Trekking up the Li River

Saturday September 20, 2008

I finally got back into my element today, trekking. I got up early and caught the 6:30 am bus to begin my trek up the Li River about 45 minutes from Yangshou. The trek to Yangdi is 24 km (15 miles) and ended up taking me about 4 hrs. I only got lost twice. All the signs along the river paths are in Chinese and whenever the paths forked, you didn't know whether the sign said Li River Trek or All Tresspassers will be Shot. Mostly just stayed close as possible to the river. With temperatures hitting about 95, this was probably one of my smartest moves but had fun anyway. I took plenty of water and oreos, my own personal emergency kit.

I was able to witness the large cruise ships which I decided not to take from Guilin to Yangshou. At one point there were 10 ships lined up behind each other cruising down the Li River loaded with passengers. Not my idea of traveling. Maybe others though. I caught the bus back from Yangdi.

Evading River Police on Li River Boat Tour

This tale began shortly after arriving in Yangshou. I walked down to the tourist area by the Li River just to see what kind of river tour specials there were. It was about 3 pm.

I initially planned on during the Li River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshou to see the karst peaks along the river. The prices ranged from 325 yuan ($47) for the Chinese boat to 500 yuan ($71) for a six hour crusie. I had googled cheap Li River Cruise and got a blog that suggested going to Yangshou and then hiring a fisherman in a bamboo boat to take you up river 3 hrs and get the same experience for 100 to 150 yuan. That is what I did.

Ok, it is now 3 pm and a lady tell me that they have a bamboo boat for only 150 yuan if we leave now since I am by myself. I get her to drop the price to 120 and we go down to the river where I see this bamboo boat with 3 benches and an umbrella covering. It has a small motor to help it get back upstream. The lady tour guide and I had agreed on the destination but there were a few points which I did not understand completely such as why we were to make an initial 10 minute stop and how I was getting back.

After about 30 minutes of cruising down the river she pointed that we would now be making that 10 minute stop. After she got out of the boat she motioned for me to follow. When I asked why she pointed down river and said police. That is when I remembered reading somewhere that it is illegal for fisherman to take passengers up and down the Li River. That is why everyone is on the crowded tour boats.

I smiled and off we went down some dirt path. Our 10 minute path turned into 20 minutes and then finally we ended back up at the river bank. She looked for our boat and the fisherman but he was nowhere in sight. All of a sudden she came back up the bank and said the police boat was coming towards us. She got on her cell phone and called the fisherman (not the first time they have done this obviously) and off we went down another path to another location. We came upon a boy on a motorcycle and she talked him into taking us to the other river bank further down the river. The sight of the boy, me and the woman tour guide on that little motorcycle going down an old run down concrete path had to be something to behold.

Finally after an hour we were reunited with the boat once again. We cruised for another 2 hrs down the Li River and the scenerey was stunning. We passed several large cruise boats that were loaded to the brim and they all stared at me in amazement. We reached the local village, I took a few pictures and we headed back upstream.

Now is when the getting back part started to make sense. After 45 minutes upstream we pulled over to another village and she said something about bus and pointed for me to get off with her. When I looked puzzled, she said "Police". Enjoying the first police evasion consisting of walking through rice paddies and riding threesome on a motorcycle was fun but a bus was sounding pretty nice right now.

To the bus we went and 45 minutes later I was at my hostel. What a Great Day. Also, got that Toilet Thing Going On Too. LOL see previous blog if you dont know what I am talking about.

The comorants (duck-like) in the first 2 pictures are trained by the fishermen. They tie a rope to them including a thin rope around their neck so they can not swallow the fish they catch when the dive underwater. I have seen underwater footage on the Travel Channel showing them swimming underwater and catching fish.

Luv the Hostel in Yangshuo

Friday September 19th

Usually a hostel room is not enought to blog about but in this case it is. When I arrived at the Flowers Hostel in Yangshau I got a great surprise. Not only were the beds in the six bed dorms only $2 a night but the rooms are airconditioned and we had our own bathroom.

We have an actual toilet seat. You can't just make up stuff like this. I had almost lost all recollection of what a toilet seat looked like. Squat toilets have become almost natural after only 2 weeks in China. I know I am going to wake up any minute and this was all a dream but I will enjoy the feeling for now. If I am not dreaming I may be in Yangshou for a while. Plus it only has 300,000 people here so it is kinda like their Monterey, LA.

Longji Terraces

Thursday September 18th

I went on a tour to see the Longji Terraces which is 100 km (62 miles) from Guilin. The photographs that I have seen on postcards and posters are unbelievably beautiful. My pictures in no way do them justice and I recommend anyone to google Longji Terraces to see some truly spectacular pictures. I also saw some postcards of the rice terraces with snow on them in the winter which was beautiful. Did not buy the postcards though, no money for postcards and no room in backpack. lol

While most of us waked up to the top of the terraces, some elected to be carrier at a cost of about 14 cents a pound. 200 pounds, 28 dollars. Obviously some people are in really bad shape or have too much money or a combination of the two. lol

Time to catch the bus to Yangshou and crusie the Li River with its beautiful karst peaks.

Ambushed by Monkeys

While still in Steven Star Park I walked up to the top of the karst peak to get a good view of the city. On the way down I found a path that looked as though it has seldom been traveled and of course that is my favorite path. As I walked I started hearing sounds coming from the trees. Mostly a rustling of the branches. The more I walked the louder the sounds got and the more frequent. Then I saw a monkey up in the top of one the trees and I thought "how cute". Then there were a couple of monkeys that I noticed in another tree and I thought how fortunate I was to have run into some monkeys. Then the monkeys started to converge on me. The next thing I knew there were monkeys everywhere and they meant business. They were invading my personal space all of a sudden and I was getting a little uncomfortable. One large monkey was only a few feet from me staring me down.

Then I remembered that I had read somewhere that they were expecting food and that you were supposed to thrust your palms into the air showing that you had no food and start walking. It seemed to work fine and they no longer pursued me.

There is a Chinese saying, " One monkey can halt the path of a thousand soldiers." Now I understand what they meant. lol

Seven Star Park and Caves in Guilin

I spent 5 hrs walking around the Seven Star Park in Guilin by the Li River. I really enjoyed the underground caves which were lit up by colorful lights to better illuminate the stalagtites and stalagmites.

Overnight Train to Guilin

Monday September 15, 2008

I leave on the overnight train from Chengdu to Guilin at 17:58 this afternoon and will arrive around 21:00 for a total of about 25 hrs in a hard sleeper car. Preparation must be made first which involves going to McDonals for their cheap lunch meal and then buying 3 cheeseburgers ($1.25 each) for supper and meals for the next day. I also take several moon pie cakes which are only 14 cents each. The train offers hot meals which are on a rolling server which comes down the aisles. I have not recognized any of the food yet so I will stick with cold hamburgers until I get a little more courage.

Each compartment does have a tv which shows old kung fu movies that usually have Jackie Chan or Jet Li when they were in their early 20's. I think I have already blogged this but here it is again.

When I booked my train ticket I somehow ended my destination in Liuzhou instead of Guilin so I have to find a way to continue on the train for another 3 hrs without getting off the train. I got the people in the hostel to write down in Chinese that I would like to continue to Guilin and purchase an additonal ticket. We will see what happens.

I know that sometimes it always seems to be about how cheaply one can travel and how little one can spend, and it is. But that is the vehicle that allows backpackers to travel more frequently to more places and for longer.

I laughed at an English couple last night. He mentioned that he was thinking of getting a beer to which she quickly said that then she could get an ice cream. When I laughed he said that she was in charge of the finances and that there was always compromise on how they spent the money. They were traveling for 1 year.

The Giant Panda Breeding Research Base

Sunday, September 14, 2008

This morning I went to see the Giant Pandas. We left early and got to the Center at 8:30 am because pandas just eat and sleep, kinda like babies, and after 10:30 am you won't see much action. The pandas were great fun to watch even though they mostly just eat. I planned on having a picture with a baby panda but when I found out they had raised the price to $175 and that the "baby" pandas were 1 1/2 years old. I elected to go with the 2 1/2 yr old panda which is probably 50 pounds heavier and not as cute but only $60. No brainer. Only one person out of 50 had their picture taken with the "baby" panda.

Picture later including me with the panda. Note: very seldom will their every be a picture of me on the blog unless there is a special occasion and this was one.

Monday I take the overnight train by hard sleeper for 25 hrs to Guillen. I am skipping the 3 Gorges Yangtze river trip because of info I received that it is no longer what it used to be due to the river rising by such a large amount. Will use that money to try and get to Tibet if I can find the right deal.

Overnight train from Xi'an to Chengdu

September 12th to 13th

This was to be my first experience overnight on the train in a hard sleeper car. The three alternatives that you have when traveling on the train are soft sleeper, hard sleeper and hard seat. My trip from Beijing to Xi'an for 11 hrs (9pm til 8am) was a hard seat. Fell asleep once and fell into the aisle much to the amusement of the Chinese on the train. Don't do this for more than 6 hrs.

I had an idea what the hard sleeper would be like. 10 compartments in the car with six beds in each compartment. The compartments have no doors so that everyone walking down the hall can see each person. I was fortunate enough to have gotten a bottom bunk as nobody wants a top bunk, climbing in and out with the ceiling staring at you all the time.

When I got to my bunk, across from me were two elderly Chinese (of course) gentlemen talking and eating fruit. I quickly realized that one of these men was going to have to climb up to the 2nd or 3rd bunk. So I offered my bottom bunk for their 2nd level bunk, mostly by pointing and gestures. He was very appreciative. Though it would have been interesting to see how well he did climbing up into that bunk. Probably would have done better than I did for the next 16 hrs. Hoping Karma will remember this.

The couple in the picture at the train station were university students going home on the National Holiday. They both spoke pretty good English and were eager to practice. Being that the train was 1 hr 40 minutes late we had plenty of time for practice.

The hard sleeper is exactly as it sounds. Kinda reminds me of a metal ironing board with that thin pad covering it. But I saved an extra $12 by not getting the soft sleeper. As all backpackers know, the more money saved, the more you can travel.