China: Yangshuo

Guilin was exciting to behold but Yangshuo was a revelation. Nestled in between a number of karst rock formations this sleepy village is both untouched by time in its spirit and atmosphere yet works hard to accommodate the modern traveller with Western food and internet access. A number of backpackers get sidetracked by the amazing Yangshuo, and it's easy to imagine spending a week lazily drifting around town rather than setting out to discover the next marvel of the Guangxi countryside. It's also the final destination of most folks' Li River cruise, making it an ideal sleepover before heading back to the buzz of Guilin. Next time I'm in this region I'd certainly spend more time exploring and getting to know the fun inhabitants of Yangshuo.

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If you really want to experience old world opulence, you can rent a pedicab for next to nothing. But I was too embarrassed to be pulled up a hill by an old woman and chose to walk. Yangshuo is plenty small than you can easily get around on foot, but if you are planning on staying for a while it might be wise to rent a bike and tour the nearby villages at your own pace.

The Paradise Resort is quite fancy looking when you first arrive, with a security gate leading to its own private island compound. In the lobby are pictures of heads of state who have visited, including Bill and Hillary. But the facilities themselves are not so nice and the place paled in comparison to the Bravo Holiday Inn in Guilin.

The room was spare in a good way, with clean wooden floors and a balcony overlooking the water and the hills in the distance. But the complex itself seemed like a motel once you got past the lobby and was escorted to your room. The bell boy took my bags up and lingered in my room with the air-conditioning, while I stood in the doorway looking to go get something to eat.

Since the pool was not open as the travel agent had promised and there was no gym at all, the only thing to do in the hotel was watch TV or go to sleep. I decided to take a shower, but the hot water wasn’t working. After a visit to the front desk and some people playing around with the pipes, they had me shower in another room. This wasn''t to much of a problem as I seemed to be the only guest in this 145 room hotel. But for the rates they normally charge (over $200 per night) you''d think they would have their act together. I''m glad that I was only paying 400 Hong Kong dollars,or about $50.

Despite all my resrevations, it was nice to wake up the next morning and look out across the lagoon at the sleepy village. While it is possible to stay for around $7 or $8 a night in Yangshuo in acceptable accomodations, splurging on the $50 for a great view was worth it.

The Countryside Café was the closest restuarnt to my hotel, and it turned out to be a good choice for cheap eats regardless. I ordered pineapple chicken with fried rice and a Coke (since Diet Coke here is awful), which turned out to be quite good. Amazingly the whole dinner cost only 23 yen, or les than $3. There was some difficulty when I tried to pay part of the amount with Hong Kong dollars, but it was finally accepted when the manager explained that the currency was more valuable than Chinese yen.

Mandy, one of the employees at the Countryside Café, wanted to practice her English with me, so she sat down and asked me questions about my family and job. She was very sweet and tried hard to make herself understood. Everytime I walked by the Countryside Café during the rest of my stay in Yangshuo she'd come out of the restaurant and encourage me to come back and eat more.

Before boarding the bus to Xingping to catch my cruise up the Li River I dropped my bags off at the Happy Hotel, where I ate at their "Paris Café." I had an unusual meal of fresh squeezed orange juice, banana pancakes (which were more like crepes), vegetable fried dumplings, diet coke, and the oddest (but fairly good) apple turnover, which they labeled a Dutch apple pie. I kept ordering more and more because it was so cheap and the cheerful waitress was cute, saying "Try this! Try that!" Everyone was really happy at the Happy Hotel, and I can imagine staying there for 50 yen a night, their going rate.

I walked along West Street seeking out a restaurant or internet café to write my friends at home. The first place I tried (unnamed as far as I can tell) couldn’t get a successful connection on three different computers, so I quickly moved on. The On Line Café at 80 West Street, however, had no such problems. For only 10 yen, just a little over a dollar, I surfed the net at a decent speed for an hour. I had read that sometimes it's hard to access Western sites from within China, but I experienced no such problems.