Li River Cruise
This is the first and top tour in the region but luckily just controled by one official tour operator who has online booking! (www.lirivercruise.net)
I had my booking – otherwise I would have got looted in the name of pickup and drop off charges. Luckily we get picked up for free if we book online and inform them when we reach there.
Boarding place handles way too much of people atleast 7~10 cruises leave around 9:30 am. And boarding all of them at the same time.
Cruises are just for the namesake but provides decent cushion seats and provide chinese style lunch. There are 2 types of cruises – a luxury one and a regular one from a different pier. Luxury one has got english audio announcement which is barely audible.
Once the cruise started, the landscape starts changing quickly. We were told that in early days the river was crystal clear to see the base but because of the number of boats flock the river spoilt it.
In my last trip to Taiwan, in the main museum, I saw few paintings which mostly were vertical. They had funny looking hills that looked they grown vertically looking mostly like pillars with lots of trees which in the midst of rivers. I thought it was very poetic imagination.
It realized I was wrong in just 2 months when I saw them in reality in this Guilin to Yangshuo cruise trip. This place looks more of a rivendale (from Lord of the rings or The hobbit movies). Numerous waterfalls, cloudy, hazy vertically grown hills with rich gree covered trees. Its more like we entered a fairyland all of a sudden.
Especially from Xingping to Yangdi section is the most beautiful. If I get to do go there again, I would skip the cruise and would opt for bamboo boat ride from Xingping to Yangdi to make it a better memory.
After 4 hours of (bit boring) journey, we reached Yangshuo. Our tour guide (who picked us that morning), offered some side tours for the rest of the day.
I initially had plans to go to Yulong River – however its strongly advised not to venture when the river runs at light brown (after rain color).
I had to skip the plan to Moon hill (a mountain that has a perfect round hole end to end) as it require hiking for 30 mins which she wouldnt like it.
That made to take up the offer to take the side tour in Yangshuo and that surprisingly had the drop-off option back to our hotel at Guilin.
After a freshly brewed coffee from Mcdonalds (yes, KFC also there in that sleepy looking village), we joined the tour which took us to a remote place which again shown the cormorant fish catching show. Unlike the previous night show, here, the birds couldnt get the fish at all as the river didnt have any. However, the fisherman used the fishes from the reserve and thrown into the river then and the birds caught them.
Shangri La Park
Our next stop was at Shangri La park which is again a small boat ride in a river or lake. It is nicely planned, its a small boat ride for some 30 mins that passes through the small streams, caves and along the way,where minotrity people shows of singing. At the end, we get to see their culture and their building styles and how they built the bridges without nails.
Later we got dropped off in Guilin and we had our dinner at Kali Mirchi – an Indian restaurant near to Sheraton hotel and took a stroll again in those never endling pedestrain streets.
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