6TH - 8TH JULY 2005

We had about an hours flight to Guilin from Chongqing. The flight was far better than expected not only did you get drinks but you got food as well, including 2 veggie dishes to which we were very impressed! After our pleasant but bumpy flight, we found our way to the bus which would take us on the hour and a half’s drive to Yangshuo. The scenery soon changed from big city to open countryside and the start of the maddest style of mountains we have ever seen. As we drove further towards Yangshuo we were starting to see what scenic beauty the place had in store for us, lush green fields and pinnacle shaped mountains soaring up towards the clear blue sky. The bus dropped us off and we did about a 5 minute to our hotel, which was a cute wooden building style on the main pedestrianised street, our room was very rustic and pleasant. The hotel also worked with a few charities, it helped pay for disadvantaged minority kids to get schooling and generally just help this kids out, so

obviously we made a donation.

Yangshuo was a sort of backpackers type place - it was apparently discovered before China was really open to tourists by the few backpackers who did manage to get in. We stayed on West street, in the White Lion Hotel - which gives you an idea of what the place is like!! There were lots of Restaurants which served both Western food and Chinese! It was a real mish mash of styles! Even so though, the touristy element was for the main part tastefully done, and it didn’t spoil the overall vibe of the town.

Wandering down the pedestrianised street the cafes turned into market stalls, and then at the end was the river. It was pretty busy there, with passenger boats swerving around little fishing boats which reminded us of Venetian gondolas, along with old