Guilin

Picturesque Guilin

Well, we went from one extreme to another, from Western, modern Hong Kong to rural Guilin. Guilin is the China you stereotypically envision. Famous for rice paddies, rice noodles and stunning scenery, Guilin is off the beaten track but definitely worth visiting for at least two days. Countless hilly outcrops speckle the unique landscape.

Some quirks about Guilin: first, the scooter situation is insane. There are many more here than Shanghai, many more! They zip in and out, in any direction, on the street and on sidewalks. They carry entire families, helmets aren’t worn and all too commonly, headlights are turned off at night. It is a miracle I have yet to be hit or had crushed toes.

Between the scooters buzzing around like insects and vehicles that don’t always obey signs and traffic lights, crossing the street in Guilin proved to be the most challenging of all cities thus far. However, we stuck to the golden rule learned in Qingdao: don’t run or you will get hit. To cross the street you slowly take a couple steps at a time and eventually you get across any street safely. Absolutely no one runs.

The price of food was the other astonishing thing about Guilin...it is so inexpensive! A delicious, freshly made bowl of noodles or a plate of flat noodle stir fry will set you back 80 or 90 cents Canadian. Everything was made of rice so my tummy was very happy, food baby and all.


Li River Cruise & Yang Shuo

We took a three hour, leisurely book cruise along the Li River. The landscape was breath-taking as you will see in the pictures. What the photos don’t reveal is the atrocious pollution in the river. Everywhere you look, you see garbage floating by: plastic bags and bottles, general rubbish, even an old car seat. In such a beautiful area, it was hard to understand why the river was used as a landfill.

The cruise ended at Yang Shuo, a tourist area and village full of unique caves and outcrops. We rented bikes and toured around for a couple of hours before heading home. After so many plane rides, taxi rides and overall lack of exercise, the bike ride was a welcome activity despite the heat.