Day three of our time in Yangshuo and I can safely say that this is the most 'at home' I have felt yet of any places that we have visited. As Shell said before, the place we have found to stay in is extraordinarily good. For around £16 per night we are down river somewhat from the main town but are placed in the most idylic and tranquil surroundings. Winding round the Li River out of town, you take a left turn up a small road and there you are, amongst the farmers and Karst Peaks, our home for the next few nights, the Yangshuo Village Retreat. It's actually owned and run by a really friendly Belgian guy who goes by the name of Tripper, who after several conversations travelled for a year, much like us, but never went home. Deciding that the area that in which the hotel stands would make a great base for a hotel, he was not wrong. Although built by the Chinese, who can't seem to grasp the idea of building things properly, it has the look and feel of a Southern French hideaway. It is also incredibly peaceful and have been made to feel like family, being spoken to on first name terms since we got here that I think, come Friday, will feel incredibly difficult to leave. In a way, Yangshuo is probably the least 'Chinese' of the places we have visited, it definitly fits the bill of the 'backpacker' stereotype, lot's of Western food and I guess, 'dumbed down' versions of the Chinese staples but you know what, I love it. It's lively, but not full of teenagers all wanting to get wasted, it's peaceful but not boring and it is also astonishingly beautiful, something which makes you want to linger, I guess this is the reason Tripper and the other guys who run this hostel have stayed, you cannot for one minute blame them.
Anyway, we woke after the previous day's exploits getting to grips with the Chinese roads and it's incessant traffic and decided we wanted more! After paying the 60 yuan to hire the bikes once more we set out on our way and out of the town and onto the open-ish roads. We had spied on the maps a route that would take us slightly off the beaten track, beside the Yulong river and out towards the Yulong Bridge, our destination, we hoped. Minutes later we bumped into a couple on a tandem, inexplicably they said we looked liked we knew where we were going so they would follow, it's probably a good thing that after ten minutes we had left them behind....
If yesterday's heat had seemed too much cycling the 15 or so miles, today would be unbearable. With this in mind, after maybe constant cycling for about 40 minutes we had, unwittingly, left all forms of concreted road. Also, we had started to divert away from the river in a direction that, and I think we both knew but dared not bring up with each other, was taking us completely the wrong way. Just to add insult to injury, just at the hottest point of the day, we hit a big hill. Now Shell, bless her, did not look happy. Knowing that I was going to be in the doghouse, for some reason or another, I peddled on and waited over the brow of the hill in the hope that our destination, or even something resembling civilisation would spring instantaneously around the corner. It didn't come. After another twenty minutes or so we stumbled upon a very big main road where, quite surprisingly, two old girls in conical hats started shouting 'Yulong'!! and pointing to our left up the main road. After riding down the road for a while we came to a busy-ish town and eventually, somehow, found our way to the bridge. After batting back yet more hawkers , we started talking to a couple from Hawaii who were swimming in the river beside the bridge, it looked glorious. Fortunately I had worn my swimshorts that day so undressed quickly and, kind of, jumped in. It was fantastic. We then noticed a couple of people sizing the bridge up, to jump in to the river. After being assured that it was deep enough (close your eyes mum), I plucked up the courage, got Shell to film and jumped for my life. It was a long way down. All I could think of though, was when will you ever get the chance to jump off of a 600 year-old Chinese bridge again on a hot day!
Using the river as a guide we managed to cycle the way back in relatively uneventful circumstances apart from one wrong move where we nearly ended up in someones garage after following what we thought was the right track. After passing numerous villages and towns folk all working together (Socialism in harmony) we meandered our way back to Yangshuo where we stopped for drinks and to dodge the rain, which actually made for a refreshing change to the extreme heat and humidity we had felt earlier on.
That night we ate, yet again, in the hotel restaurant as it is fantastic and never dissapoints. After riding 15 miles the previous day and around 25 today we hit the sack early and decided, quite rightly, that tommorrow we would do nothing. Arhhhh, sweet nothing....
Just another day here where we will wait in anticipation to see whether our Vietnamese visa's arrive in time and then we shall try and catch a bus south to Nanning. If we had known, and had not ordered our Visa's, we would've spent more time and visited many more places in this amazing country.
Much love, Tommo xxxx
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