China part 1: Yangshuo and Guilin

Okay so I feel like this will be a long post. I can’t help it there is too much to say.

So we first had to head to Shenzhen, which is a city in China reachable with the MTR. So we crossed the border there, and it was hilarious because as SOON as we crossed the border, we felt the cultural difference. The bathrooms were already standing toilets, everything was in Chinese and nobody spoke English. I couldn’t believe it. It was like crossing into a different universe.

So Jorien, Rens and Julien, (whom I may also refer to as fish (salmon), dog and camel) had booked an earlier train than mine so I was supposed to train alone and make them wait for me in Guilin for 3 hours until I get there so that we all go to Yangshuo together. This plan was pretty shitty so I told myself, I will just go on their train, somehow! It was actually so tough to communicate with the train people since they don’t speak English so I was damn lucky to not only have be let in that train but I also was able to find a seat! It was like a miracle. Because yes sometimes people have to stand during 4 hour train rides. Even 12 hour train rides! It’s crazy but people in China do it! Anyways I was shocked that we were able to pull that off.

So then I was like, ok I have 4 hours on this train, what should I do? I was sitting next to plenty of Mainland people who speak mandarin and I really wanted to practice my mandarin so I pulled out my notes and started looking over some stuff and eventually I had the confidence to start speaking to the random guys next to me. It was basically a one-way conversation because when they would say something back, I had NO idea what they were saying!! Haha, they speak too fast!! I also tried speaking to a little girl sitting in front of me who kept just staring at me the entire time! She was SOO CUTE! I asked her how old she was in mandarin and she answered she was 8, I was so proud of myself haha!

I also explained our China itinerary to the two guys, I told them we would be in Guilin for 4 days, then Zhangjiajie on the 5th, Beijing on the 7th and returning home to HK on the 10th! And obviously I said my classic lines:

我是加拿大人。 我家五口人。爸爸妈妈一个哥哥一个弟弟和我。我是大学生。

I was so happy to be talking to people in mandarin. I was thinking about it after and I was like wow, what is my life right now? A couple of years ago I would have never imagined myself in China trying to speak mandarin to locals on a train.

The entire train ride I was literally unable to stop taking pictures of outside because it was amazing. The pictures I posted of those fairytale-like mountains, were everywhere the entire train ride. It was crazy.

So we finally arrive to Guilin and had to find our way to Yangshuo, which we ended up having someone drive us for 50 yuan each, this drive I was also unable to stop taking pictures of outside… and it was funny at one point both Rens and I were taking pictures and then at the same time we switched windows and took pictures from the other windows ahahah, all of the pictures we took are shit because they were from a window but seriously it’s like if I had some kind of compulsive problem. I kept saying “OK Danielle stop, the pictures are gonna be ugly anyways! Just enjoy the view!” and then I would put my camera away. But then one minute later while looking out the window I just HAD to take my camera out again… It was really THAT amazing outside. Seriously. Just thinking about it now I understand why I had to take out my camera.

I had never seen such unusual mountains, and just everywhere!! It was crazy.

So anyways we arrive in Yangshuo, and it was nothing like I had imagined. It was actually the most touristic place I have EVER seen! There was WAX MUSEUMS!!! You know a place is touristy AF when there are wax museums… Oh and there was McDonalds and KFC for goodness sakes… Not what we were expecting ! But man, it didn’t even matter because it was SO beautiful.

We arrived at our hostel and the view from our window was incredible. The mountains kept me in awe every time I would look at them. We also had a cute little rooftop bar at our hostel which also had the most amazing view.

On our first full day we decided to rent some electric scooters and drive around the countryside to see the scenery. I was so happy because I have been wanting to do this for a while! I was a bit scared that it involved some risk but really it was more than fine. Easy to drive, control and SO FUN! I will remember this day forever, seriously was just the perfect day. It was hot out, maybe 32 degrees and sunny.

We ended up also getting a guide to bring us around the country side which I must say, I was against doing, because I think it’s more fun to discover on our own, but the others insisted and actually I can’t complain because Wendy, the guide, brought us to really amazing spots that we probably wouldn’t have been able to get to on our own because we took so many random little paths! Plus she took photos for us ;) She was like a guide, photographer, mandarin teacher… So yeah OK I couldn’t complain!

As previously mentioned, I have a problem with always wanting to take photos and videos… and well you can imagine me on a scooter, driving in the most beautiful place I’ve probably ever seen… Yep. I actually mastered the art of taking videos and photos while driving a scooter. I really didn’t have a choice!! When there’s a will, there’s a way! xD

We also hiked up Moon Hill which was amazing and then headed to a spot to watch the sunset. This place was magical… I can’t really describe it!

Afterwards we decided we wanted to check out the night life of Yangshuo, because yes, it was touristy enough for there to be a night life. We checked out a rooftop bar near our hostel but ended up back at our rooftop hostel, met some cool people and then headed to a different hostel where there was a bigger party. This night was actually so fun, half of the people were American so they were playing beer pong and I managed to convince them to start a flip cup game instead, which was so funny because there was still people who didn’t know how to play hahah! I swear I am becoming a certified flip cup instructor by the end of this exchange.

Next destination: Back to Guilin!

So unfortunately we had to say bye to Yangshuo to get to Guilin and just getting there was a mission and a half! Nobody speaks English!! We took these little scooter kart things not even knowing if we were going in the right direction because we couldn’t communicate with the driver but somehow, we eventually got to our hostel in Guilin!

Well actually I shouldn’t say we weren’t able to communicate at all, I was able to communicate pricing. I understand numbers so I was bargaining all the time with people during the entire trip! By the end the others knew how to say “too expensive”( 太贵了！太贵了！) because I was saying it all the time hahaha! I was literally so happy to be able to speak mandarin though, for lunch in Guilin I even ordered the drinks for us in mandarin which was cool. The people were always shocked and laughing at me for speaking mandarin haha it was pretty funny.

We spent that day exploring the city and seeing the sunset on a bamboo raft, so beautiful. We were so lucky to have beautiful blue skies!

Next day we went to Longji rice terraces which was really nice! The drive there was fucked though. Like seriously we thought we were gonna die haha! Because the lanes were SOO tiny and on the edge of mountains and we were in a big bus and everytime the bus would turn a super sketchy corner, he would just honk his horn like 5 times and not even slow down!!

Oh yeah, I should mention that driving in China is so different. People honk ALL THE TIME! They honk just to warn people that they are there. When they turn corners they honk, when they pass someone they honk, for anything they honk! They also flash their lights all the time, I really don’t get it.

Anyways for dinner that night, a Chinese girl we met in Yangshuo that actually lives in Guilin brought us to a restaurant for some good local Chinese food. It was actually delicious!! And it was so interesting talking to her about her opinions about stuff like sex before marriage, the preference of giving birth to a boy instead of a girl, the inequalities of men and women and the issues between Hong Kong and China, etc.. So cool.

OH ALSO! How could I forget! There was a lunar eclipse that night!!! It was amazing. It was a super clear night and I was in CHINA, seeing a LUNAR ECLIPSE anyways yeah I was soooo happy!

First part of my trip was incredible and I thought it would be impossible for the other parts of China to surpass its amazing-ness but actually it only got better and better! Posts about Zhangjiajie and Beijing coming soon!