Yongshuo

Although Yongshuo was meant to be the destination point of the Li River cruise and an alternative to returning to Guilin, it turned out to be one of the highlights of the two week trip. We scored a nice corner room with a terrace in a Chinese boutique hotel for a night and wandered around the funky town. It was there that we met Lynn at the bar for lively discussion and a couple of G&T's, and more importantly where we met Rainbow and agreed to meet her and four bikes the following day.

For a small sum, we hired bikes and Rainbow for four hours. We arranged for a bag breakfast (a ham and cheese sandwich on the usual sweet bread, a tomato (no knife),an apple, an orange juice and some water) since we opted leaving earlier than breakfast was served. We met Rainbow, chose our bikes and adjusted them and headed out for the nearby villages and farms. After a short ride through the city (read: a bit nerve wracking- I don't like Chinese car traffic unless I am in a vehicle being driven by a Chinese person with experience)we landed on narrow tracks that bordered on creeks and fish farms, rice paddies and pig farms. We even caught sight of two water buffalos lounging in the water, and a brother of theirs pulling a plow with a man attached to it. While we were photographing the pair, a woman came out of nowhere clutching a semi naked baby and asked us for money- clearly for photographing the animals. I don't even know if they were hers and I'm sure that we all looked quite bewildered at her appearance.

I think that I found the first quiet spot in China, outside of the quiet of my dreams. We wandered around the trails for a couple of hours although I must say that it seemed like a lot less. I'm so glad that we hired Rainbow; without her we would have been relegated to the main streets- and they were not nearly as interesting. Guides in China can be a very smart way to get around. Many of them speak a great English, they know lots about their cities/area and they are very economical.



I also have to tell you of the short hike that we did in the middle of this bike ride. We arrive at Half Moon park and sat at the restaurant. I ordered some ginger tea and was pleased to find it to be smashed pieces of fresh ginger. A bit warm for the day, but nonetheless refreshing. After a brief rest, we headed up the hill. All three of us (one party member and Rainbow declined to join us and remained in the restaurant) were joined by a local shadow as we proceeded up the steps to the top. These shadows were mostly sturdy middle aged women who also carried coolers of cold drinks (coke, water, beer) on their shoulders, and followed us step for step up the hill. At first I was annoyed and hoped that they would melt away. I was particularly embarrassed when part way up the hill, she pulled out a and fan and provided me with cool air. This is not to say that it was unwelcome, I just didn't really need it. She graciously took my camera at the top and took a sweaty group photo of us (the humidity was high).


Her best service though was what she provided on the way down; my running shoes turned out to be the worst shoe I could have worn that day. The lack of traction made every wet stone step like ice for me. Thankfully, she grabbed my arm with fierce determination and prevented a fall, and perhaps some broken bones, or at the very least some blood and stitches. She left me with a bruise on my inner left arm (from all of the gripping) and I left her with 20RMB for her efforts. I was glad in the end that she was there. I include for you a photo of us at the bottom- you will note that she is still fanning me. Please disregard the sweaty garments- you should know that the humidity was quite high.