Once I was settled on the train which was booked to go to Guilin, I realised that the stop before that was the one I actually wanted to get off at, so saved myself some time and just jumped off at Yangshuo Railway instead of heading out and then coming back out again. Where I was staying in was still a 40 minute or so trip from the station, but saved me the 80min ride. I have to do that one tomorrow morning anyway to get my next train.
The ride was great, just getting to look out the window and watch the scenery change from big city to green country, farming, and mountains. Getting off the train and instantly being met with these glorious hills was so nice. I exited the station, booked myself a Didi, and headed to the waiting bay. I then arrived at my hotel Yihan Mei’shu Resort. I was greeted by a very friendly woman who invited me in, handed me mandarins, and pleasantly got me checked in. She let me know that the room I originally booked didn’t have a spectacular view, so she was upgrading me to a better room. AND, my gosh was it a view. I am so grateful to her for the upgraded room as I think it just made my stay that much better.
After settling myself in, I got ready and headed out to explore. WOW! Just wow. This place is beautiful, lush, and I could definitely live here. Just being surrounded by the large karst mountains is incredible. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to cross the road. I can’t open doors, and can’t cross roads. It’s amazing I’ve gotten this far in life. I turned to walk away from the crazy busy intersection I couldn’t figure out and was going to find an alternate route, but this guy was approaching. I think he could see I was struggling and smiled and I decided that I would follow this man with a walking cane across the road. I figured that would be a smart move. He waited, I waited, we watched as other tourists crossed the road. (Prior to his arrival I had watched a woman already mid crossing the street with her kids – but couldn’t tell how she knew when to go). I asked do we just go and went to step out, and he said “no, not yet”. It was a zebra crossing but the way these things work and scooters and everything, I was just trusting this guy. I’m still struggling figuring out the traffic light systems, which I’m pretty sure he was watching. So we crossed the road together, had a bit of a random chat, and I thanked him for his help as I explored a bit and wandered into some stores.
I walked my way through the West Street area, and just enjoyed the views. I ducked in and out of different corridors and streets, not really sure if I was turning myself in circles or where I was going but I was loving the views and the exploration. I headed down and walked along the river and down in this area was one of those public fitness equipment spaces. I saw someone waving and a grin out the corner of my eye and glanced but didn’t look, and then clocked it was the guy from the road crossing so excitedly smiled back and waved. It was funny to be thinking, that’s not at me, to yes the someone smiling and waving familiarly was to me. It’s funny how big these small little interactions with someone can be and how much of a good positive feel that leaves you with.
I ended up stopping into an Indian joint for a feed, which seems to be a pretty popular place with internationals. I overheard some chatting and it seems that on some days they do a western style menu and I think they end up being a bit of a chill spot to grab a chat. The place had a nice vibe, More about it in the Vegan Eats post coming soon.
I then took myself back to my lovely hotel room to try to catch up on some work for a bit before getting some sleep.
On the main street I passed the school I assume, where out the front there were a lot of people cooking up food and serving the kids breakfast. There were the food shops open in the area too. It was all busy, lots going on. I took my early arrival as a prime opportunity to head over to the 20¥ view. This is where the image of the Li River and the Karst mountains matches that on the 20¥ note. I was going to be happy enough to just take in the view as it was absolutely gorgeous, but there were some lovely people about. I’m not sure if the older gentleman is a local who just likes to tell people where to stand to get a good photo or what, but it kind of seemed like it. There was a younger guy there with a note taking his photo holding the note up so I was just going to try to take his snap with him, but one of his friends appeared and started chatting to me and offered to take a picture of me there with the note. There ended up being about 4 people eagerly handing me their 20¥ note and helping to adjust my positioning while one guy took some snaps for me. It was another one of those experiences that just had me smiling and enjoying getting into the experience and sharing it with others.
I walked back towards the ancient town area with a different spring in my step. I continued to explore a bit more, grabbed a coffee, and then did one last lap of the streets. It was starting to get a bit busier now as the shops were starting to open and other people were coming in. I decided it was time to head back to my hotel room, and enjoy my incredible view whilst getting some work.
I ventured out again this evening to go grab something to eat and to check out the pedestrian streets at night. As I was leaving the woman who owns the hotel I am staying at (it’s a family operated business) invited me in the morning to come and try some mugwort thing that she wants to make for me. (I’ll add an update on that in the next post – when I know what it is) She was also about to head off to deliver some food to her mum and walking in the same direction as me so we went together and had a bit of a chat. She asked how old I was and was quickly telling me I looked young. She said she was 50, and I said oh nice, we are close. I didn’t think she was much older than me but she looked at me like I was a lot younger. We chatted about age difference and as her daughter also works at the hotel, I said well I don’t have kids that’s why I look younger. She laughed and asked if I had a husband. I said no, and again said which is probably why I look younger. We both laughed.
We parted ways and I went off to find the place I was planning to eat at. The sun had set by the time I finished my meal and I headed out to check out the night view. Well, that is certainly a different experience. The nightlife vibe was happening and the streets are so much busier with people, stalls, and lights than it was during the day yesterday. It was pretty cool to get to experience both. There was a lot of singing in bars going on, I don’t quite know what’s with the tubes in these venues that people seem to be handed. I loved seeing how much people played to empty bars, and loudly to try to get people to come in. I didn’t go into anything. I wasn’t in the grabbing a drink and seeing who was going to chat to me mood. I headed back to the hotel again to write this, do some more work, and plan out tomorrow.
Tomorrow is one of my longest train journey’s. I have a 7.5hour ride and won’t arrive until 10pmish at my next destination. At least it isn’t an early quick rush, but it is a 90minute car ride to the train station as well. So, on that note I am saying goodnight. Catch ya in the next post.
