Lonely Planet China is quite scathing about Guilin. Their summary of the city is, 'get yourself to Yangshuo as quickly as possible, 'cause Guilin sucks'. This is of course my paraphrase, but it accurately sums up LP's description of the city on the Li River. It's interesting because Guilin and Yangshuo share the same beautiful karst topography. Guilin is actually closer to the famous Longsheng Rice Terraces (no, I didn't go see them - I'm covered with shame). They are both on the beautiful Li river. The difference is that Yangshuo is rural(ish), while Guilin is undeniably a city.
I arrived in Guilin with this preformed opinion, courtesy of the backpacker's Bible. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. First, the airport shuttle was a dream. It dropped us off near the train station, from whence I was easily able to catch a cab to my hostel. I only had to try 2 cabbies before getting one to go by the meter instead of trying to set an inflated price in advance, and he only took a couple of minor detours on the way there to boost the metered price, equaling maybe an extra quai. That's the best experience I've had with cabs in China.
At my hostel, I was checked in to a charming dorm room for my one night in Guilin. There, I discovered one of the interesting power saving ideas in China. All hostels that I've been to in the south issue a magnetic key card to get into your room. This key card must then be inserted into a slot by the door (inside the room) before the lights will activate. This effectively prevents people from leaving lights and air conditioners activated when they've gone out for the day. That, or they have to leave their key behind. Great idea.
I dumped my bag and then headed out to find sustenance. I was in search of Rosemary's Cafe, supplier of the city's finest Western food, according to LP. Well, the authors of LP might believe that the pinnacle of Western culinary art was reached with the invention of the frozen pizza, but I'd have to disagree. I finished my soggy mess of a "pizza" and then went wandering around a bit. There was a charming covered market area quite near to my hostel that was very entertaining, and then I stumbled on a massage storefront. I decided that I did have some time to spare for a quick 90 minute foot and shoulder massage.
Oh my. That was my first real foot massage and I am an addict. It was incredible. The shoulder massage was OK, but the foot massage!!! Wow. First, I had a foot bath with mineral salts. Then, each foot was in turn rubbed with warming lotion firmly (almost painfully) massaged, with special attention to the main pressure points that supposedly connect to my kidneys, etc. I could feel my arches perking up. After so much walking, quite often while carrying a 30 pound pack, it was heaven. Then, when I thought we were done, she applied a foot and calf mud mask! Crazy. I must admit that when it came off, my feet were very soft. :)
After my little interlude at the foot spa, I went down to the Li river. There, I watched people swimming, fishing, and bathing. It was so hot that I was quite tempted to grab my swim suit and join in. Then, I took a closer look at the film of scum and detritus floating on the water, and decided to vicariously enjoy the river. I crossed a bridge to the other bank and continued on to Qixing Gongyuan (Seven Star park), one of Guilin's nicest spots. The park is named after the seven peaks it contains which form a pattern resembling the big dipper. It is 297 acres of parkland containing streams, bridges, pagodas, caves, a zoo, and numerous scenic areas. I really really loved it. My favorite was the peak that looks like a dromedary camel from one side and a bactrian camel from the other. Amazing! Best of all, on the bactrian side, there's a huge plaque saying that Bill Clinton gave a speech at that site. As a loyal Clintonite, I got a big kick out of that.
After a lovely time wandering the paths, taking photos, and saying "hello, hello" to children who were prompted to talk to the nice foreign lady by parents and grandparents proud of their progeny's English skill, I decided to watch the sunset from one of the peaks. Logically, I chose to follow the sign that said scenic lookout pagoda. Sounds good. I huffed and puffed up the steep path, surprising a millipede around one turn - they are really disgusting in person by the way. I finally reached the top to find that the pagoda was surrounded by foliage. There was not a chance of seeing the sunset from there. Drat! I climbed back down and only then did I notice the perfect viewing platform at the top of the next peak. Nope. I decided that there would be other sunsets and that I could enjoy this one from the Flower Bridge instead.
I left the park and wandered out into a city seething with rush hour traffic. I will never get over the fact that in China, rush hour means bicycles. Huge hordes of bicycles backed up for city blocks. Amazing. There are plenty of cars and trucks as well, but most people get around on two wheeled devices - some motorized, some not. I fought my way back to the bridge over the Li River and spent a little time playing with a Hui baby and buying chestnut candy from her father. Interesting. Then, it was back to the market for dinner and an internet cafe, then to the hostel for sleep. I had to be up and ready to go at 8am for my Li River cruise, so it was early to bed for me.
I only had that one day and night in Guilin, but it was lovely. Maybe I just did all that there is to do in the city and thus would have been bored to tears by another day or two there, but honestly, I wouldn't have minded staying. There still seemed to be lots to do there, not least a trip to the rice terraces. Best of all, it was close to good food; there were no cockroaches; and people weren't constantly trying to cheat me. Oops, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Read my next entry to find my opinion of the great tourist Mecca of Yangshuo.
For the pics, see http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/GuilinYangshuo
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I also liked Guilin a lot, or rather: very much. For me it was the best, happiest and most educative place during this journey. Only some of the tourist-related people were bad, but only a few. The sales people were there, but more polite and reserved than in Shanghai or Beijing, and paying just by handing a pile of cash to them and they taking from it what was the correct price, or what they figured was the correct price for me, was no problem. It never was too much.
Of course I was a privileged visitor, being for four days mostly lead, commanded and guided by the older sister of a student of mine, always with some cousin or classmate accompanying us so that her chastity and honour were safely guaranteed, but nevertheless she greatly added to the charm of Guilin for me. Yet, also the city itself was clean, honest and beautiful, both in the centre and in the residential areas. I loved Guilin. I behaved well in the family, and I have both the mother's and the father's invitation to visit them again.
Post a Comment