Guilin and Yangshuo - Day 6

It was an early flight back to KL. Our flight departed at 11:10 a.m and so we had to check out at 9 a.m. The check-out was fast and the porter helped us flagged down a metered taxi.

The ride to the airport just took about 30 mins. It was a small airport and there was not so many international flight... So we had no problem of locating the AirAsia check-in counter immediately. We were lucky that we arrived a wee bit earlier than a group of Hong Leong's staff, of about 200 of them taking the same flight. Imaging if we were queuing behind them for the check-in... I'm sure it would take forever!

The airport and duty free shop had nothing much to see and most of time we just sat there and waiting for boarding.

When the boarding was called, we were the firsts to board as we purchased the hot seats earlier.

The flight back to KL was uneventful and we touched down at LCCT around 3:15 p.m.

Back To Day 1

Guilin and Yangshuo - Day 5

Today would be an easy going day...

The places in Yangshuo that we wanted to see and go had been covered. So it was time to head back to Guilin.

We woke up around 9 a.m and it was raining. The weather for the last few days was just fantastic- not a single drop of rain experienced. The rain here would be troublesome as it could rain days and nights non stop. So we did not intend to go out but just wait inside our room until the "auspicious" time to check out and leave Yangshuo.

At the stroke of 10:30 a.m we checked out. The check out was fast and at no time we were already outside the hotel waiting for a "taxi"(non metered private taxi). There were a few "taxi" waiting opposite the hotel and the bellboy helped us signaled one of them to come over. It was a small MPV and asked for RMB 25 for a 3-min-ride to the bus station. "WTF!"- but of course I didn't say out. Though pain was graciously felt below my belt ( being squeezed la), but with our heavy luggages and rain, I had no choice but to agree.

I had asked the receptionist earlier as how much would it cost for a taxi to Guilin. I was told that it cost RMB250 to RM300 for a private taxi.

Though I intend to take a taxi back to Guilin as it was raining at that moment. But somehow I would rather wait for the taxi driver to make the first move instead of me asking him first. This way I could definitely squeeze him back.

When we reached the bus station and about to get out from the car, the driver asked why not we used his service. He could give us a better price as his mini MPV was about time to do the routine service in Guilin. Instead of empty car to Guilin in another day or 2, he as well gave us a ride just to cover his petrol cost. He asked for RMB250 but finally we agreed on RMB190. If we were to take bus, the total cost would be around RMB100. Well, actually the difference was insignificant for an 1.5 hour comfort ride to Guilin.

Sheraton Guilin

This time around I didn't go back to Bravo Hotel but wanted to try out the Sheraton. It was nothing wrong with Bravo Hotel but I got a better rate to redeem the Starwood Points for Sheraton Guilin.

Sheraton Guilin was located at Binjiang Road and it was not difficult for us to find. We reached the hotel about 12 p.m. After paying the taxi driver we headed straight to the check-in counter while our luggages were taken care off by the porter.

I was informed the room was ready and as a member of SPG, we were assigned to SPG floor and given a king-bed room. The receptionist also brought out 3 items, a doll in local native costume, a piggy bank and a can of tea leaves. I thought all of them were for us but unfortunately she asked us to choose one and I chose tea leaves. Anyway it was a good gesture, don't you think so?

The washbasin and bathtub...

The shower...

The amenities...

The comfy pillows...

The comfy bed...

The coffee/tea maker and 2 complimentary bottles of mineral water...

The working desk...

The large LCD...

The hallway to our room...

The spacious interior...

The lobby...

The small garden in the middle of the hotel...

The shopping street behind the hotel... The location of the hotel was superb! It was a 2-mins walk to this shopping street where shops and foods aplenty.

The duck tongue... Mrs. Chialat's favorite. Sorry I had no idea how it tasted like as I didn't try it. We had our lunch at one of the restaurants at this shopping street. It was raining during lunch time and everybody was waiting in the restaurant and we had to share table. It was so crowded and I didn't want to take out my camera to shoot on my food like a stupid nerd, though the food was quite good. So no photo of our lunch!

After our lunch we just headed back to our room to check out the bed as it was drizzling non stop where we were not able to explore anymore. While we tried to take a nap, unfortunately we could here the noise from the construction site next to the hotel where it was quite annoying as they kept throwing steel rods from the top of the building. I made a call down to the receptionist to complain. The receptionist apologized profusely and asked us to wait for a while when she tried to assign another room for us. After 15 mins or so, the bellboy came with our new room card. The room was now located at the other end of the building. The room was same in size and design but came with a balcony. Sigh... it was raining non stop so the balcony was no use to us. Nevertheless it was now quieter than before and we managed to have our nap.

At dinner time we went back to the shopping street for our dinner. We ordered a farm chicken(frog) porridge 田鸡粥 and noodle. It was nothing extraordinary and I didn't bother to take any photo except this one - farm chicken porridge. Not that it tasted good but the way it was prepared... unlike our 田鸡粥 in Malaysia where the frog is skinned before cooking. Here they cook together with the skin!

The frog skin... how disgusting!

After the dinner we wandered around for a while at the shopping street. Since it was nothing much, we therefore headed to the night market. We spent a couple of hours there before going back to our hotel to pack for our early departure.

To Be Continued...

Guilin and Yangshuo - Day 4

We are going upstream today!

That was just to cover the part, from Xingping to Yangdi that we missed out when we took bus to Yangshuo instead of cruise the other day.

Click to enlarge. You would have better idea on where were the places we would be going today.

We woke up at 8 a.m and had a quick breakfast before heading to the bus station to catch a bus to Xingping- a small village located 25 km north of Yangshuo.

The bus station was just located next to West Street. We didn't have to purchase the bus ticket in advance. Buses departed from the station to Xingping was quite frequent... every half and hour or so. We didn't even have to buy the ticket at the counter. We just hopped on the bus, a 20-seater bus, and waited for about 10 mins before the bus started moving. Only then the lady bus conductor came over to collect money from us. We paid RMB 5.50 each.

Xingping...

The journey to Xinping just took about 45 mins. The whole journey was uneventful and soon when we got out from the bus, a few ladies rushed toward us to sell their rafting service. I already had an idea how much it would cost to do the rafting here when I spoke to our foot masseur last night. She said it cost them RMB200 when they did the rafting from Xingping to Yangdi a few months ago.

Though bamboo rafting was the only reason I came here but I did not show my desperation and managed to bargain down the price to RMB100 for 2 of us. Better than what the locals got! I guess it was mainly due to the low season.

*Bargain Tips - Do not show your desperation when bargain.

The lady led us to the raft by going through a small alley of the village...

Why must they sit so low to eat? Do you think it's more comfortable?

Quite a rundown village...

Empty street...

A few cafe/restaurants... according to the lady it was a happening place for backpackers during the peak season.

We walked pass some farm lands...

It took a good 20 mins walk to reach the riverbank...

We also had to walk on a short distance pebble path before reaching the raft... The raft was operated by the lady's husband.

The lady's husband was quite nice... he pointed out all the scenic sites and even lend us this RMB20 note for this picture. The actual scene on this RMB20 note.

They also have all kind of names for the hills/stones there. But I didn't bother as I couldn't figure out any single one of them.

The "Married Island"... there was a story about it also but I can't remember now.

Mrs. Chialat was showing off her seating pitch on her "first class" seat or her waterproof Croc??

Does it look like Kuan Yin- Goddess of Mercy?

The cruise boat that came down from Guilin...

Random shot...

Eagle Hill or something... can't remember.

Some hawker stalls along the river... should be prohibited as rubbish was thrown all over the riverbank.

Scenic view...

What a view!

After almost 2.5 hour ride, it was time to go "home".

When we reached the original place where we boarded the raft, we took a "tutu" back to the bus station instead of walking 2km. The bus was about to leave when we reached there and luckily we managed to get a seat as it was actually quite full. And again the journey back to Yangshuo was uneventful.

It was 1:30 p.m when we reached Yangshuo. We headed straight for our lunch.

Again we went to " Mei Jie" and ordered these...

Hot plate tofu... tasted good.

Veggie... quite nice.

Braised pork with yam... excellent!

The portion was quite big for all the above dishes and cost RMB64. After the lunch we headed back to our hotel for a rest.

We came out for our dinner at "Mui Jie" again which I forgot to take any pic. but I remember we ordered a Beer Fish and Stuffed Snail to go with porridge. It was quite good as well.

It was a final day in Yangshuo and we took a final stroll at West Street to see if we missed out something or wanted to buy anything before going back to our hotel.

To Be Continued...

Guilin and Yangshuo - Day 3

We booked 2 tours for today, Silver Cave and Li River Bamboo Rafting with the lady who maned the bicycle renting business in front of our hotel yesterday. We paid RMB 120 per person for the Siver Cave Tour which included the admission tickets while the bamboo rafting cost RMB 100 per raft which could actually accommodate 4 people. (Bargain please!)

When we came out from our hotel at 9 a.m, we saw this... quite foggy. It was not a good time to do the rafting as the visibility of Li River would be bad. So we decided to do the Silver Cave tour first.

We waited about 10 mins before a seven-seater van came and picked us up in front of our hotel. The van stopped at West Street to pick another 4 Chinese visitors before continuing our journey to the cave.

Silver Cave...

Silver cave is a splendid limestone cave that located about 25 km from Yangshuo County and it took about 40 mins drive from our hotel. The cave ran trough 12 mountains and the roundabout tour in the cave covered about 2 km.

The walkway leading to the inner part of the cave... although it was cold outside but the cave was actually quite warm where we had to take off our jackets.

Diamond-like stalactites highlighted with different color of lights that make it a dazzling place.

Water reflection shot...

Does it look like waterfall?

Crystal embedded stalactites that actually sparkle when highlighted with blue lights.

They have all sort names for the stones... example the one looked like monkey was named "Sun Wukong" (Monkey King- The monkey character in the Journey To The West novel) and so on. However I had problem of figuring it out, all of them, when the guide introduced except the one shown above.

One building after we exited the cave... we spent about an hour in the cave and once we exited, the van driver was already there, waiting. Soon after everybody was on board, the driver sped off. The journey back was uneventful and we were the first to be dropped off.

By the time we reached hotel, It was already 12:30 p.m. We wanted to go for lunch first before we continued the rafting tour. I just wanted to have a quick lunch near our hotel but the lady tour agent recommended we should try the home-cooked lunch at the farm house beside the Li River. We agreed and she immediately walked us down to the riverbank...

The raft handler whom was the brother-in-law of the lady agent was already waiting down there...

There we go... heading downstream. The first impression of the Li River was its water. The water was so clear that you could actually see the bottom of the river. If it was not winter and the water was not so cold, I would have jump into the river for a good swim.

We reached the farm house restaurant after riding about 20 mins or so...

The farm house restaurant...

When we walked up to the restaurant, it was rather empty and we were the only customers. It was a makeshift restaurants with "attap" roof that built in front of a wooden house. The restaurant just has 3 or 4 tables and no decoration.

The lady owner came to take order and we swiftly placed our order mainly based on her recommendation. She recommended the Li River fish soup, the farm chicken ( we ordered half chicken- min. order) and fried bitter gourd with beef.

The farm behind the restaurant...

Once finished with our order, the lady took a net and basket before walking down to the river. I thought she must be kidding... how long did she need to catch the fish?? Luckily she just walked to the riverbank and pulled out a cage from the water... though fishes were already caught earlier and placed inside the cage before customers ordered, but she still took a while, 20 mins or so to bring back the fishes...

We thought that it was a big fish but it turned out to be 10 or more small fishes like this... our raft handler help out with the cutting and cleaning.

The granny was chasing around before the chicken was caught... she started to boil water and the poor chicken was ready to be slaughtered.

It took about 2 hours (no kidding), from the moment we placed the order until this 1st dish being served. The fishes were cooked with plain water and maybe a pinch of salt. They said this was the best way to prepare the fish... I guess you would get the same "taste" with whatever fish you cook in this way. The broth was stinky for my liking and the fish was too small to appreciate its meat. I stopped drinking the soup after my first sip and hardly finished a single fish, neither did Mrs. Chialat.

The Kampung Chicken... this was quite good and we finished the whole thing.

The fried bitter gourd with "buffalo meat"... I'm not sure if it was beef or buffalo as the meat was damn chewy. We only managed to finish half of the bitter gourd while the beef was left untouched.

Guess what is it inside?

... our white rice. It was cooked with firewood and therefore it has a bit of burned taste. It took closed to 3 hours when we finished our meal there. The total bill came to RMB 120.00

The rafting tour continued after our lunch...

We reached our final destination, Fuli Village before heading back...

Fuli Village was like a ghost town... human beings were hardly seen here.

Broken house...

A rundown town...

Just a couple of stalls selling paintings and souvenirs...

Wood carving arts...

We spent 20 mins in Fuli before heading back...

Scenery on the way back...

Broken Boat...

It was almost "home" when we saw this structure... it was actually a bridge leading to the Liu San Jie Show.

It was 4:30 p.m when we reached the jetty. We bought some local fruits and dried persimmon at the jetty before going back to our hotel... It was just a 10 mins stroll.

We took some rest before coming out again... we were not particularly hungry as we had a long and late lunch earlier, but we definitely need a massage after a whole day of walking. We took a "tutu" to West Street and found a Spa center just where the "tutu" stopped. The Spa was quite "grand" and clean, therefore we decided to try their foot massage. The 2 hours foot massage came with 20 mins shoulder massage (quite good actually) that cost RMB 100 per person.

It was already 9:00 pm after the massage... and we headed straight for our dinner...

There were plenty of restaurants in West Street... but with our instinct, we chose "Mei Jie".

Their menu...

Pork Dish... it was quite good.

Duck dish... excellent!

Staffed Snail... local specialty in Yangshuo. Yangshuo was famous for 18 types of staffed food... and most of which were like our "Yong Tao Foo" - uninspiring. So we ordered the staffed snail.. and turned out to be quite good. You need a little bit of effort in sucking out the meat though.

Empty shell... We counted it has 28 snails in the dish.

All the above dishes were excellent especially when it went with porridge. All the portion was quite big and the total damage was RMB 64

Not sure if we were hungry but it was our best and most satisfactory meal in Yangshuo so far.

After our dinner we took a stroll at West Street for a while before heading back to our hotel and called it day.

To Be Continued...