Rollin' On the River

I've been delegated the delightful task of blogging about our time spent in Guilin and Yangshuo. It began on the last day of January, when we said a difficult goodbye to Hong Kong and flew to Guilin, arriving at around 3 o'clock. It was there that we met our lovely guide, Bing. Guilin is a very small city located just a quick 45 minute flight north of Hong Kong, and its reputation across China is generally that of a Chinese tourist town known for its incredibly unique geography. Bing explained to us that in the second grade in China all children learn that Guilin is the most beautiful area in the country. When we arrived, there were people absolutely everywhere celebrating the Spring Festival Holiday with a vacation to Guilin's gorgeous mountains.

We had a little bit of time before dinner so we walked along the banks of the Li River towards Fubo Hill, one of the many strangely and beautifully located small mountains which sprinkle Guilin's neighborhoods. They seem to shoot up out of the blue, with buildings placed haphazardly around them. The hill looks like the kind of winding vertical rock formation which one might find in a painting, as it has a relatively small circumference compared to its towering height. We climbed up the stone steps and got a stunning, albeit foggy view of the city, before heading to a hotel for some dinner and much-needed sleep.

The following morning we rose early to head to the Li River Cruise, a five hour boat ride down the Li River, surrounded on all sides by stunning stone mountains much like the hill we had hiked up the night before. From the roof of the ship we got a clear view of the extremely unique skyline along the riverside.It was a stunning ride, and some older ladies took a fancy to Jenny and demanded that she posed for photos with them, mountains and all.

The boat cruise dropped us to the small town of Yangshuo, which in many ways was like a smaller version of Guilin. Bing explained right away to us that Yangshuo was very busy for the spring festival, and sure enough that night the town's famous West Street was wall-to-wall packed with people.

Our first day in Yangshuo was completely unplanned, which meant that we spent a long breakfast debating the things we could do which wouldn't be packed with other Chinese tourists also trying to experience as much of the local culture as possible. As an aside- one of my favorite things about China so far is the lack of certain foods being designated to certain meals. What I mean by this is that fried rice and noodles, soups, salads, and other stir-fries are always available for breakfast along with a couple of sweet rolls and some more western options. It makes breakfast a very interesting and diverse meal to begin the day with!

Anyways, we settled with hiking up the mountain which rose up behind her hotel. It had a pagoda on the top and a very misty, ethereal view of the bustling streets below. We made our way back down the winding steps and found ourselves in the strangest park I've ever seen. There was a square just in front of us with a monument in the middle, and it seemed to be packed with every senior citizen in Yangshuo. Two groups of spirited ladies, each armed with decadent silk fans, were practicing a choreographed fan dance,clearly recreational, for anyone who wanted to watch. next to them was a group of four slightly older women who had propped up a screen playing some sort of Jane Fonda workout routine which they were all attempting to follow along with to the best of their abilities. In front of all these women were two stone tables, around which set older men playing cards with groups of younger men surrounding these tables watching the action below. No locals or tourists aside from us seemed to think that this gathering was strange or even interesting.

Charlie Jenny and I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets. That night, after dinner, I went to one of the many mango-themed shops and ate a "mango egg waffle" which despite the name, was very yummy.

The next day we did my favorite thing about the trip so far: the Yangshuo Cooking School. We were picked up from our hotel by the instructor, Michelle. Also with us were a lovely couple from Germany and the Canadian. we began our morning with a stroll through the food market of the town through isles and aisles of fresh veggies that none of us had ever seen among them were winter melon which looks like a giant cucumber and asparagus lettuce which looks like neither asparagus nor lettuce instead looks like a giant bok choy. everyone was a little apprehensive to enter the meat market despite none of us being vegetarian but we found nothing particularly gruesome inside. There were cages and cages of chickens and ducks and rabbits and pigeons but the only strange thing inside the market was the fishmongers who are quite ferociously getting emails however we walked outside Jenny and I were faced with the trolley carrying three crates of live dogs headed into the market we had just walked out of.

The cooking school was located outside of the bustling town, nested in the mountains in an old traditional Chinese family home. We cooked five dishes whilst we were there: egg pork dumplings, steamed chicken with dates, spicy fried eggplant, chicken with vegetables, and fried garlic lettuce. We chopped and steamed and fried for about an hour and a half, ultimately each cooking ourselves a delicious lunch to enjoy in a cozy room, around a wood-burning stove. The cooking methods we used at the school were much different than the methods all of us were used to. There were many fascinating rules, like as adding water to the pan, only using specific types of oil, and never adding the oil until the pan was smoking. It was a very interesting class, and a lot of fun!

The rest of the day was quiet for Jenny, Charlie, and I. We spent it by the Li Riverbank, looking at cormorant fisherman and drinking coffee. The Babsons, however, had quite the experience at Fuli Village, a story that I'll save for them to tell.

We rose quite early on our final morning to meet Bing so that we could drive back to Guilin. On our way back to the hotel where we left our suitcases we stopped at the official Guilin Tea Research Institute. I initially worried that it was going to be quite a touristy destination, despite us being the only people there, because the guide gave a straw hats which were a bit silly and gimmicky. I was completely wrong though, and it quickly became a fascinating lesson on the parts of the tea plant and the different varieties of tea produced. Later we were brought inside to witness a traditional Chinese tea ceremony and to try three flavors of local tea. The ceremony was pleasant and methodical, like a dance, and each of the three tees we tasted were delicious.

After lunch and a quick stop to grab luggage, we were off to our last stop in Guilin before the airport, which was the famous Reed Flute Caves. These caves are naturally encased inside a mountain and are famous across China. They were used during the Japanese invasion in World War II to hide townspeople, and they saved countless lives. In the years since, the caves have become a staple of China's natural wonders and countless state officials have visited. The caves themselves are stunningly lit up with colorful lights, and feature many snaking pathways. They resemble caverns and are filled with stalagmites glittering with dolomite along the rippling columns. We didn't have much time to explore, but it was a fun way to finish our time in Guilin.

We were all sad to say goodbye to Bing and to Guilin, but we landed safely in Kunming and are looking forward to the next leg of our incredible journey.

Zaijian!