Our private speedboat cruise of the Li River started at 8:00 am It was a 52 mile journey down the Li River to Yangshou. Our driver, who couldn’t speak any English, managed to show us the various formations using a bi-lingual map. About 1/3 of the way down, we saw a huge transport terminal with 100’s of cruise ships lined up, with huge groups pouring into the boats. 
This was the nightmare we avoided by spending a few extra dollars and getting our own private tour. The normal cruise boats take about 6 hours to get to Yangshou with a requisite stop at yet another cave. We sped past all the boats, waving to the groups and made it to Yangshou in 3 hours.
The river scenery was spectacular- strange and eerie rock formations covered in mist, huge groves of bamboo and local fishermen out with their nets.
Upon reaching Yangshou, we got off the boat and walked for about 1 km through rows of vendor stalls (we were fortunately too early for the vendors, so we didn’t have to go through any touting). After the vendor stalls, the town was filled with double rows of tourist buses, waiting to bus the cruise passengers back to Guilin. What a nightmare!
Yangshou is quoted as being “a legendary backpackers dream”. What’s left of it is a two street town- one lined with shops and cafes, the other lined with the locals shops. After a breakfast of banana pancakes and museli with fruit and yogurt, we walked along both streets and got terribly hot and sweaty.
The river scenery was spectacular- strange and eerie rock formations covered in mist, huge groves of bamboo and local fishermen out with their nets.
Upon reaching Yangshou, we got off the boat and walked for about 1 km through rows of vendor stalls (we were fortunately too early for the vendors, so we didn’t have to go through any touting). After the vendor stalls, the town was filled with double rows of tourist buses, waiting to bus the cruise passengers back to Guilin. What a nightmare!
Yangshou is quoted as being “a legendary backpackers dream”. What’s left of it is a two street town- one lined with shops and cafes, the other lined with the locals shops. After a breakfast of banana pancakes and museli with fruit and yogurt, we walked along both streets and got terribly hot and sweaty.
The only place with A/C was an Internet café, so we spent some time catching up on email. Then, we found a great little café, the Rosewood, with a fan placed directly in front of us , and watched the people and had a cheese and tomato sandwich.
We decided to try the public bus to get back to Guilin, and got on along with hordes of locals. The bus was mercifully A/C, but stopped for every local on the road back, continuing to fill the bus with people standing in the aisles, sitting on tiny stools.
Once back in Guilin, we thought we’d check out the second restaurant recommendation of our guide, the Asian Pacific.
We decided to try the public bus to get back to Guilin, and got on along with hordes of locals. The bus was mercifully A/C, but stopped for every local on the road back, continuing to fill the bus with people standing in the aisles, sitting on tiny stools.
Once back in Guilin, we thought we’d check out the second restaurant recommendation of our guide, the Asian Pacific.
We walked into the entry way to find cages of animals- snakes, birds, and a solitary wild boar. The menu was obviously based on fresh food (and also had such delicasies as “dog meat casserole” and “poisonous snake steamed in clear liquid”). We decided that seeing our dinner alive was not our cup of tea.
We had some wine in our room and watched the view and headed to our favorite restaurant. After dinner, we linked up with some local police out for a night on the town with their girlfriends. We shared a few beers with them.
We had some wine in our room and watched the view and headed to our favorite restaurant. After dinner, we linked up with some local police out for a night on the town with their girlfriends. We shared a few beers with them.
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