The Real Yangshuo

A nice cafe by the lake.
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I woke up quite early since I had to meet up with my travel group for a river expedition up the Li Jiang River. But before going anywhere. I spent what seemed like an eternity walking around town looking for a Construction Bank which I eventually found right by my hostel. It turns out, the bank was on a street right behind where I lived. The locals obviously knew the 5 minutes shortcut to get there. Stupid me, on the other hand, took the 40 minute route.

How dumb. With all that time wasted wandering around, I could've grabbed some breakfast. Instead, I had to head right back to my hostel to get ready for the river cruise. I was sweaty, hungry, and grouchy. Not a good way to start off my day.

Empty streets of Yangshuo Xing Jie.
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Just a few minutes back in my room, I suddenly received a call from the tour guide telling me I had to meet them in only 30 minutes! It was supposed to be in an hour but they were ahead of schedule. Wonderful, this definitely killed off any shred of hope I had left for breakfast.

I quickly rushed out of my room heading towards our rendezvous point. I thought it was close by, but after inquiring with a few locals, it turned out the meeting spot was in fact 25 minutes of walk away! This was bad, but at the time, there wasn't much I could do. So I did my best Carl Lewis, hoping I wouldn't get lost.

Crowded street in the morning.
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As it turned out, luck was on my side this morning. I got to the spot just a few short minutes before the tour bus came to pick me up. If I was even a minute too late, they would've surely left without me. And I would've been devastated. 180 RMB down the drain, just like that.

The weather was incredibly hot and humid outside, and I was thirsty and hungry. After a 30 minute ride on the crowded and uncomfortable bus, I was ready for the worst. I heard horror stories about Chinese tour groups with their expensive gift shopping tricks, bland meals, and pushy tour guides. When we stepped off the bus, the tour guide quickly led us to a small shack-like restaurant near by the dock telling us not to talk to anyone there.

My appetizing lunch near by Li Jiang.
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We booked two large tables and everybody looked hungry. Honestly I really wasn't expecting too much. Maybe some cheap egg drop soup with seaweed, a few low grade meat dishes, and lots of left over rice to fill our stomachs up. But once the food started coming, I quickly realized how wrong I was. The dishes were plenty, of great variety, and surprisingly tasty. The rice did look a little bit dry but I wasn't complaining. I was wolfing down bite after bite until I couldn't stuff myself anymore. It felt like my last meal on Earth.

Nice little shack by Li Jiang.
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After what seemed like an extremely long half hour wait, we were finally on our way up the famed Li Jiang River. Everyone told me how beautiful it was and how it was the single most rewarding experience of coming to Guilin. Ten minutes into the ride, I was bored and wanted to get off the boat. There were four more similar cruise ships wading up the river in front of us. The mountains all looked the same despite its different shapes and sizes. This whole shit just feels all too touristy.

An hour and a dozen pictures later, I was on my way back to town. Although impossible to know at the time, I really wished I hadn't wasted 180 RMB in Guilin booking this stupid tour. I could've gotten it for only 50 RMB here in Yangshuo.

About to board my river cruise.
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I really wanted to like Li Jiang River but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Even in pictures, the river looked plain and boring. Walking back to my hostel, I wondered if this was it for Yangshuo. Dejected and tired, I flipped open my Lonely Planet desperately searching for something to do just to kill the time away. It was three in the afternoon, so I still had a few hours left before dark.

Upon further dissection of my Lonely Planet, I found out there was in fact another lesser known river here called Yu Long River. It was close by, perfectly reachable by mountain bike and offered another side to this quaint little town.

Cruising down the river.
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In less than 20 minutes, I was on a bike headed towards the River.

Bike riding is already fun in itself. But bike riding through a scenic countryside in rural China is indescribable in words alone. No pictures or words can do it justice. You have to be there yourself to really get a feel for the whole experience. The rush from the soft wind blowing in your face, the rising hills in the background, lush greens everywhere, and farmers warmly greeting you with their smiles.

I was lucky to run into an old farmer on the road. He wanted to chat with me, which initially lead me to believe he wanted my money. In China, people don't just talk to you for no reason. They all want something, most likely your money, and farmers are no exception.

Friendly fisherman with bad teeth.
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But like I said, luck was on my side that day. The old farmer turned out to be a really nice guy and even though he did want to make a few bucks from me by offering a private bamboo float ride on the river, he was reasonable. After bargaining a little, I got him to drop the price from 150 RMB to only 50 RMB for an hour.

And it was worth every yuan! My only regret was not bringing a pair of swimming trunks along. Otherwise, I could've gone for a swim in the river. Unlike Li Jiang, there were no commercial cruise boats. No tourists busily snapping pictures away. It's just you, nature, and a few people playing in the river. I even got to see the sunset!!!

Me posing in front of the majestic Li Jiang.
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All in all, I went back to my hostel happy and relaxed that evening. The float ride was relaxing and offered another side of Yangshuo that most tourists don't get to see. Little did I know at the time, this was the turning point of my trip. After that, things got better and better.