Alex Goes To China

We decided to go to Guilin after all. Nanjing was sending Jo and I both a little mental as we waited for a call from Jo’s friend. While we waited, heavy rain flooded our proposed next destination. Within a couple of days the rain subsided and the flood waters that engulfed the Guilin rivers were gone. A persistent Chinese man, that I had contacted about accommodation days before, promised that if we came, he would refund us if the trip was ruined by flooding. This gave us confidence that all was well and so we got a flight that day, and we are so glad we did.

Guilin is a dream; with 200 million year old rock formations surrounding the small city (pop. 700,000ish) its lakes, moats and rivers decorate a fantastic landscape. Picturesque rice patties that seem more like a gigantic earth art installation than functional agriculture encompass the city. The air is clean, the sky blue and it is a welcome relief after the smog and noise of Nanjing.

We were met at the apartment upon arrival by a local girl calling herself Wendy, who happens to have a degree in English and an Australian boyfriend. She invited us for drinks at the local expat trap, an Irish pub that is about as Irish as a Bulgarian sumo wrestler. We played drinking games until 1am until Jo and I returned to our apartment to sleep.

We are planning a 2 hour boat trip to Yangshuo next down the Li Jiang (Li River) in a bamboo boat. We have been promised that the flooding from days before will not affect us.

I have also added a map of our travels here and some recent pics (click on thumbs):

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