Yangshuo

top left - view of mountains from Yangshuo

top right - boat we took down the river

middle left - tour group on the boat

middle right - view from moon mountain

bottom left - river on the way to moon mountain

I arrived in Yangshuo yesterday at 4:30 am, after riding the overnight train from the city of Three Gorges. Three Gorges was pretty crazy compared to the other places we have visited so far. A few people from our group went for dinner, and we got lost on the way back. We walked by a store that had dead snakes in jars and what looked like a skeleton of a monkey in the window. There's just a bit of an eery vibe here. The people seem more sketchy and for the first time since I arrived there was a bit of nervousness with regard to safety. We ended up on a street very similar to what I would expect the red light district in Amsterdam to be like. There were "massage" parlours in small warehouse style buildings and those buildings took up the whole block. We discovered more by our hotel. Needless to say, Three Gorges was a place to sleep and that's all.

Yangshuo on the other hand was a different experience. Yangshuo was definitely the most beautiful city we have been to so far. It reminds me so much of Banff, surrounded by limestone mountains, cute quaint stores and really friendly people. The city has many tourists that pass through but there are only 30,000 people that live there. A real change for some of the big cities we've visited. After we settled into our hotel, we went for breakfast. And it was the first time I was able to order pancakes and eggs. Most cities were traditional, but this place had western influence. I ordered so much food. We took a boat down the river in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful, which for our group was awesome considering we were dealing with monsoon rain most of the time. It really was perfect, at least at the start. About half way down, the clouds rolled in and this intense storm came with them. We were stuck inside the boat for about an hour, didn't move, couldn't move, just watched it rain. I gained a different appreciation for the beauty of a storm, perhaps it's because we were so vulnerable to it. Later on we discovered an English bar and decided to let loose and have some drinks. I'm not excited to report that I saw a rat run through the bar, oh man! 

Today we went for an early bike ride in the beautiful countryside, something you don't see often in China. It was a beautiful day too, bonus! We rode for about 2 hours to Moon Mountain. Our tour guide said the hike up the mountain wasn't as bad as the Great Wall, but I would beg to differ. It was humid and we were climbing up steps that weren't stable and because of the humidity, were also slippery. It was pretty tough. I did have some Chinese woman fanning me the whole way up and holding my hand if the steps were to difficult to climb, embarrassing for me but such a lovely lady! She took her job seriously and was even killing mosquitoes for me. These woman are about 40-50 and they climb at least once a day with a cooler of water and postcards to sell. They have fans and they will keep you cool the whole way up, it's unbelievable. The mountain has a giant circle at the top that from far away looks like a moon, hence Moon Mountain. The views of the countryside from this vantage point are incredible. Even though the climb was tough and I will probably be sore for a few days, it was totally worth it.

Tonight is my last night here, but before I leave tomorrow I have a painting class and a Ma Jong class. We are taking our last overnight train, thankfully, to Hong Kong tomorrow night. We will arrive in Hong Kong at 10 am the following day. My China tour is over in a few days and then I am off to Bangkok! I think I will embrace the change, China has been great but I am ready for something a different.

Write soon!!!