Fruit

Another common sight in Guilin and Yangshuo was fruit. 

It was for sale everywhere, and on trees everywhere. 

I'm not sure what kind of fruit this is drying here. Actually I think it could be the peel of the fruit. There was no one around to ask, so I just took pictures instead. 

 One fruit that most of you are missing out on is called youzi (油子). (In English I think it might be called a pomelo?) Anyway, it's a giant citrus fruit that tastes awesome. If it wasn't the size of a soccer ball, and if it wasn't illegal to bring fruit to America, I'd bring some for you to try. 

Bike Ride

The best 20 yuan ($3.15) that I spent last week was to rent a bicycle for a day.

My roommate and I spent an entire day on bikes, exploring the farms, villages, and fields around the countryside.

It was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

To cross the river we bargained with the locals to take us across on a bamboo raft.

This elderly woman was the winner of the bargaining game.

It was so beautiful here...I wish you could see the panoramic view.

Yangshuo and the Li River

If you ever have the chance, visiting Yangshuo is a worthwhile trip. 

Nestled in the mountains of southern China next to the Li River, Yangshuo has capitalized on its prime location to become a popular tourist destination for people from all over the world. This post (and a few others to follow) will show you some of the sights that can be seen here. 

 The view from our hostel.

 Exploring the town.

 Garden spot. This place made me want to quit my job and grow Chinese vegetables for the rest of my life.

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One of the days we were there, we took a bus to a village called Yangdi, from where we planned to hike down the Li River to another village called Xingping. According to friends of mine, this four hour hike was pretty awesome and worth the effort, so I was pumped about it.

When we arrived that day however, people at the river told us that we weren't allowed to cross, and that instead we needed to pay one of them to take us by boat to the next village. At first I kind of wanted to just go back on the bus we came on, but seriously what would that do? And how many times was I gonna be here again in my life? Probably zero. 

Aaahhh, tourism. :/ Whatever, we'll pay to take the boat.

 Unfortunately, it was a gray and foggy day, but even then the mountains were spectacular.

 As I feared, the pictures don't really depict how awesome this place is.

New friends made along the way.

 When we got off the boat, we were allowed to walk along for awhile. Here we even walked in the riverbed as the dry season has made the river really low. There was bamboo everywhere.

 On the way to the village.

 We ended up here in Xingping.

 Stuff for sale.

:)

Rice Terraces

 I've been in southern China for about a week now, and while I've not posted on here much, I have taken enough pictures to fill a good number of blog posts. Anyway, it's hard to know where to start with posting them, but now that I am in a place with good internet, I figure I should begin somewhere.

First stop: the Longji Rice Terraces near Guilin, China.

I'm pretty sure that if you visited this place on a clear day, there would be some amazing views of the valleys and mountains around. When my roommate and I were there, however, the weather was cool and damp cold and wet. Nevertheless, it was an amazing place. 

After an hour bus ride to a little village, we bargained with a man to take us on another ride the top of the mountain where we could see the terraces. After he dropped us off, we walked for several hours along some trails to another village and eventually caught a bus back to town. 

Compared to what I'm used to, this place was pretty remote, and peaceful, and quiet. And even though it's winter right now, this was still a sight worth seeing.

I don't know much about growing rice, but I guess now I know a little more.

The village we passed through.

 

Terraces are good for growing other things too.

We hiked through an old village that was being rebuilt.

 The fog was thick and wet.

 

There were many graves along the way.

 In the town where we ended up, this horse was led back and forth, hauling things uphill to men who were working.

a dreary, yet beautiful day.