GUANGXI 6: XINGPING & YANGSHUO

 At last the sun comes out and the fog burns away, the sky turns blue and it's like springtime in England!

After breakfast I walk into the hills hoping to find my way to a little village called Fish Village on the river, but the paths peter out at some point and I'm unable to complete the walk. I resolve to try again another day. However the scenery is beautiful and peaceful: the only sounds I can hear are insects,and the peace is marvellous and rare. I need to take a walk for a day to experience more of this.

The Chinese food in the area is so far disappointing: I think I will ask for some recommendations. After lunch I sit on the verandah of the hostel and talk to the Chinese gentleman (called Jack) who is travelling home the next day. It's peaceful and relaxing.

 I rise very early the next day (6.30 am) and photograph the river at sunrise: it's magical and filled with peace as the only audible sounds are the distant chugging of the few boats bringing in fruit and the cawing of some river birds.

 My attempts to hire a bamboo raft (actually they're made of plastic) to Yangshuo by myself prove fruitless: two boatmen I approach won't take me, and I'm approached by a Chinese lady touting for business. Her boat will do it for RMB 300 but the boatman wants to drop me a good 4 miles or so away from Yangshuo so I eventually abandon the idea and have a coffee in the cafe. Following this I take the bus to Yangshuo which takes about an hour.

 Yangshuo is a bustling town that reminds me of Ayia Napa in Cyprus: it's quite during the day in the tourist area as it's a nightlife town at least on the bar strip. I'm glad to be staying in Xingping. The good news is there are many small hotels often with rooms available so if I like I can just wander in to town with my passport and hole up for the night!

I manage to find a CITS office and they will do the river raft trip for RMB 130, the only thing is I need to do it at 1.30 pm so I suppose it limits my time. However it's only 10 am by now so I have a burger as a late breakfast and decide to book the trip for the afternoon. 

This works out well although the raft tour turns out to be in Xingping itself anyway! I also learn that when you have your ticket (bought in Yangshuo or Xingping) all you have to do is go to the official pier (where the boats are more regulated) and all that happens is that the marshals make you wait until there are enough people to fill a raft which doesn't take too long as a Chinese family of 3 soon arrive making 4 so on I get.  

The scenery is wonderful, full of beauty and mystery. I'm filled with obvious associations like the film "Apocalypse Now" although of course my journey is not quite so adventurous! Shafts of sunlight pour down from the hills adding to the spectacle and the aura.

The prehistoric nature of the landscape is powerfully evocative.

 The scenery from the river is spectacular and filled with wonderful associations of lost prehistoric worlds. This is almost the trip of a lifetime and the weather at the moment is like a good English summer. I even sit outside in my shirt sleeves with a beer in the sunshine!

 My Lonely Planet makes it sound as if you can just casually grab a ride on one of the river rafts at any time but I have the feeling they are quite well regulated and that casual trips are discouraged. Before dinner I take the opportunity to watch the sunset and think about the next day's plans.