More stories in Yangshuo

Description:
1) The train car - I actually had my best sleep on that overnight train ride
2) From the top of Moon Hill - Moon Hill is a joke compared to the Grouse Grind
3) There seems to be endless drinking with tour groups. here are a few fellow backpackers drinking cheap local beer. Only 10Yuan for those big bottles (630 mL) - which is equivalent to $1.50 CND
4) "West Street" in Yangshuo. It's totally geared towards foreigners and tourists. It borders on tacky...
5) We rode one of those boats down the Li River at sunset. The region is known for its limestone formations. Absolutely gorgeous.

Highlights from the last few days -

1) Bike riding in the region. Some of you know that I can't ride a bike. Thank you Darrell for trying to reteach me 2 years ago before Europe. Fortunately, they did have handbrakes here but I still didn't feel comfortable enough riding through the streets of Yangshuo and countryside on my own - so I rode a tandem bike w/ the tour guide. Pretty sweet. We got to see little villages along the way. Lots of dogs and chickens running around.
2) Bamboo rafting down a river. A nice leisure ride down the river checking out the limestone formations. Sort of like "punting" in England, although I've never been.
3) Climbing Moon Hill for fabulous views at the top. Veronica, I hear you on the comment... but what can I say...? I enjoy interacting w/ the locals. It just happens that everytime I interact w/ them - they tell me their life story, and it just sounds so hard... I like to think that I'm paying for a lesson in Mandarin.

Yesterday, we were warned that there would be vendors who would follow us on the hike up Moon Hill. They would offer to sell us postcards and drinks and fan us from time to time - in the hopes that we would eventually buy something from them. Anyway, I was no exception. I had a woman follow me but I took the opportunity to talk to her and hear her story. How much of it was true, I don't know. But it was good. I really enjoyed it. I even offered to fan her at one point. ;) I eventually bought an overpriced Coke from her at the Peak and then she fanned me all the way down. So I guess it was worth it. We had a nice chat, lots of laughs.

We have another overnight train tonight...