Yangshuo

The weather did miraculously improve soon after I arrived. By the time I had finished breakfast (banana pancake with green tea), the clouds made way for a nice blue sky, with just enough clouds to break the heat from time to time.

I rented a mountain bike with working gears and brakes for 10 Yuan (1 euro) for the day, and headed off to pedal from village to village, along the river, in between the spectacular peaks that made this region famous. After a couple of hours, I teamed up with a Chinese girl, also pedaling by herself. Always nicer to share the experience. Eventhough I enjoyed taking off on my own, after a while you feel the need to share it. She was traveling with a male friend, but the guy was not in the mood for cycling. Good for me, she was good company, and spoke English very well, and Chinese, off course, which saved us later when we seriously got lost. We both had the same map, but it wasn't too accurate. She had to ask local folks for directions from time to time, and then we got stuck in the mud big time. It had been raining hard the two days before I arrived, and the dirt roads were almost impassable at times. After cleaning our bikes from the very sticky red clay, we continued, but it took a fair amount of climbing and descending slipery hills until we hit the concrete road again. From there it was a smooth ride in the beautiful late afternoon sun back to town.

After showering and cleaning shoes, we went to a nice local eatery which served fantastic noodles for just 3.5 Yuan (35 cents). It never stops to amaze me how cheap good food can be in China. I love it!

The town of Yangshuo itself is not the type of place where I want to stay long. It's infested with beer drinking tourists, souvenir shops, and very loud bars. Luckily my room is not facing the street, but the mountains, looking out over the roofs, at the 5th floor. I will enjoy the view in the morning, when I wake up for my second day in Yangshuo. Then I will make a boat ride on the Li river, starting at the nearby village Xingping. More about that later.