China part 2- Shanghai and the search for sun!

November 19th

We awoke this morning to the gentle rocking of the train speeding us towards Shanghai and I settled into a comfy half sleep.  The train wouldn`t be in until after lunch so there was no need for an early start.  Except that one of the older ladies that we were sharing a compartment with was adament that it was time for me to get up!  Whether it was because Aoife was already awake or because she wanted to eat her breakfast without me on the bunk above or for some other inscrutable reason she made Aoife get me up.  Sitting in the aisle of a sleeper train is not brilliant fun being both uncomfy and boring- I was not happy.  Still we settled into a morning pot noodle and waited for Shanghai to arrive.  Finally, the old woman who had decided it was getting up time, decided it was nap time after all and promptly fell asleep snoring.  Despite the strong urges inside me to wake her as revenge, I decided a nap would be nicer and we passed another couple of hours in blissful sleep.

Anyway, having arrived we got the metro up to our hostel, where we got ready for a night on the town!  The cuisine is more spicy the further south you go but and we were keen to try a highly rated Sichuan restaurant in the French Concession area.  We arrived just in time because although we had the pick of the tables, 15 minutes later the place was jammed.  We ordered some greens and a chilli beef dish that was literally cut up red chillis stir fried with sliced beef.  This was so delicious despite being super hot; not just hot for the sake of it but because the heat added to the overal flavour of the dish.  Vowing to return, we headed out into the night to find a bar of some description.

We found the famous `bar street` of the French Concession and promptly started looking up it only to find the bar we had decided to go to had been shut down!   Actually when we really looked, it seemed as if a number of bars had been closed.  To much fun for China here perhaps?  We later learned the street had a curfew….perhaps the owners of these bars had been naughty 😉

We did, however, find an Irish bar with a good craic. It had a good drinks list too, so we settled in.  After we had been there about 20 minutes a group of expat lads arrived who we assumed must be some kind of sports team because they were dressed in womens clothes and obviously on a serious session! Sure enough it turned out to be the celebration of the Beijing- Shanghai rugby game that had taken place that afternoon. Anyway soon enough a good time was being had by all in this bar! Past midnight, we decided to call it a night and apparently just in the nick of time because just as we left the police arrived to call a halt to proceedings.  Officially drinking isn`t allowed outside the establishement after 10pm… perhaps our Irish bar will be the next ghost bar on the bar street.

 

November 20th

Today was our one year anniversary so a special celebration day was in order.  And what better place to celebrate than in Shanghai?  If we couldn`t find something nice to do here we wouldn`t find it anywhere!

After a quick breakfast we headed out to explore the ‘Bund’ area.  This is the original centre of Shanghai, so named because it was originally a bank on which ships docked to unload their goods.  Since it`s rapid development in the early 20th century, however, it has housed a remarkable line of beautiful buildings, most of which are either fancy hotels or banks.  We wanted to check out the Fairmont Peace Hotel which host a famous jazz band who are all in their seventies and some much older.  One of the saxophonists is 94!  Anyway we didn`t make a reservation because of the ridiculous minimum spend associated with it but decided we would come back at a good time to get a table.  We also checked out the Waldorf Astoria which is a really remarkable art deco hotel and we took plenty of pictures of us enjoying the facilities J

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We then took the ferry across the river to the New Pudong area which is a bit like Canary Wharf on steroids!  Huge skyscrapers everywhere including many with observation decks.  We had planned to take in the view of the city from one of these but unfortunately it was either cloudy or smoggy (its hard to tell in China sometimes) and we couldn`t see the top of the towers.  If you can`t see the top from the bottom, then you won`t see the bottom from the top!

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It was getting late anyway so after a brief walk around this area, we headed back to our hostel on the metro to get ready for our big night out!

The Jazz wasn`t a dissapointment.  It did take them a little while to get going but once the band were warmed up they had good groove! The cocktails were also divine- we particularly liked the hotel`s `old fashioned` which we`ll have to mix up when home J  All too soon it was time to leave and we headed out to ‘Lost Heaven’ for our evening meal.  This was the first posh Chinese restaurant we had been to and it was pretty special.  There was an amazing array of dishes on the menu including a number of flowers we had never heard of.  We settled on a few different dishes. We had already learned that you don`t order a main course each in these places, unless you want loads of food left over! One main and a vegetable stir fry plus rice is always loads of food. We also treated ourselves to wine and what turned out to be a $10 bottle of water.  Ouch!  From Norway! We ranted on about the scandalous price of the Norweigan water while enjoying our delicious food 😉 Finally full up, we were last to leave the restaurant and a little unsteady on our feet when we headed outside to get a taxi! After a bit of negotiation with the taxi drivers it became clear that none of the ones outside the restaurant would use their meter- they wanted a fixed, very high price of 100RMB (about $15) for getting us home.  I was having none of it (we had to get out of the one we were in- Aoife was not happy!) and we walked up the street 50m and hailed another one.  The ride actually cost 15RMB on the meter!  Great, fun night! J

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November 21st

Suprisingly we were up fairly early and decided to begin the morning with some excercise to brush away the cobwebs.  I needed to start training for skiing so after 3 laps of the local park, Aoife ran on and left me, whilst I did some Pilates and the unfortunately named eccentric -leg- exercises!  After we returned to the hostel, a good breakfast was in order and we were then ready to face the day!  We wanted to find a small area of the French Concession famed for its tiny alleys and handmade souvenirs.  Unfortunately it was raining and by the time we arrived we were cold, wet and hungover.  A deadly combination!  We had to start with lunch but unfortunately because this area was a tourist hotspot you could get any flavour of food under the sun but no Chinese.  Eventually, however, we found a little noodle bar to serve us some dumplings and a tofu soup.

After food we were a little bit cheered up and set about exploring the myriad of stores.  There were nice things here especially Chinese dresses and handicrafts but unfortunately everything was very expensive.  Perhaps a little surprisingly for a communist country (or perhaps not?) the Chinese are very shrewd when it comes to business.    This means, therefore, that as soon as an area becomes a tourist attraction the price for all goods in that area shoots up massively.  The best places to buy things therefore is usually the markets where the same stuff will be on sale but very cheap (if you’re a good haggler ;)).

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There was also a rather good food market which we stumbled into by accident.  Having a look round we realised that it was heavy on fish but that all the fish were live in tanks!  Basically you caught your own fish out of the little tank with a net and then gave it to the stall owner who prepared it for you.  Great, we thought, until we looked closer and realised that the fish were being gilled, gutted and scaled while still alive!  I usually have quite a strong stomach for that sort of thing but we were both a bit sickened by the idea of the fish not being killed before all of this happened.  None of the locals seemed remotely bothered however!  Chalk it up to cultural differences- the Chinese are obviously sticklers for freshness 🙂

We headed home after this, and after a bit of a rest we headed out to find Wang`s fried dumplings.  These were every bit as good as we had been promised but didn`t consitute a full meal.  Perhaps it was the fish gutting antics of the afternoon but nothing appealed to us apart from fish!  So we found a little restaurant, ordered something tasty and tried not to think about how it had been swimming around a tank a few minutes before…

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November 22nd

The lazy start we should have had the morning before happened today but we only had one thing important to do and that was fly to Guilin.  We headed into town first, however, for a bit of last minute shopping.  I had seen a nice man bag on the first day and was determined to go back and have another look.  After annoying the lady in the shop by trying out all the bags, I decided that it was stupid to buy one anyway because I would have to carry it all the way around China!

We arrived in Guilin and our hope for warmer weather was answered, just about!  After finding the hostel, we headed out for a quick bite to eat and hit our beds, dreaming of some sun after chilly rainy Shanghai!

 

November 23rd

We awoke today in need of an easy day.  The frantic pace of the last couple of months was finally catching up with us and was taking a toll on our desire to do anything.  Enthusiasm was hard to muster! It wasn`t helped by the fact that overnight the weather had turned absolutely freezing!  After breakfast we forced ourselves out of the hostel to see Guilin wearing every single piece of clothing we owned.

Guilin is a pleasant town and although the main sights of the region are not in the town itself, it makes a great base for exploring.  We did, however, have a walk along the river and lakes which flow through the town as well as seeing the Sun and Moon pagodas which are, apparently, the tallest structures of their kind in the world.  They were pretty impressive up close but not impressive enough for us to linger.  We decided to call it a day; the nasty weather meant the day was only really good for one thing.  Curling up inside and planning our next moves- and so we did J

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It was a nice rest day, but we also needed a run to top it off.  Unfortunately, in the intervening time it had started to rain.  Much to the horror of the locals we decided to run anyway and to dire warnings of getting arthritis because of the rain we ran back round the lakes we walked in the morning.  The night time vista was something special- much more exciting than during the day and when we returned to the hostel an hour later our sprits were well lifted!

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After warming up with a hot shower we headed out to the nearest food place we could find which was a bar serving western food and showing the ATP tour tennis finals.  Result!

 

November 24th

An early start this morning as we were heading out to the Longji Rice Terraces.   This famous landscape (along with a boat trip down the Lee river to Yangshou) was the reason we had set our hearts on coming to Guilin in the first place.  Expecting a tourbus to show up, in the end there were only four of us going from the hostel so we were bundled into a nice taxi and sent on our way J  The other two were a pair of Germans who were studying in Shanghai and taking some time to travel a bit whilst they were in China.  Amazingly (for members of the Briem family) their names were Charlotte and Valdemar which I think is one of the weirdest coincidences I`ve ever come across!

Anyway we passed a nice three hours chatting in the back of the taxi and decided to head up to the terraces together.  We were not disappointed by the views on offer.  The terraces have been crafted by thousands of years of hard labour- every available piece of hillside had be carved out into a flat plane for growing rice.  It is worth considering that these terraces also have to be perfectly flat and flow into one another so that they can be flooded in spring time.  We were bowled over by the shear scale of human endeavour!  Unfortunately, as is so common in China, this remarkable landscape is being developed with holiday cottages and hotels; there is already a cable car to the top for those unable or unwilling to hike the 45mins it takes to get there.  My advice is see this while you still can because in 5 years it will be changed forever.

In typical style, we weren`t satisfied with simply doing the normal tourist trail and after seeing the first viewpoint, we headed out to climb up to the highest peak in search of more views.  Alas the maps and signs were pretty poor and we were soon lost!  Eventually after hiking for a few hours we decided to turn around and go down to make sure we were back in time for our ride home!  On the plus side, on our way we found that the terraces were used for growing all sorts of food; not just rice 🙂 It was hard to resist delving into the locals chilli and berry plots!

After the long day of hiking we were in need of some rest and despite our best efforts at conversation, soon we were all asleep in the back of the taxi!  The other guys were also planning a boat trip down the Lee river in the morning but had booked into the more expensive (but potentially much warmer) luxury cruise.  We had booked onto a shorter trip on a bamboo raft which whilst more fun in the summer had the potential to cause hypothermia in these conditions!  We opted to change our minds and travel to yangshou in style!  Having made this important decision, we headed out for some dinner and live music. We found some awesome live music in a bar not far from the hostel. Soulful jazz….a very nice surprise!

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[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OmtVVowm0GI/WGuFSY23RBI/AAAAAAAANEQ/QBWrQsUaRnMzhJc_Hm7FAr7cxRhSHyZngCCo/s144-o/20161124_185534.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648802403346″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_185534.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MKO1-9ZSgVQ/WGuFSWuZWlI/AAAAAAAANEQ/dYiNQX9nevY2fNmH_Cpyd5a5uU4CZhZmACCo/s144-o/20161124_143122.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648230017618″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_143122.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hKNPtvsqCF0/WGuFSRZLfoI/AAAAAAAANEQ/vEgwNiNrv7IcasjDFcpschCKlC_Rt-8LQCCo/s144-o/20161124_142838.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332646798851714″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_142838.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uL6JdcXoL8g/WGuFScNzf1I/AAAAAAAANEQ/ttsg2QhTHEo1Jum9y4Ck1NSCLuB9joYmACCo/s144-o/20161124_142812.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649703931730″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_142812.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Yjl2AZP4ncY/WGuFSYx2ouI/AAAAAAAANEQ/6PVKsK7chPA3IA4xBKww0uDjM9SrhmsbgCCo/s144-o/20161124_135408.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648781390562″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_135408.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-93ha-6n8a1E/WGuFSRHTtTI/AAAAAAAANEQ/JsoVl0yN_7Ishz83oxeoSGloATyseXI_gCCo/s144-o/20161124_134812.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332646723892530″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_134812.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TgfrmbXdk3w/WGuFSWyUpKI/AAAAAAAANEQ/x3mvvVJR8DYj-fj_3gQTcqGWGe9Wai2DQCCo/s144-o/20161124_133838.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648246486178″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_133838.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-whL8bgPWSvs/WGuFSagB5oI/AAAAAAAANEQ/x3L1kN3PztAjgmuAIBd4oGbwFLpPCvvOQCCo/s144-o/20161124_130223.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649243502210″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_130223.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t2gHtGT8I7Y/WGuFSYGJNiI/AAAAAAAANEQ/raIepqfii4YLXz7E05Iln8u1hpCPyATOACCo/s144-o/20161124_125823.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648598058530″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_125823.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Kke8Jhsblqk/WGuFSWn-W5I/AAAAAAAANEQ/RKiedKfQYkMkZ2bpAiOCCt_B3_OavhwrACCo/s144-o/20161124_125554.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648203082642″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_125554.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FLSA5Jciu8s/WGuFSU1FT9I/AAAAAAAANEQ/I4Mmfs0LmmYQeGd85o4JU1xo7QtSU0pswCCo/s144-o/20161124_124744.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647721193426″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_124744.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dGIR46oPvGM/WGuFSc0Kw9I/AAAAAAAANEQ/NbTkey-uY5kRDZ-M0xU9cGq1ONCjtua5ACCo/s144-o/20161124_123336.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649864840146″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_123336.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p0-cxr89D60/WGuFSbAdWXI/AAAAAAAANEQ/O14S8R5zf1ocRH4FuIDhUlW9_ROeL8QLgCCo/s144-o/20161124_122715.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649379518834″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161124_122715.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]

 

November 25th

The rainy, gale forced winds we awoke to start convinced us that we had definitely opted for the right boat cruise!  It was not a day to be frolicking around outside!  An early start, followed by a coach ride had us on the water by 10am ready to cruise down the river to Yangsho.  Our cruise included a guided tour in English as well as Chinese.  This was hilarious!  The lady rattled on in Chinese for what seemed like hours only to utter a single sentence in English afterwards giving the most banal of facts.  The best part was that every time we came to a noteworthy view, we were invited upstairs to `take photos`.  No mention of actually looking at the view!  This wasn`t the first time this had happened and we were starting to think that Chinese tourism mainly consists of taking photos and, presumably, looking at them in the future! The posing displays on the upper deck were priceless. We got involved too of course 

Despite the rain, this was a really breathtaking, remarkable landscape- just look at the photos!  It was worth every penny of our tour money and we arrived in Yangshuo very wet and very happy! We saw one or two unfortunate groups braving the conditions on the skimpy exposed bamboo rafts… It just looked deathly! Our hearts went out to these poor soaked, frozen souls!

[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/–x_tflWEQh0/WGuFSUNm0LI/AAAAAAAANEQ/-fhuH7cy6Bo99eblkuHxgu6ksts2Tom2ACCo/s144-o/IMG-20161202-WA0017.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647555616946″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG-20161202-WA0017.jpg” image_size=”1200×1600″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wddL-zoHbUs/WGuFSUUceVI/AAAAAAAANEQ/Yr6hE6_aoAwt3LLZQRDgdtb3vSo7jsZEQCCo/s144-o/IMG-20161202-WA0016.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647584299346″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG-20161202-WA0016.jpg” image_size=”1600×1200″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-82w2Sw8fIig/WGuFSV5V31I/AAAAAAAANEQ/UpJaeQU__oE8Ti6jWaPygX07Jv2xGjVXwCCo/s144-o/20161126_115304.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648007491410″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_115304.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JGplPcljYwI/WGuFSbX8jNI/AAAAAAAANEQ/oSduNZXdaX4HmMQlRPB2Ycqlj-7an8ACwCCo/s144-o/20161125_120454.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649478032594″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_120454.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uokSn-A2mGM/WGuFSbyQqpI/AAAAAAAANEQ/qSVVmJATbnsy_mPohS88i9zsr4hU9lMiwCCo/s144-o/20161125_120440.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649588402834″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_120440.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y0frSWkle54/WGuFSW1uIeI/AAAAAAAANEQ/2NrT246fxNQd_LwCGGDfb_J0XSAE0AS7gCCo/s144-o/20161125_114622.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648260739554″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_114622.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DkDT70oCIm0/WGuFSXNQqoI/AAAAAAAANEQ/624FB5FYTG0aB-wxJipiCupOXp9tNM2SwCCo/s144-o/20161125_114533.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648359471746″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_114533.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aLilM3CQoG8/WGuFSVXcpGI/AAAAAAAANEQ/bfpevjwbUv8H_Re31ppmhpgtYsI4OdzRQCCo/s144-o/20161125_114334.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647865328738″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_114334.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6eArtsm20W4/WGuFSYFZ75I/AAAAAAAANEQ/pZ9n5L_GVqYUrovcHjujPZhaZT3f1kwFwCCo/s144-o/20161125_111144.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648594960274″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_111144.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2OIdGHgbTjE/WGuFSYpmOmI/AAAAAAAANEQ/LeccIfSZrwAuoTE6BDyW1kAIJ1YKCZcuQCCo/s144-o/20161125_110530.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648746760802″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_110530.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t1rcEqojHMU/WGuFSdibarI/AAAAAAAANEQ/xGtYe_i2E8EAUvlA8UzmZBW0rOBjygwvACCo/s144-o/20161125_110136.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332650058869426″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_110136.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r1pbHElNVaY/WGuFSf5w0QI/AAAAAAAANEQ/JlVNTPumWxsZu16JN7dHFzm35b1nNBafQCCo/s144-o/20161125_105004.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332650693611778″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_105004.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NqzmmygGATA/WGuFST7ys6I/AAAAAAAANEQ/tPHmGc0zRLkzXEx7eikDal8dD1KfggALwCCo/s144-o/20161125_103818.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647480898466″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_103818.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dKdptCk4wkE/WGuFScxwHPI/AAAAAAAANEQ/3nnMwlWVHqoO1vfp4oRQjyQH8-kpC_XwgCCo/s144-o/20161125_102816.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649854704882″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_102816.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]

Having arrived, we settled into our hostel and went out for a night on the town!  Yanhshuo is unfortunately very touristy.  So much so that it took us a while to find any Chinese food for sale!  Apparently the Germans are well represented here because there was a whole street of German eateries J  We did eventually find  Chinese food and this was followed by a visit to another live music bar of a similarly high standard to Guilin.  The live music in China is really excellent- open mic nights are a common theme in neighbourhood bars and in typically Chinese style, the standard is really very high.  Somewhat differently from the UK, however, none of the performers write their own songs- this is considered a job for songwriters.  The performers are just hoping to be noticed and signed by talent scouts.

[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2MrM4EcRU0o/WGuFSRSeI5I/AAAAAAAANEQ/cAXa7YNBBtsk5U0XPh4YaCqzoQPqqNAGACCo/s144-o/20161125_214609.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332646770713490″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161125_214609.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]

26th November

This would be our last day in Yangshuo and we were due to fly out to Hainan in the evening.  Of course there was still time for a bike ride and we planned to set off with Charlie and Valdi to find the Dragon Bridge!  Naturally, everything didn`t go according to plan and shortly after setting off, Aoife broke her bike J  Unphased, after a short trip back for a replacement we were on our way… and then promptly got lost!! After a good few hours riding along footpaths, river fronts, dirt roads and through winding villages, we finally made it to our destination. The ride there was spectacular though! The bridge itself when we arrived was very cute, though mobed with tourists!  The same amazing peaks we had boated through the previous day were the backdrop to this stretch of our cycle.  In the foreground were farms growing tropical produce.  Amazing stuff! Delicious smells!

[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XKymaKHvCi8/WGuFSTyfYyI/AAAAAAAANEQ/gIo_7F1cdEo8TVJbu1dnfl12VnO_u-5IwCCo/s144-o/20161126_154817.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647441883938″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_154817.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VXRqXZlkpk8/WGuFSbamC-I/AAAAAAAANEQ/mtt1C8Tt7Hkok9o4j7fsDl3z1qP8VDpEwCCo/s144-o/20161126_143545.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332649489140706″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_143545.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iVPnSK2CAy8/WGuFSdX3g3I/AAAAAAAANEQ/QNVYTsO9MZUdONh9h3DsSfhVwHJQrRGUQCCo/s144-o/20161126_141601.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332650014573426″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_141601.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CK-Avc762VE/WGuFSUfOxBI/AAAAAAAANEQ/0TX_62McWe0Z2kZ1xFELBzPn1nRduSGOACCo/s144-o/20161126_141327.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647629538322″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_141327.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IdbjOIR1Emo/WGuFSRRZehI/AAAAAAAANEQ/vIgFJN7IgwgpZ10_pVBq2ddOH1FbKOSKQCCo/s144-o/20161126_141313.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332646766213650″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_141313.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2DFe_X9lJA4/WGuFSVg76EI/AAAAAAAANEQ/iuZzLJzj3048CwzlEv4vxtK5yyYkOafQgCCo/s144-o/20161126_135736.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647905126466″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_135736.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DBxxPAlktxE/WGuFSStU_KI/AAAAAAAANEQ/n537OXL4dVooVsMpBJlwLRSfAnncdRfrgCCo/s144-o/20161126_132007.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647151795362″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_132007.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0oXarn9HlqU/WGuFSTmEU_I/AAAAAAAANEQ/pOULMLDZ2lAOoSg2HS8VPe15KtAbn3kEACCo/s144-o/20161126_130642.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647389778930″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_130642.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NCU0w_w2L-0/WGuFSV3IceI/AAAAAAAANEQ/7BjQrsCn_xQalarrz05BNDOzCqd4Sl36gCCo/s144-o/20161126_125638.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332647998222818″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_125638.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hXWPpFknKJA/WGuFSXm-x4I/AAAAAAAANEQ/-tqGJYiACfIxUx1BetgIqHc7dapejY99QCCo/s144-o/20161126_124143.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648467351426″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_124143.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UG1O7x5T9MI/WGuFSWHVVUI/AAAAAAAANEQ/pnllgmigboE4JWy1jbVH7bR1K6c4oWUHwCCo/s144-o/20161126_121350.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6371332646546342417#6371332648066176322″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161126_121350.jpg” image_size=”2592×1944″ ]

After a quick bite to eat we decided to take the faster route back, to ensure we made our flight and were reunited with our friends.  We all headed to the airport, satisfied with our few memorable days in Guilin.  Of course, we still had a flight to navigate and a hostel to find at the other end!  The flight with Hainan airlines was something of an adventure.  We were late boarding the plane but instead of leaving late, we taxied at speed to the runway whilst the stewardesses frantically tried to get everyone seated and the luggage stowed away.  One guy sitting in front of us had his seatbelt stuck and couldn`t get it fastened.  After much frantic pulling it still wouldn`t come.  Time was up, the engines started to roar and with a gesture to `hold on tight` the stewardess scuttled off for her own chair, leaving the poor guy perturbed and unbelted! Apart from this excitement, there was also a slight hiccup with our accommodation as you can see from the photo of the bed sheets below! Obviously this was no problem for me but if Aoife hadn`t been so tired I reckon she wouldn`t have slept in them at all!  As it was, it was well past midnight and sleep was beckoning.  Sometimes, sacrifices are called for J

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