Saving the Best for Last in Guilin

Our final sightseeing day in Guilin was one of the most jam-packed that we have ever attempted, either with just Lisa and me or with the kids. The schedule was very aggressive, so hang on:

Reveille was 6 AM, and we departed promptly from the hotel at 8 AM. We made it to the wharf, in plenty of time, where our cruise boat was waiting. It was a good thing too, because we were not the only cruisers. Lily told us that the cruise line operates 190 boats. Each boat carries from 75 to 200 cruisers. On our wharf, as we pulled out there must have been 25 boats. Just down river, we passed a second wharf with 30 to 35 more boats. It was all a bit of a production line. Of course, we were some of the only Westerners on the boats.

We were looking forward to the trip down the Li River, because this area of China is one of the most beautiful. It is also one of the most scenic stretches of river in the world. As the brochure says: “It flows 437 kilometers down Guilin, Yangshuo, Pingle and Wuzhou exactly like a jaw ribbon winding among thousands of grotesque peaks.” It was like a real-life National Geographic or Discovery Channel episode. There were stunning cliffs and formations at every turn of the river. Many of the cliffs and mountains had been named long ago, with names of Five Fingers Hill, Bat Hill, The Green Lotus Peak, Apple Hill and Writing Brush Peak. The weather was good but not great, and the views were clear for the most part, but we had to compete for spaces on the rails at the front and top of the boat with the other tourists. We were even approached by a shy teenager, who appeared to be wanting to practice his English. We had a short conversation, introduced our families, and he explained that his family was from Inner Mongolia. We each took pictures on our respective cameras, shook hands and wished each other well. It is always interesting to meet other people of Chinese heritage, especially when they make the effort to communicate in English.

The river excursion was one of the highlights of the trip so far. The progression of cruise boats leading and trailing ours didn’t detract too much from the staggering scenery. It was difficult to go inside to break for lunch, since we risked missing an interesting village (there is a very large Muslim village between Guilin and Yangshou), a herd of water buffalo (really neat to see), fields and fields of kumquats growing in the hills or other unique sights. Not to be left out Ryan sampled at least one – sometimes many – of each of the cakes and treats that Lily had brought along for the ride. The kids enjoyed running around the boat with Lily’s son, too, as he slowly tried to practice a few English words with them.

We took hundreds of photos – hopefully some will actually come out OK! It was all a bit humbling, as most people, even experienced tourists might never get to see this wonder. We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to share this important piece of heritage with our children. They all seemed to enjoy the 4 hour trip and shared in picture-taking duties. We got a family photo with the actual rock formation depicted on the Chinese 20 Yuan Bill as the background – along with many many other unique photos. There was a hidden waterfall, several caves at water level and many higher hidden in the cliffs (locals used the caves to hide out during the wars).

Throughout the trip, local villagers in their longboats would chase down the cruise boats and tie up to the sides to sell their fish, fruits and vegetables to the tourists. They’d shuttle from boat to boat hustling to make their living. The geography transitioned slowly from cliffs and mountains to farms and fields, as the tour of the river drew to a close. Once in Yangshou, we disembarked, and headed for the “Foreigner Street.” To get there we walked along a nice, new covered promenade lined with dozens of vendors selling Chinese clothing, silk scarves, toys and gifts. We made it through without making any purchases. At the end of the promenade, the kids also decided that they would hit the exercise equipment in the high heat, so several locals walked by with puzzled looks on their faces.

In a few moments we were walking up the “Foreigners Street”, which was very similar to many of the other touristy streets that we have seen on our trips. This particular street, as Lily explained, was home to several restaurants owned and managed by German, Italian, and other Europeans. One of the more visible spots was a German beer house, complete with large pictures of Oktoberfest girls serving mugs of beer. We made our first purchase, a carved chess set, which Kyle was convinced we paid too much for. He was not happy with Dad’s negotiation skills!! Dad had two Chinese ladies negotiating against him, so the pressure was intense. At the end of the street we made our way back to the van, for the excursion to our next stop.

Our driver dropped us off near a river crossing bridge. As we looked up-river, we saw a massive sea of umbrellas (at least 60-70), each one covering a long bamboo raft. Each raft was outfitted with a small bench to seat two people, and it was piloted by a driver handling a 15 foot long bamboo pole. As the boats passed under the bridge, there was about a 4 foot plunge to a lower part of the river. The boats would make a U-turn and then head back up river assisted by a short rubberized belt drive system to get them to the upper part of the river. We could have taken a bamboo raft cruise, but the children were too small. Both men and women piloted the rafts, and we watched with amusement as one driver dropped his bamboo pole in the water and had to expertly negotiate the waters to get it back.

Next it was back to the van, and then we were dropped off for a short walk through a local village. Speaking of chickens, during the walk, Lily told us that we may encounter some. Dylan was almost in tears as he heard distant sounds of chickens (he must have had his superman hearing on as he would “hear” them from miles away), but luckily none crossed our immediate path. We did find some hens in houses (?!) further along the way, so Dylan made a mad sprint for the van. We also met a man on a bicycle with some sort of plant crown on his head (not sure what that was about) but he followed us for a bit of the way asking our guide questions.

There was a lot of construction in this village, and we passed a group of women, dressed in traditional outfits, who were hauling load after load of mud and rock. They were shouldering the load with a long piece of bamboo balanced on either end by large buckets. They would dump their full buckets and return with empty buckets ready for their next load. They had probably been doing this all day, even in the blazing heat – they must have been 70 years old each! After our village tour, we found our driver, rehydrated, and were on our way.

Our next stop was a healthy drive away, along a very bumpy and treacherous stretch of highway that was under construction (like potholes the size of deep craters). There were lots of cars motorcycles and scooters, all trying to hit the smaller potholes, so they wouldn’t land in the larger ones. It was a brutal trip on the suspension of the van. Next up was a stop at the Shangri-La tourist area. (I told you that the schedule for today’s events was aggressive, and I wasn’t kidding.). By this time, it was already 4:00 and we were all starting to fade fast.

At Shangri-La, we were greeted and serenaded by a local native musical group, playing traditional guitar like instruments. Lily told me the name of these instruments, but I have forgotten it.

We then boarded a small motorboat with about 15 other tourists, for a short loop of the lake, winding its way through a long cave. This was a bit scary as they kept putting more and more people on the boat as I was silently saying “boat overload” to myself!! Along the way, we saw a grove of blooming peach trees, along with a group of local children who were jumping off of a bridge which had to be about 15 feet above the water – showing off for the tourists. We passed a handful of local village women, who were washing their laundry at the water’s edge. At the end of the boat tour, we wandered back through some of the Shangri-La exhibits. They described the history and heritage of that area. One of the buildings was used to demonstrate local native dancing. Without being prompted, shockingly, Dylan, Kyle, and even Ryan joined in with the dancing. They had a great time, judging by the smiles on their faces. Kyle said his dancing partner was so excited that she kept high-fiving hi to help bridge the communication gap. Luckily we got some video, as well as some pictures. We then wandered outside into a courtyard where a local native was tossing decorated Chinese silk balls off of a balcony into the crowd. It took a bit of a jump, but Dad was lucky enough to snag one for the family. So Ashley was graced with the ball that you wear I think so you can find a beau or something? Also, Mom and Ashley found a few small unique handmade ornaments in a neat shop, that we will also be bringing home.

Lily took us to a local authentic Chinese restaurant for dinner. After some discussion and negotiation (and Lisa almost passing out from the lack of choices that she had to pick from – including the whole chicken, head included), we ordered a few things for the table. Some fried rice, some vegetables, and some beef in a hot sauce were what we settled on. It was enough to get us by (with granola bars to supplement) and we were on our way again. The restaurant had no utensils besides chopsticks and were shocked when we asked for silverware, so they had to “borrow” a few spoons from who doesn’t want to know where. Also in the middle of our tasty feast, a massive fireworks supply was set off in the street for no apparent reason.

The van ride to our next stop took over an hour and there was a rushed conversation between the driver and guide that we were running late so we hit the pot holes roads at full speed ahead. In the meantime, the kids (along with Mom & Dad) were able to get some much-needed rest on the way. Night had fallen, and we were all awoken with a start when our driver made a sharp turn off of the road into a dark driveway. Lily had been chatting on the phone with someone, trying to get us to our final stop of the day: A Cormorant Fishing Demonstration.

This not being our first rodeo, we’ve been in our share of dicey situations with potentially questionable outcomes…this would be one of those times. (Like when we hired an unmarked cab / van in Hong Kong and they pulled off the highway to wind down dark backroads under the overpasses. As it turned out they were just dropping off a friend – who they were and where they were going was not our concern. Or like last year, when Aunt Rita was led up into the maze of back stairs and off-street secret shops in Shanghai in search of a Louis – or was it Larry? – Vuitton handbag.)

The sudden pull off was apparently a false alarm. The driver got back on the road, drove a few hundred more feet – then pulled off again. This time Lily was hanging out her window yelling back & forth at an older man on a scooter. The second pull off was just as dark as the first, but apparently it was now the correct one! The old man fired up his scooter and our driver took up the chase, barely keeping up with him, while struggling to stay on the DARK dirt path that passed as the road (it could have been a scene from a movie, and not a fun, family movie). It was inky black dark out as we slowed down to a stop near the banks of the river. The area was deserted and the kids were asking some good questions as to why we’d be getting out here. We trusted Lily’s guidance and we piled out onto the dirt lot. The scooter-man joined us and using only a small flashlight, Lily led the way down to the river. Luckily (knowingly!) she offered us some bug spray which we all used.

We could only make out dim lights in the distance across the river. Out of the darkness, and seemingly from thin air, a raft/boat materialized. It was similar to the rafts we’d seen earlier in the day, except that this one had 3 benches. Funny how the kids were tall enough to take this boat in the pitch black dark, but not the same exact boat during broad daylight for the river raft tour. Made us a bit uneasy, so we told the children to hang on very tightly to the side. At about the same time another tour group (German or French?) plus several dozen mosquitos also joined the party – so we started to feel that this “Demonstration” was a bit more legitimate. They boarded a larger boat and shoved off first. Our team split onto the 3 wooden benches and we made our way out the the middle of the river, powered by what looked like a weedwacker motor spinning a small propeller at the end. The paddle man said nothing as we drifted out into the dark. It was a bit spooky.

We slowly approached one of the dim lights we’d seen earlier. It was the Cormorant Fisherman. Lily explained that the fishermen train the Cormorants, who work with the same fishermen over many (some 25!) years. The fishermen tie a string around the necks of the birds and rope them together so they can work as as team. The neck strings are looped loose enough to allow the Cormorants to swallow small fish, but tight enough that larger fish can be caught by the birds but not completely swallowed. The birds also have enough slack in the rope to allow them to freely dive up to 10-12 feet below the surface in search of fish.

Once we were close enough to the fisherman’s raft, it was showtime. The birds seemed to enjoy themselves and realized that THEY were the show! We shadowed the fisherman as he guided his own raft with a bamboo pole. He was unfazed by the flashes from the cameras of both tourist rafts. Every few seconds the birds would dive and resurface 5-10 seconds later…90% of the time with fish in their beaks. It was really very cool to watch the action and we saw how the fisherman extract some of the larger fish from the Cormorants. The bugs were swarming on all 3 rafts/boats- the fisherman used a light to guide him – and we found out why the light was so dim, when we saw it from shore. There were thousands of bugs swarming in front of HIS light, and the swarm was thick enough to dim it significantly!

In about 15 minutes, after short trips up and downstream, the show wrapped up and we all headed in to the bank to get off. Before leaving, we got a chance for a photo-op with Lisa holding a cormorant on her arm! It was a fun photo with Ashley and Ryan also right there with Mom! As expected, Dylan hung back in the shadows, as Cormorants have the same effect on him as chickens!

The day ended with a long, fairly quite ride on a SMOOTH modern highway back to our Hotel.

We poured out of the van, said our good-byes to Lily and thanked her for our unforgettable trip to Guilin. The tempers were sometimes short, we survived a few tantrums, we sweated buckets and more buckets, we walked many miles uphill and down, and we saw and experienced Guilin as we wanted to. It was a family trek we’ll have forever.

Now we head to Taiyuan to prepare to meet our new son/brother, Tyler.