daytime activities.

The next day, we decided to rent bicycles in order to see the Yulong river. It was at once exhausting and one of the best things that we have done on the trip. As I was riding a mountain bike through a narrow path, my inner 12 year old boy came alive. Having spent much time riding my bike as a child through Dollard Des Ormeaux, exploring new constructions and old, unused trails, I felt quite at home navigating these paths. That said, I have never had to swerve to avoid a rooster, nor been induced to stop by the sight of a half submerged water buffalo. The path was occasionally too difficult for riding, which meant some parts of the paths were walked, bikes alongside. The views were spectacular, though we did not see too much of the river on the way there. The idea was to ride along a country path until we crossed a bridge, then ride some more, and finish the day by taking a bamboo boat ride down the river. Having missed the country road (thankfully, because we heard it was treacherous) we took the main road to the bridge, and biked back through fields, people's farms, dirt and stone paths and flora and fauna. It rained briefly, which was surprisingly welcome as it had a cooling effect. Ilana had some trouble on the more narrow pathways, and though she toughed it out, she was happier along the paths more traveled.

It is difficult to explain the feeling of sailing across vast fields, hearing nothing but the sounds of nature, miles away from city life, surrounded by beautiful countryside. I must admit it is somewhat surreal. This was one of my favourite days on the trip so far, and if anyone is planning a trip to China, Yangshuo is a definite must see.

Ilana- The bike ride was absolutely amazing but I must admit that falling into a ditch while trying to get through those 30cm muddy and rocky paths was not my favourite part. The bamboo rafts were really cool and very enjoyable after a few hours on the bike as we were incredibly sore. It was an incredible day and I am looking forward to the remaining days in Yansghuo.

Thanks for reading!