Return to Yangshuo

Back in August 2006, Kerry, Ben, Mark and I came to China for Mike and Shelley's wedding. When we were planning our post-wedding two-week route around China we asked Michael where we could not possibly miss and he said a little place in Southern China called Yangshuo.

So after the wedding in Suzhou and trips to the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and the Great Wall and Beijing, we went for about three days rest and relaxation in Guangxi Province.

There's a good chance that in the intervening period I have bored you with photographs or regaled you with tales about how wonderful this place is. (Assuming we know each other of course). The surrounding landscape of the town is just so beautiful that it's easy to get carried away.

Happily, this weekend just gone, I was able to stop talking about it and go back there. A group of 7 friends from Caroline and my work planned a trip for a long weekend and to celebrate Steven's birthday.

On Friday Carol and Erik, Steven and Sunnia and me and Caroline assembled at Beijing airport for a 09:25 flight. There were brief hold ups as Caroline realised she didn't have one of her many official passports, specifically the one with the visa allowing her entry into China. Happily we weren't leaving the country, so it didn't prove to be a problem.

We arrived at the small airport at Guilin. It's a nice enough town, from the two brief trips I've taken through it and very popular with Chinese tourist. But for a break from Beijing we wanted to get away from cities of any size and so after stopping to collect another friend, Daphne, who had travelled by train, we went through the streets, only stopping for fruits and beers. Arriving at the banks of the river Li with a small woman in tow (she only wanted us to take a look at her boat!) we then began the process of bargaining for the 2-3 hour trip to Yangshuo. We agreed on a price about 65% of her original suggestion, but had the sneaky feeling we could have got more discount.

I have a rather short and unexciting video of this boat trip, or rather the one we took in 2006. However, for reasons best known to others, access to Youtube remains blocked here, so you are saved from that link. It actually does little to show what an enjoyable ride it is, so you're not missing out on too much. The reason I appreciate the boat ride is because it allows you to break up the travel day, first by plane, then bus to Guilin, then boat. It also provides a great first glimpse of the limestone karsts.

After the boat ride, stopping along the way to check out the view on the back of the 20 yuan note, we arrived and walked through the town. We found a couple of taxis and got underway to the Outside Inn where we were staying.
The place was fantastic as only the photographs can give you any impression.
And even better there was an in-house sausage dog called Lily who I had the opportunity to play with.

After unpacking, we headed back into Yangshuo for dinner and a few drinks. We enjoyed some great beer fish (which may or may not be a local speciality). But not before we had ordered and then had to inspect the live fish before it's head was bounced on the curb. After dinner and a wander along the main shopping street - West Street - we headed up to the rooftop bar above Monkey Jane's guesthouse. This was a place we had visited in 2006 and I was pretty happy to see that Jane still recognised me. Then after the first visit to the bathroom, we discovered why my face had been recognisable:
This poster was on the inside of the bathroom door and had been for the last two years. A smaller version was stuck on the bar too!

It was Steven's birthday and so he cut loose and enjoyed himself in a liquid fashion. I could give more details, but it would seem a little unkind - so I'll keep that particular ammunition for the future, just in case it becomes necessary...

After a cracking night of beer pong, cocktails and general merriment, we managed to find a 7 seat tuktuk to take us back to the guesthouse. Via some chuan'r, from a person I have now named a chuarista. Funny isn't it...

On the Saturday, following a delicious breakfast we headed off with Lily for a walk around the karsts. After an unfortunate, but ultimately unremarkable, interaction with an angry farmer and his rabid-looking dogs, we ended up finding a beautiful plateau. We lounged around in the warm weather and then wandered back to the guesthouse. We made the most of the outdoor seats and hammocks and chatted to the managers of the guesthouse and their kids. We ate lunch and dinner in the restaurant joined to the guesthouse which was delicious. We then headed back into Yangshuo for some gift shopping and a few drinks at Monkey Jane's.

On Sunday we rented mountain bikes and headed off for a cycle round the breathtaking scenery, ultimately aiming for Dragon Bridge. It was a fantastic day, probably the most enjoyable, even though it started off with a warm shower which made some of the tracks a bit muddy. We ate lunch on a floating bamboo raft next to an attractive little village. Four or five hours later we got back to the guesthouse to meet Carol and Erik, who hadn't made it out on the bikes as they had a few tasks to complete.
Not wanting to mess with an enjoyable and established routine, we headed back into town for dinner and drinks.

We woke up on Monday a bit disappointed to see our last day, but decided to get up and make the most of the best weather of the weekend. We spent a few hours lounging around in the sun relaxing, before we had to take a van back to the airport. Daphne stayed at the guesthouse, as she was taking the train on to Hong Kong on a visa mission. We were all pretty jealous of her being able to keep on travelling and could easily have stayed in Yangshuo for another week. We definitely plan to go back again soon, at least for another long weekend.

Caroline will be posting some photographs over the next few days. Anyone that thinks this place looks unmissable, you'll easily be able to twist our arms for another visit if you fancy heading over to China.