Blog 2 -The next few days

Blog 2 - from MARCH 29

Flight to Guilin 2 hours after a great drama at security about taking medication on board in hand luggage - had to recheck in. Afternoon visit to Red Flute Cave - one of the chambers could hold 1000 people - various sections lit with coloured lights - paths and infrastructure made access and moving through very easy - many visitors.

An extra cave visited was the Thousand Year Old Turtle Cave - well worth a visit. We fed a 1000y.o. Kylin turtle some banana. Held a 3 month old turtle. Others in pool were 3 and 4 y.o. The giant Mountain Turtles were 1000 and 1300 y.o. After dinner in local restaurant with top quality rice went for a walk before bed. Found a large section of lake gardens - two of four Guilin Lake Gardens. Spectacular lighting particularly the water spout display to music with lighting.

Next morning took 5 hour cruise on Li River to Yangshuo. Huge limestone karsts right down to water's edge spreading numerous peaks in depth away from the river. A procession of tour boats - with an open air kitchen on the back of each on which we saw lunch being prepared. The river had many other craft from small local ferries to bamboo rafts, some equipped with seats and umbrellas and powered by something that was a cross between a small outboard and a whippersnipper.

After we arrived in Yangshuo,  John and our guide, Michael, went for a 2 hour bike ride along the Yulong River. Day 2 was the first of our extended walks. A drive upriver to Yangdi where a ferry took us across the river for a walk through the rice paddies, orange groves and villages. Crossed the river again and walked through more paddies, fields and villages. Had lunch in an open air place on the way - good food but facilities unbelievably basic. Walked to next ferry crossing where they were loading baskets of oranges.

Then our walk took us up into karst mountains to take inland route to Hebao Shan village for car pickup. This was the first time our guide, Michael, had done this route so he took instructions from an old local woman. The climb into the first saddle was arduous but scenery made it worthwhile. The track came out into a box canyon with ruins of an old abandoned village. The path deteriorated into very overgrown eventually disappearing. Michael searched for the track for 30 minutes. After two attempts on possible tracks we backtracked to a junction and took the upper path to the right (John wanted to use this in the beginning as it was more defined but Michael had been told to keep left). This led us through a different saddle and eventually down into a remote farm from which we climbed up to the village. It had been fantastic - remote and no people for hours. Even though it was nearly 7 hours walking, the villages and fantastic scenery made it worth it. Back to Yangshuo to a nice meal at Cloud Nine Restaurant, a massage and bed.

April 1st and a long drive of 5 hours to Dazhai over a mountain range. Lunch was near the top at a home style eatery with great views. Arrived at Dazhai Dragon Back Rice Terraces - more than 600 years old. Walked one and a half hours up a very steep, rough path to our guest house in Tientou.

Guest house in clouds, so obscure views but stunning as clouds and mist drifted across. Everything felt damp, including the beds. There was no heating in the guesthouse but they did have electric blankets. The 'hot' water was solar powered and only tepid. Next day and a 5 hour walk to Ping'an - a more touristy village. Walk was up and down many times, passing through Zhongliu where we paid 10 yuan for 2 ladies to let their hair down and redo - a tradition of these Zhuang women is to only cut their hair twice in their life - at age 18 and at death. These women had very long hair plus their 18y.o. extension piece and two more extensions belonging to their ancestors. It made a very heavy top-knot when rolled up again. Very entertaining! On the walk we saw many families celebrating their ancestors at the gravesites - they decorated the graves with paper money and streamers, burned incense and let off firecrackers.

The walk was well worth the effort with fantastic, expansive vistas - a very basic track underfoot, meandering its way around the terraces. Panic struck for a while as our driver phoned our guide to say the road out to our starting point at Dazhai had been closed for 10 days for bridge repairs! Driver not able to get through and pick us up and he had the majority of our luggage. We walked on with John suggesting various contingency plans. We didn't fancy 10 days in a very basic guesthouse with only our overnight needs with us. Just before we arrived at Ping'an good news from the driver - he had managed to negotiate a passage through. ( We didn't find out how.) On to Longsheng Hot Springs. Very late arrival so only a short time in the water, but what and experience! We selected the Doctor Fish pool. This pool was 38degrees and stocked with fish, 50 -75mm long. After laying in the pool for a few minutes the fish started nibbling away at any exposed part of your body. After initial uneasiness the sensation became pleasant. The fish remove dead skin cells and bacteria to open the pores and allow the minerals to work. We both felt refreshed afterwards. Breakfast and dinner disappointing which is typical of hotels and restaurants trying to cater for Western tastes.

Next morning we left early to have a walk across a picturesque swinging bridge with a pavilion on each end. John walked up paths into the park for further views. Then we went on to our guide Michael's village, Chengyang. Stayed in his hotel which is in the process pf being renovated - wood shaving on the floors, etc. Had to change rooms because no water in bathroom. These small guesthouses/hotels have a wall mounted 65L hot water cylinder in each bathroom, solar heated.

This is a Dong Minority village. There are about 2.5 million Dong people in China. Each village has some unique traditions. The houses of the Dong, Miao, Zhuang and Yao people are all timber and they are constructed of pine logs with mortice and tenon joins. We saw the village men preparing these in the local roadside 'factory'. The outer and inner walls and floors are single skinned pine boards with overlapping edges cut in. They are made with few nails. The roofs are layered tiles with upturned ends.

More about these fascinating people and our time in the area next time.