A Western Oasis in China

Overlooking the famous Li River view on the 20 yuan note.
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After meeting our tour group the evening before in Hong Kong we were up bright and early taking the fast ferry from Hong Kong to Guangzhou on the Chinese mainland. The trip was quick and we were greeted by our tour guide and a private bus to take us into the city where we would be posted until the train that evening.

Guangzhou is one of the gateways to China and is a massive jungle of skyscrapers, smog and expressways all mixed in with the 12 million people. We had a few hours to kill so in fine tradition, Emma, myself and a couple of the group found the only Irish Bar in town and got to know each other as such.

Water Buffalo feasting on the Li River bank,
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China immediately hit us as another world. The signs are all in Chinese and the English language is sparsely understood. This coupled with the locals fondness of gobbing, pissing and dumping rubbish at every opportunity whilst staring at you like a tiger at the zoo also made it intimidating. Even given the countries we had been to so far we were glad we took a tour here as we would have been on a hiding to nothing if on our own. As we entered the Guangzhou train stration we were again glad we had a guide as we were manhandled and had to fight our way in through the airport like security with the hordes of locals.

Bamboo Rafting on the Yichang River
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The train journey took us from Guangzhou to Guilin. With 20 sets of 6 bunks in a carraige it was fair to say there was a few people packed on board and given the population the journey passed reasonably quickly and with enough comfort. However we still weren't finished, topping off our trip was a local bus ride to Yangshuo our first real destination of the tour. Yangshuo is known as a backpacker enclave nestled amongst some fine limestone outcrops and has some quintessential rural China landscapes.

A typical view in the Yangshuo countryside
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As soon as we arrived we were whisked off on a cruise of the Li River. Supposedly some of China's most famous scenery. It ended up being a wipeout due to miserable drizzle and a general lack of mojo amongst the group after 18 hours on the road. We got back and myself, Emma, Gary (a Shane Warne worshipping Aussie) and Eleanor (an English doctor in mathematical biology?) went to the bar next door ro our hotel. There we met Derek an eccentric Canadian drifter who told us that his life was complete now he owned a bar with a top shelf housing the best spirits collection in China. In no time he had us plastered with some generous 'long pours' and sensing disaster Emma, Eleanor and I left Gary to it. No sooner had we woken than we heard the news. Gary, drunk and clueless had somehow either lost or had stolen $300US. It was fair to say he was quiet for the rest of the time in Yangshuo.

Emerging from a mud bath at Moon Hill Cave
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The second day we took a cycle ride through the countryside. This was quite good as it was a bit of exercise that our body was craving and got us out of the chaos and pollution of Chinese cities that already was driving us insane. We had a couple of options for excursions and binned the bamboo rafts to opt for the caving and mud bath extravaganza. Three of us opted for the latter option and without togs we were a bit worried about how we were going to bathe. Inside we noticed we were the only foreigners and only a group of elder Chinese were frequenting the joint. Sensing, what the hell we stripped down to our jocks and bras (well not me) and the local mens eyes nearly popped out. The final day was spent doing chores unfortunately and we prepared again for tnother overnight train journey.