Another Birthday treat!! A Holiday to Guilin in Guangxi Province in China!!
This is LCCT at dawn. Our flight to Guilin was scheduled at 6.40 am. Due to a long queue in the Immigration, we nearly missed our flight. Gate was closed!!! Good thing that there were about 40 passengers on our flight who were with us in the queue.
Our first stop was to the Reed Flute Cave, on the north-western outskirts of Guilin City. We had an amazing time exploring the undergrounds of Guilin, surrounded by remarkable stalactites and staglamites. It is believed to have been an air-raid shelter and can hold about 1000 people!!
The next day, we took a 2- hour cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo. Remarkable and stunning limestones karsts all the way. Many with nice-sounding names, like 'Nine Horses Fresco Hill' and 'Fish Tail Peak'. All the way, it was green hills and clear waters along the meandering river!!
Passing by little villages, we see sprays of bamboos lining the side of the river. Ducks paddling in the river, water-buffaloes bathing in the waters, women washing their clothes - it was a pretty interesting sight!! Also lots of tourists aboard bamboo rafts and everyone immersed in this remarkable and picturesque scenery.
This photo was taken aboard a bamboo raft along the Yu Long River, one of the tributaries of Li River. The boatman and a minority village maiden entertained us with stories and songs from the 'San Jie Lui' musical.
An interesting sight along the Yu Long river are the fishermen with their Cormorants. These birds are trained to dive into the waters to catch fish. This fisherman demonstrated to us how, in matter of seconds, this bird caught a fish. Their necks are tied so that they do not swallow their catch!!
At last, we arrived our hotel, Moon Hill Resort. We met Wei Wei, whom I have been corresponding with. She was really helpful while I was planning this holiday. The next day, we met her sister- in-laws, her mother-in-law, a niece and a nephew. Wei Wei and her family were perfect hosts. Her husband cooked most of our meals. Amidst the paddy fields and limestone karsts, this was a wonderful holiday retreat!!!
Moon Hill Resort is just about 8 km from Yangshuo. Transport is easily available. One night, we went to the ' San Jie Liu' Show. Set along 1.6 km of the Li River, amongst 12 peaks, and with more than 600 performers, water buffaloes and cormorants, it was an amazing performance!!
After the show, we went to West Street for dinner and shopping. Some Chinese musicians entertained us on the lute and accordion whilst we had dinner. Very interesting!
This is Moon Hill. a peak just facing the resort. In the three days we were there, we met most of the villagers in the Moon Hill Village. One morning, while having breakfast in the village, (a bowl of Guilin noodles), some women gathered around us, wanting to accompany us up the Moon Hill. They treated us very well, cooling us down with hand-held fans and one even provided me with a bamboo stick to help me walk up the hill!! She also accompanied me down, and showed me some postcards. All she wanted was for me to buy a drink and some postcards from her. Of course, I did!!
The above photo shows the Osmanthus flower. Guilin was named after this flower. It is sweet-smelling and has some medicinal properties. The flower can be dried and made into tea. It is very popular in Guilin.The second photo shows a dish called 'Beer Fish', fish cooked with beer and some vegetables. You can find this in almost every menu in Guilin restaurants!! Food is really delicious here because it is not processed, just straight from the land to the table. Even rice is especially tasty!! I am going to miss this when I get home!!
This was taken on our last day. Seen here are some tourists (with Grace and JYenn) staying at Moon Hill Resort. They also joined us in our hike to Moon Hill. Also in the photo are Wei Wei, Lucy (Wei Wei's sister-in-law) and Nai Nai with grandchild.All in all, it was a splendid holiday!!
