There was said that Guilin peaks have a feminine beauty 秀气 while Zhangjiajie is known for its muculine and majestic peaks 刚气. That was why I planned both my Zhangjiajie and Guilin trips back to back. I thought I would get a view of nature's beauty, both yin and yang.
But I had a bad feeling, knowing that Li river was flooded and after witnessing the muddy brown waters at the Elephant Trunk Hill myself yesterday. Li river cruise was the main attraction between Guilin and Yangshou so I cannot miss it. I booked the tour with Lakeside Inn. There was the English guided tour which costed 400rmb while the Chinese option was only 260rmb. Of course the English tour claimed to be more luxurious but seeing the state of the river, I was wise enough to choose the cheaper option.
漓江变黄河 and so my journey started. No limpid river as seen on the Internet. Luckily the sky was blue and the karst peaks still gorgeous. But Guilin is known for its 山水甲天下's landscape. Without the clearness of its water 水, and only depending on the beauty of its mountain 山 would not earn Guilin her title. Guess it was pure hindsight that I did not consider the wet season in my plans. The economic cruise ship we took was pretty comfortable with cushioned chairs assigned to all passengers. But I spent most of the time on the upper deck, admiring the peaks. The lunch included was blah as expected.
Nine Horses Fresco Hill. I only guessed 3 horses right.
The cruise took 4 hours and we ended at the port of Yangshou. There the guide asked for an extra 70rmb for a land tour. First we visited Buddha at Jianshan temple. Personally I am not a religious person. So when I got a bad divination lot which stated that I will have some monetary loss 破财 today, I was pretty calm. Then the guide in the temple insisted that I should have a ritual to bless my family and ward off the bad luck. My scam alert went off. The ritual for the whole family costed 388rmb which I rejected politely. Then they claimed only one ritual for myself was sufficient and it only costed 188rmb. Uh huh. I rejected that as well.
After the temple trip, we visited the big Banyan tree 大榕树. There we visited the Gaotian village belonging to the Zhuang people 壮族. Followed by a bus ride around the Moon Hill 月亮山 to view the different angles of the same thing from afar. Yawn. Then we visited a factory manufacturing bamboo charcoal products. By this time, I feeling the drag and this tour was leading no where.
The big banyan tree
The moon hill
Luckily we were bought to the bamboo rafting area in Yulong river. Yulong river is calmer,cleaner and clearer then Li river. We took the raft cruise near sunset so it was serenely relaxing. A old man was rowing the bamboo raft with 5 of us on it. He was thin with holes in his shirt. I heard that these rowers do not earn much and I remembered the divination lot which mentioned I will 破财 today. I thought if I was to lost any money, it would be to this poor man. So I tipped 50rmb to him. He smiled back at me and I felt blessed.
My Yulong river bamboo rafting moments...
Cormorant fishing
My original plan was to stay in Yangshou for 2 nights but since Li river was flooded, I returned to Guilin with the tour bus. I also heard that the flooding caused parts of the Impression of Liu Sanjie show that took place on the river to be removed. I saw no point in paying full price for a imperfect show.
On the tour bus, I befriended a lady from Shandong. We had dinner together with her group of travelling friends. I can't believe that she is only 33 years old and have a 12 years old kid. China ladies sure married young. Since Lakeside inn was fully booked for the next 2 days, I hastily checked into the 7 days inn near the railway station for the night at 150rmb. Although the hotel was a little run down, but the bed was soft and clean. All 7 days inn's rooms were decorated in a minimalist style which made the room look clean and tidy. The best thing is they don't use carpets. I hate dirty carpets. So if the hotels cannot provide clean carpets, I would rather they don't have carpets. I hate not knowing what I am stepping on.
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