FROM YANGSHUO

We landed at Guilin this afternoon, then 2 hours drive through the country side until we arrived in Yangshuo. The flight was the worst ever and thanks God it only took 1 hour and 20 minutes from Kunming. I had a very smelly chinese next to me but that was not the worse...he kept making all sort of noises and spitting all the time! I thought I was going to puke. After this experience we decided we had enough of that for a while. We need to sleep a few more hours otherwise we will end up killing a few chinese. They are really getting on our nerves.I better change the topic.The landscape here is completely different to the province of Yunnan but it is stilll stunning.

We have seen Westerners under 60 for the first time. This is a backpackers' place but luckily enough we chose to travel in the lowest season so there are few tourists around which is a pleasure.

We are staying in a lovely place, the Magnolia Hotel, in the city centre (well, this is pretty small so everything is central). All the girls are sleeping but I am taking a few minutes to update the blog.

Tomorrow we have decided to take a later start...9am instead of the normal 7ish. We need that.

We are going to be cycling most of the day to visit a few villages and then to do some bamboo rafting taking the bicycles with us. I am very much looking forward it!!! I promise to make loads of pictures as I am sure they will be worth it.

We have had a nice dinner for 72 yuans.....so 6 EUR, 4 GBP total for the 4 of us! It has been our fist meal in almost 16 hours; well, we managed to get hold of some fruit at Kunming airport and some biscuits at 7am when we left Lijang other than that just water.

With love from Yangshuo. Good night


Where is it? Yangshuo is a small county in southern China. In the 1980s, many foreign backpackers were drawn here by the introduction of the county in the 'Lonely Planet'.

Yangshuo lies in the northeast of Guangxi Province and to the southeast of Guilin City. The special geography gives it breath-taking beauty while over 1,400 years of history bless it with a deep traditional culture. The diverse ethnic minority groups including Hui, Zhuang, Yao and others, enrich it with special folk cultures represented by their various festivals; while many foreign residents add exotic flavors to its fascination.

The famous Li River traverses the county and brings it the most beautiful scenery. Along the extremely pure river, thousands of hills stand in different poses and with different expressions, such as Moon Hill, Mural Hill and Schoolboy Hill which is the natural stage of the world famous opera 'Impression on Sanjie Liu'. Streets in Yangshuo are well kept in the original style, presenting the simple and primitive atmosphere of the ancient town. West Street is the most exciting one that locals call the 'Global Village'. There are not only many foreign tourists, but also quite a number of foreign residents managing cafés and restaurants. The exotic flavor, combined with the traditional culture, make the West Street world famous.