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“After three bus rides, 11 sweaty hours in total, we arrived in Yangshuo at 10pm.” |
After three bus rides, 11 sweaty hours in total, we arrived in Yangshuo at 10pm. The next day we hired bikes and decided to cycle out to Moon Hill which is a famous scenic spot nearby. It was absolutely sweltering on the road as we cycled for about 45 minutes to reach the hill. Along the way we could see the karst hills for which the area is so famous. Unfortunately, neither could we miss the endless procession of tour buses roaring past in both directions. Taking directions from touts (in between their attempts to sell us water, hats, postcards, anything really) we arrived at Moon Hill scenic area, as it's known. Instantly befriended by yet more touts, this time selling water (or trying to), we locked up our bikes and started the climb. The climb winds through a bamboo forest and isn't terribly steep, but it was hard going in the intense heat. We managed to shake one tout, but the hardier of the pair stuck with us the whole way, fanning Niamh helpfully and repeatedly trying to teach us an assortment of Chinese phrases (sadly, not 'We don't want any water, please stop following us"). The view from the top was quite impressive, in one direction looking down on a local town and the Ye Long river, in the other was the famed Moon Hill arch, a massive arching gap in the mountain. On one side of the arch, rock climbers were scaling the limestone cliff. We took in the view, watched the climbers and relaxed for a while. On the way down the tout, undeterred by the two large bottles of water we already had with us, did her level best to sell us more refreshment. All of a sudden I heard a series of snuffling, squeaking noises from the bamboo forest on one side of the path. I stopped to take a look and after a moment a large bamboo rat poked his head out, took one look at us and shuffled back into the undergrowth. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly quick enough to evade our tout, who abandoned us temporarily to chase down the poor creature. However, it wasn't long before she was back in formation, trying to sell us a Coke, but this time holding a huge, squirming rodent in one hand. Strangely, this didn't help the sales pitch much.
We cycled along the river for a couple of hours before returning to Yangshuo town, where we retired to cafe for dinner. We were still a little tired from the epic bus journey the day before, so it was early to bed for us.
The next day was a day for taking it easy. After changing hostels, we went shopping. Niamh relentlessly haggled for a set of rather nice silk cushion covers; I shudder to think of the discount she ended up with. That was the peak of activity for the day. I think tonight may see a few cold beers at the hostel and maybe some time getting to know some of the other guests there.
previous travel blog entry
xiaotieniu says:
China have so much scene,but I have traveled few.