Guilin and Yangshuo: Day 6

When on the Banana Pancake Trail, do as the Banana Pancake Trail..um, blazers. Breakfast in Yángshuò 阳朔 at a place called Kelly’s Café, where the sound system that morning took us back to 1980, with “Public Image”, “Rapper’s Delight” and “Rapture” in rapid succession:

Back at the Yangshuo C.Source West Street Residence. The proprietors of this establishment had done a fine job melding the Ming-era building with 21^st-century conveniences and comforts: 

The courtyard, with an appropriate nostalgic tinge: 

For the first time in our weeklong trip, the sun paid us a visit, which made it an ideal day to rent a couple of bicycles and explore the some of the surrounding countryside. Provided we could get out of the town’s insanely clogged streets first. Even in smaller burgs, Chinese drivers converge upon each other in a cacophonous din of blaring horns and refusals to give way or show the least bit of courtesy to other drivers, not to mention pedestrians…and, of course, cyclists. But we eventually maneuvered our way through the throng, and before long found our onto a much quieter back road: 

This old house once belonged to a general: 

My wife has her tires replenished with air, courtesy of a local who has tried to capitalize on the popularity of biking in this area among Chinese and non-Chinese visitors alike:

The sight of a water buffalo was a source of great excitement for my daughter. She wasn’t the only one, however. Pamela overheard a young Chinese woman tell her friend it was the first time for her to see a real live cow, a sign perhaps of how rapidly the society has urbanized in the past few decades: 

Some of the farmers living along the bicycle route have converted their homes into diners, serving meals to the visitors. We stopped for lunch at a rustic farmhouse in a village called Jiùxiàn 旧县, where my wife ordered yet another local favorite, beer duck 啤酒鸭:

The walls of the house appeared frozen in time, as with this poster depicted People’s Liberation Army generals depicted on horseback North Korean-style:

After lunch it was back on the bikes to continue riding. Today it was Pamela’s turn to go with Amber on a tandem, while I got to ride solo:

 

The scenery evoked that rural idyll, but many of the houses were still of the mud and brick variety. Income inequality is certainly not unique to China, but the gulf between the countryside and the major urban centers can still be shocking to see at times:

We were planning on riding out to the same Dragon Bridge 遇龙桥 that we had been bussed out to see on our first day in Yangshuo. However, the quiet road we’d been riding on for several kilometers came to a halt at a busy highway. Rather than do battle with the large trucks and tourist buses whizzing by, we decided to turn around and head back the same way we’d come:

The girls ride by a large tree which had refused to make way for the road:

Feeling thirsty, we stopped at an old farmhouse to have a couple of Cokes. The toilet in the back was very “rustic”:

Here in the countryside, images of Máo Zédōng 毛泽东 are still revered:

Another house belonging to a military family, with the last a general who fought against the Japanese during World War II:

Next door, inspirational words from Chairman Mao were holding up slightly better than the fading slogans from the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命:

A comparatively rare site in China, at least in comparison to Taiwan, is that of roadside temples. This one was built on the side on the hill, providing some views of the surrounding countryside. This spot was located along the Yùlóng River 遇龙河, and was another popular starting point for rides on bamboo rafts:

Back in town, Pamela went off to a hair salon to get her washed, so Amber and I took a stroll around Yangshuo Park 阳朔公园, where in another throwback to the past, heroic Socialist Realism statues were ignored by virtually everyone present:

Reunited with Mom, we walked down to the Lí River 漓江 for a look at the boats and the peaks before dinner:

Dinner was on the second floor of a café overlooking Xījīe 西街:

When in Yangshuo, do as everyone else, which hear means checking out the action on Yixie and buying gifts and souvenirs:

The evening ended at Le Vôtre 乐得法式餐厅, a French restaurant sharing the same building as the Yangshuo C.Source. They brew their own beer, a practice I’m always willing to encourage through my patronage:

Next up: Our last full day

Rafting down the Yulong River

Morning in Yangshuo

Guilin and Yangshuo: Day 5

Life doesn't get much better than waking up early, walking out onto the balcony of the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat 阳朔胜地 and enjoying a cup of coffee while looking out over the Yùlóng River 遇龙河. Thus began our fifth day in the Yángshuò 阳朔 area:

Looking back on it, I now wish we had stayed the entire time in Yanghsuo at this hotel, instead of the single night we were there. At the time we made the reservation online, we decided that one night was enough due to the inn's distance from town. Had we known that the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat was within easy biking distance of much of the best of the area's countryside scenery, we would have extended our stay and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. If there's a next time...:

Later in the morning, bamboo rafts began appearing on the river, floating languidly by the inn:

Eventually, the time came to pack up and leave the room, but before departing for Yangshuo, we took advantage of the inn's free bikes. My wife rode solo, while my daughter and I teamed up on a tandem:

The skies were threatening to open up and unleash a downpour, but the scenery more than compensated:

Our destination was Moon Hill 月亮山, four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat. This limestone outcropping with an eroded crescent-shaped opening is a surreal sight as it suddenly opens up in front of you:

It was a 30-minute walk up 800 steps (a number that Amber constantly reminded Pamela of as the latter huffed and puffed her way to the top) to reach the "moon". The views, of course, were worth the "effort":

My wife felt so sorry for this old woman who walked up the steps in order to hawk drinks that she bought a Coke from her for RMB20 ($3.25):

The trail continued on past the moon-shaped hole to another lookout point. However, at this point, it began to rain heavily so we made our way back downhill to the parking lot:

Though it had rained a lot so far on our trip, this was the first time for the three to be caught outside in a downpour. Fortunately, Pamela had come prepared with some cheap plastic raincoats. Back on the bikes, the rain showed little sign of letting up, so we pulled off the road at a small diner for lunch, where the menu included local treats such as fried pork with taro:

By the end of the meal, the rain had stopped and we got back on the bikes:

Parking our bikes beside the Yulong River, we were given a ride on a farm vehicle past the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat to a point upriver where rides on bamboo rafts were on offer:

This is one of the most popular activities in the Yangshuo area - sitting on a chair on the raft while a boatman using a bamboo pole gently guides you down the river. Amber and I were on one raft, while Pamela rode solo on another:

The scenery, naturally, was splendid:

At one point, we floated past the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, and our room with a balcony:

Continuing down the river and past a couple having wedding photos taken along the riverside:

The ride took almost 90 minutes in total, and ended where we had parked our bikes. Before returning them to the inn, my wife stopped to buy some grilled fish:

By the time we dropped the bicycles off, it was almost 6:00, and we took advantage of the hotel's free shuttle to Yangshuo, where we checked into our home for the final three nights, the Yangshuo C.Source West Street Residence. Located in a Ming dynasty-era building, and tastefully decorated in modern retro-Chinese chic, it may not have had the serenity of the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, but it did provide some sense of isolation from the world outside:

Which in Yangshuo was a necessity, as the town's main drag, Xijie 西街, was cacophonous. Back in the 1980's, Yangshuo was a quiet backwater that had the fortune to be "discovered" by young Western backpackers cutting a Chinese path on the Banana Pancake trail. Many fell in love with the area and never left, opening up bars, cafes, inns and restaurants, while local entrepreneurs rushed to cater to the visitors' tastes (such as Western-style breakfasts, for which I was very grateful). Before long, as the Chinese economy took off, with affluence affecting leisure time trends, the Chinese also started coming in droves. The result is that Yangshuo is far removed from being an idyllic rural Chinese backwater. Instead, Xijie teems with tourists, Chinese and non-Chinese, walking past endless souvenir shops, eateries, and even bars and discos pumping out horrible Chinese dance music. Touts proliferate to the extent that the weary tourist ceases to be polite when declining their sales offers. English is widely-spoken, which can of great help to the non-Mandarin speaking visitor but provides little defense against the hawkers and vendors. Still, Yangshuo's atmosphere can be fun, and the setting, surrounded by tall spires lit up at night by white spotlights, adds to the mood:

For my daughter, it was all great fun, especially when she ran into her classmate yet again. It's a small world in China:

Next up: Going up the country on two wheels.