hauteboy

Jun 2, 2018
Hotel: Secret Courtyard Resort Hotel; Guilin
I woke up at 7am and jumped in the shower. I had just gotten out when someone knocked at the door and opened it! Luckily I was (mostly) covered by a towel. The girl from the front desk said my tour was already here at 7:20! So a quick get dressed and grabbed some eggs at the breakfast before running out the door. The bus couldn't come across the bridge so had to walk back across to the main road. I was the first pickup apparently and the driver was mad he was already late! We set off and picked up the rest of the passengers, mostly Chinese but a few westerners. There was an English-speaking guide, but his English wasn't that good.

I guess we ended up being early as the driver was going super slow once out of town, getting passed by the other tour buses and traffic. We arrived at the port landing which ended up being crazy busy with other tour groups. I had a few minutes to buy a water before being ushered through the crowds to our boat. There were about 30 cruise boats lined up along the shore stacked 5 deep. The weather wasn't any better today and was grey and overcast.








We soon came to the first views of the rounded karst landscape, like jade gumdrops in the mist. Even with the overcast skies the scenery is amazing. It seems though the Li river has gotten very touristy, along the sides of the river were 'bamboo' rafts for tourists but made of PVC pipe. It started drizzling a bit but not too bad. We continued through the otherworldly landscape for a few hours before lunch was served onboard. We passed 'Mural Hill' just before landing. The greenery and weathering on the rock face appears as a bunch of horses.













Mural hill



We reached Yangshuo around 1PM when all the cruise boats disgorged their passengers all at once, it was a complete zoo disembarking and walking into town. There was a long covered arcade lined by souvenir sellers. Our guide had given us awhile to wander around town before meeting the bus. The whole town was very westernized touristy with pizza restaurants, German beer gardens, etc. There were brides posing for photos by the river. I stopped for an iced coffee to kill some more time.










Managed to find the hotel where the bus was picking us up (had tagged it in GPS) and from there we continued to the 'Shangri La' village. This was a Disnified ethnic village where you could take a boat ride along some canals, watch local dances etc. One of the things was throwing a silk ball for good luck or something, I managed to catch the first one. We finally head back to Guilin, getting there as it is getting dark.










Ate dinner at the hotel that evening, this time opting for the beer fish. There was a British Indian woman there traveling with her daughter and we talked for a bit. Their other daughter had planned the trip but had gotten sick and had to go back home.

1P

Thanks for a most interesting TR. Lhasa is something else.

stevie

Great TR. My brother in law also got sick in Guilin interestingly.

DanielW

Another cool TR.

Lhasa looks amazing, and the epic cultural show. Sanya looks like a mix between Hawaii and South-East Asia.

Interesting to see all the domestic tourists, was just in Beijing walking around Tienanmen Square and was amazed by the endless crowds!

hauteboy

Well worth the trip! I'd been to Nepal and Bhutan previously so there were some similar elements but different enough.

I don't remember getting sick this trip even in Lhasa. But mostly ate hotel food this trip.

Thanks yeah was quite amazing to see. This was my 4th trip to China, my first was 1988, 30 years ago! So crazy to see the changes in 2003, 2007 (North Korea trip) and now. Tienanmen Square was empty back then. Your North Korea trip looked great!

hauteboy

Jun 3, 2018
Flight: Guilin, China (KWL) to Hong Kong (HKG); Dragonair economy
Flight: Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX); American economy
Flight: Los Angeles (LAX) to Austin, TX (AUS); American economy
Today I was heading back home, the trip was already over too soon. I'd arranged another hotel transfer to the airport, they quoted 120Y but the taxi meter at the end only read 100Y. i had gotten there too early, the airport was still quiet and the international checkin area wasn't even open yet for the flight to Hong Kong. I bought a small panda doll for miss hauteboy with my remaining yuan.

I was first in line for checkin with Cathay Dragon and after security went to the Priority Pass lounge, which wasn't anything special. The shops were still opening in the international section. The flight to Hong Kong was quick and we arrived early at the satellite terminal. We flew over Macao and the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge, the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world.



KA KWL-HKG


Priority Pass Lounge Guilin






Macao Airport


Hong Kong-Zhuhai Bridge


I had a ~6 hr layover in Hong Kong. Originally I had hoped to visit the Lantau Island Buddha statue, but weather was supposed to rain and it was very humid and didn't want to get all sweaty before the long flight back to Los Angeles. I knew some people who lived in Hong Kong, some women travelers I had met in Wadi Rum, Jordan 7 years ago. We had also planned to meet at the airport hotel for dimsum. The immigration line took awhile but since I was so early I still had to wait around awhile until they arrived. Florence does off the beaten track trips, mostly cycling and hiking, so we talked all about travel for a few hours.







AA HKG-LAX

Afterwards I went back to the airport and had time for a shower in the Wing. The American flight luckily wasn't too far away. I had gotten Premium Economy seats with my Platinum status. The plane had new seats and lots of room, so that was great. The flight to Los Angeles was fine and quick immigration with Global Entry. In LAX I was surprised when I was allowed into the Flagship Lounge.. I had gotten access in MIA earlier this year so must be a new change allowing Plats in when traveling international. The food was also much better since the last time I had been in the Flagship Lounge years ago with my Qantas Emerald status. One final flight left to Austin where I arrived home quite late and had to work the next day.

Romanianflyer

Great trip report and beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. The Guilin pictures bring back some fun memories when I visited the area some six to seven years ago.

Was it difficult to get the separate Tibet permit? I'd love to go there one day by train from Xi'an.

ChiefNWA

Tibet and Guilin have been on my list for a while, pity about the weather in Guilin though. Great report.

hauteboy

No, it was not difficult. The tour company arranged everything. Only issue was having to get the physical permit before boarding the flight to Lhasa. Luckily the company had an office in Chengdu and was able to meet at the airport. Otherwise I could have had them courier it to a nearby hotel.

Thanks! Yes they had been on my radar for awhile. And a good reason to visit China again after 11 years!

allset2travel

Interesting TR, thanks for sharing.
How was the yak burger?

Yangshuo was an absolute zoo now. Glad I did it some years back.