After my fun in Dàzhài, I had to head back in to Guìlín
in order to catch another bus to my next destination: the town of Yángshuò. Again,
easy enough to do and I got this one from the train station too.
After dumping my stuff at my new hostel, The Cosy
Garden, I spent my first day in Yángshuò just chilling out and exploring the
town. I would DEFINITELY recommend this hostel by the way! It’s a fair way
(about 20 minute walk) out of the town proper but the place itself is worth it
if you want a relaxing, quiet stay (maybe not for you social butterflies out
there, but as a hermit, I was having the time of my life). The staff were very
friendly and helpful and the dorm room I stayed in was very comfy! They served
fantastic breakfasts too! Anyway, as for Yángshuò the town, I loved it! Very
pretty and one particular area was teeming with tourists and western food
restaurants – which I loved and took full advantage of. Drank A LOT of mango
shakes too.
So having by this point visited the rice terraces, I
only had one thing left on my list for this trip which was a cruise down the Li
River, so that was how I spent day number 2! Organised the tour through my
hostel as they seemed like trustworthy, reliable folk and I wasn’t
disappointed: they organised someone to pick me up and take me to the bus
station, where I boarded a bus to a small town near Yángshuò (can’t
recall the name!), when I arrived someone was there to collect me and take me
to the riverfront where I jumped on a little raft for one! It definitely felt
like everyone we passed on their rafts was staring at me because I was by
myself, but as an SIW I totally owned it, rocking out with my iPod and
florescent orange life vest. All in all, I’d say going down the river, then
back up took about 3 hours – 3 blissful hours of floating gently taking in some
beautiful scenery. And of course, finding the 20 yuan note spot! The only
downer was it started to rain cats and dogs, but luckily this was at the end of
my little tour so all’s well that ends well!
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| The town, as I was taken to my hostel |
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| Tourist hub |
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| More from the centre |
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| Got it! |
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| Down the river! |
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| God's thumb! |
The next day I played it pretty by ear and ended up at
Moon Hill. Recommended as a great view of the town, and despite it being pretty
misty, it was still so. One negative was the amount, and freakish size, of the
mosquitoes inhabiting the dense forests leading up to the viewpoint. I got
bitten to hell up there.
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| Moon Hill |
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| View from one side |
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| From the other side (very similar I'll grant you) |
So after Moon Hill I went mad and hopped on another
river cruise, this time down the Yùlóng River. This time we really were
floating in one of the typical bamboo rafts. Very blissful again!
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| Few snaps from the Yulong River |
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| Wedding photo shoot! Classic |
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| More river cruise |
Well
post-Yángshuò, just one stop remained until I finally left China!
Coming
up: Guăngzhōu.
xoxo
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