Guilin/Yangshuo: Day 8, What a view

I really enjoyed my shower at the Sheraton. It didn’t have the water pressure issues which were really my only complaint with the YMCA in Hong Kong. The room was quite luxurious and the breakfast buffet even more so. They had a full Chinese buffet plus a regular western buffet, a waffle station, and an omelet bar. We indulged a little too much and had to rush to check out and meet our guide at 8:40. Luckily we were not too late, and we arrived in time for our boat cruise on the Lijiang river to Yangshuo.

Our guide (Angela) got us an upstairs table together with a pair we recognized from the airplane yesterday and the hotel: a Jewish spine surgeon from New Jersey and his 17 year old daughter. It turns out their guide worked for the same company as ours. They were excellent company, and we were disappointed to learn that we would soon part ways as they were off to Shanghai the next morning. The reason for their trip was a coming of age present and a special bonding opportunity for a father who normally is quite busy with his career. He has three daughters, and at the age of 16 they may choose a two week dream trip anywhere in the world. I thought that was a wonderful idea.

The trip itself was spectacular with gorgeous scenery unfolding with every turn of the river. The water level was very low. This is the dry season, but it’s been even dryer than usual. I suppose more water would have made for better reflections, but not knowing what I was missing, I loved it anyhow. Local peasants on bamboo rafts would hitch rides on the tour boat and try to sell fruit and souvenirs. For me, they added local flavor to the foregrounds of my pictures. The weather was cloudy with intermittent showers, but according to the guide that made for better visibility that clear weather. She also said that Chinese like it “misty” because it sets the mood. Besides pollution, I think a major contributor to the haze problem is the tradition of trash burning. I lost count how many of these smoky and smelly fires we passed. Every few minutes, the guides would reappear to point out sites like an ancient village or hill that’s supposed to look like something.

It was in the 40s (~10 C) so most people spent a lot of time going back and forth from their indoor table to the deck to take pictures. The weather forecast I’d that I’d found just before we left Hong Kong was for the 60s (~15 C) this week in Guilin, so I’d chosen not to bring my long underwear, hat, and gloves. Luckily, I still had plenty of clothes with me and didn’t miss them.

Lunch was also served on the boat, and it was pretty good. There were a few things that I didn’t want to try, and a few things that were not so palatable for me, but for unknown Chinese food, I was quite pleased. Our companions struggled to find something to eat since kosher food is very difficult to find in China. Fortunately, they planned ahead and had pockets stuffed with granola bars.

When we arrived in Yangshuo, we had to walk down the main tourist street to get to our hotel. The peddlers were especially aggressive, chasing after people even if they hadn’t given their wares as much as a glance. Our guide explained that the economic crisis had really decreased tourism, and these people were desperate to sell anything. My mom stopped and bought two wooden ducks for 10 yuan (~$1.40). A moment later she was chased down by a pack of duck salespeople, one of whom eventually sold her seven more for only 10 yuan. Angela just shook her head.

Angela pointed out to us to a shop that specialized in the handicrafts of several of the area’s native peoples. In China, most “Chinese” are Han Chinese, but there are also dozens of minority groups who are the native people in different regions. The Guilin region is known for having over 1/3 of its population “minorities” which is the highest in China. I found this very interesting.

We had a VIP river view room at the hotel, which was quite luxurious. Mom took a short nap, then we went back for a little shopping before dinner. Usually the guide and driver eat separately since the meals are included in the tour, but we invited them to join us. This way we got twice the variety of dishes, and it turned out to be a very good decision. I really liked the tofu dish that wound normally not have been served to tourists, and there ended up being much more food than we could possibly eat.

After dinner we went to see “the show.” It was a huge thing with a 2 km long “stage” on the river and 600 performers directed and choreographed by the guy who did the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony. It was outdoors and quite chilly, but we were reluctant to rent the used (and not so pleasant smelling) Chinese army jackets that were available. Luckily we were sheltered from the breeze, so we were okay. Since I’m not particularly interested in mass performances like Olympic ceremonies, I was expecting to be a bit bored here, but I was not. The show was a little over an hour long, and that was perfect for me. The performers were either on bamboo rafts or on piers, and the lighting made it quite spectacular. The plot, based on a famous Chinese movie, was pretty much lost on me since all the songs and dialog were in Chinese, though I gather it was a love story.