Gûilín.

Gûilín is situated in the Guângxï province which is in the south of China. The region came under Chinese rule when a Qin dynasty army was sent south in 214 BC to conquer it. Like the rest of the South-West, it was never completely under Chinese rule until as late as 1830's when the Zhuang people finally accepted Chinese rule.

Gûilín has always been famous in China for its scenery and has been featured in countless books and articles on China. For that reason alone Western visitors consider Gûilín to be the landscape of China. For the Chinese, it is the most beautiful place in the world. "The World" of course means, "China", as it is the only world they ever get to see (with exception of the fortunate few). The town of Gûilín sits amongst huge limestone peaks that jut out of the landscape in a very haphazard fashion. Except for these, the town is very much like any other except for the huge number of tourists that are in all the restaurant and shops, something that cannot be avoided in an area such as this.

Much of the day I walked around the city with Fredrick and Gunta who is very interested in photography. It was fun to watch and try to gather 'tips' from someone who knows a bit about the subject.  The city itself was far too touristy for me. For that reason I decided to get out of Gûilín to try and find a more peaceful area so the three of us decided to book a boat trip the next day down the Li River to a small village called Yángshuò. Booking the journey was no problem as there was an abundance of Travel Agents and Booking Offices, although the price was a lot more than we had wished to pay. We finally decided that this would be the best way to view the scenery as the river meanders through the most spectacular landscape in the whole of China, or so the L.P. guide told me.

We had agreed to find a restaurant and have some dinner when we encountered a Chinese College Professor who spoke remarkably good English, he asked if he could come to dinner with us and just converse while we dined His thirst for knowledge was insatiable, he knew of the end of Communist rule in Russia although he did not know the actualities as clearly this had not been given to the Chinese people by the Communist government. We sat and talked and talked about the world outside China and the way Russia was today, he kept asking me, "Did I think China would go the same way?" I had to be honest and say "No", as one had only to look at the Tiananmen Square incident to understand the way the the Chinese authorities would crack down on anyone who tried to defy them. He was aware of the Tiananmen Square massacre but he had not seen any details about the number that had been killed. I was able to describe what I had seen on the T.V. during the students protest and what I had learned afterwards. I also showed him my Lonely Planet guide book and read information out loud while he made notes in Chinese. The whole experience was quite strange as it was so difficult to put myself into his shoes and understand what he knew and what it was necessary for me to tell him, or try to disguise things a little to make things easier for him, it was a very peculiar dilemma.

After dinner we wandered around the streets and met more Chinese students who again all wanted to talk to us about life in the rest of the world. They asked me what other Countries I had visited, after I had told them, they then wanted to know everything about every country that I had been to and more! Once again their thirst for knowledge was amazing. I got the impression, probably for the first time that they were all very frustrated with the Communist government and wanted their freedom to travel and visit other parts of the world, although I do not suppose that on the wages they receive they will ever afford to go. They all knew of problems that existed around the World but they wanted an unbiased assessment as they just did not trust the news on the T.V. which possibly Communist propaganda.

We continued to walk around the city and I was very surprised to see so many prostitutes in China. I suppose I imagined that the authorities would have clamped down on them as they would be earning money of their own and therefore would be capitalists. I found out by talking to them them that the price was just £3.00 for the hour, or £5.00 for the night! Most of them were stunningly beautiful, and it was a shame to see them doing a job like that, especially as the tourists would just take advantage of them due to the low prices. It was a very sad sight!

Later that evening I headed back to the hotel with the others where I had a shower and later caught up with some reading so that I could plan the next stage of the journey. I also managed to write a letter to Michelle and listen to some music on the 'Walkman'. Later that evening there was an English news broadcast on the T.V. and it soon became obvious that it was a Communist party broadcast as all the news about the rest of the World was bad, and all the news about China was good! It was so blatantly obvious that it was to make the Chinese think that China was the best place to live, and that to leave, or even want to leave, would be a mistake. Having watched the news, I wished that I had a Short Wave radio to receive the BBC World Service, or the Australian equivalent, just to hear the latest unbiased news reports.

31st December (Day Twenty Six)

We got up at 8.00am to get our things ready for the boat trip to Yángshuò, which, at 155Y (£15.50p) one way, was very expensive for China however, we had figured that the fantastic views en-route would make the cost more than justifiable.

We walked from the hotel to the dock from which we were going to catch the boat, as it was not too far. We actually found it quite pleasant strolling along watching everyone hurrying in all directions at the start of their day. Once we arrived at the quay-side there was a lot of confusion about which boat we should get onto, as the various boat crews kept telling us to go to a different boat. Eventually we found our boat and once on board selected a table near to the door so that we could get out on deck more easily to take pictures. Besides Fredrick there was a French couple and a Dutch lad at my table, so I had very diverse company for the day.

The entire journey was to take about eight hours, and as I have already mentioned, the views were to be spectacular, or maybe I should say should have been spectacular, for the entire journey was shrouded in fog, making visibility very poor, certainly too poor to even think about taking photographs! Having said that however, the huge limestone pinnacles could be seen jutting out of the water all around the boat, and, had it been a nice clear day would have been worth every penny of the money paid out. My only regret so far about this trip (excluding the meal that gave me food poisoning!), is the time of year that I have visited this country as the weather has, in almost every case, been a bit of a let down when it came to taking photographs. I think that had I a choice, the summer months would have been a better time of year to travel, virtually guaranteeing bright clear skies.

We arrived at Yángshuò at 5.00pm and were met by a swarm of people trying to sell us everything from hats to fruit. It was then obvious why there were so many vendors selling their wears, for close behind us was yet another boat full of people having done the same journey as us, and behind them, yet another boat. I had certainly joined the tourists today!

Just by the dock side at Yángshuò was a fleet of buses to take the other people back to Gûilín which I assumed would take a good few hours, so I was more than happy to be staying at Yángshuò and not Gûilín tonight. There was almost a frenzy from the people trying to sell their goods, which was due to the fact that once the buses had left, that would be it until tomorrow when the next armada of tourist would sail in, so they had to sell what they could in a very short time. Once the buses had left, the traders slipped away into the town and an almost uncanny silence descended on the dock-side and the surrounding area leaving only the two of us to walk up the steep cobbled streets to find somewhere to sleep for the night. We found the 'Good Companion' Hotel which, at just 8Y (80p) per night, was a bargain. We soon found out why! There was no heating in the rooms which meant it was bloody freezing! All we did was walk in, dump our back-packs, and hit the town to find out what would be happening (if anything) on New Years Eve in Yángshuò.

We walked down the sleepy street and managed to bump into an American couple who said we should visit Lisa's Cafe which had established itself as a popular hang-out with the travelling fraternity. It turned out to be a really great place which was very, very laid back with great music playing and people just hanging out writing letters and generally relaxing and escaping China for a short while. That is the best way I can describe Lisa's Cafe, as an escape from all the spitting, rude Chinese that you cannot help but encounter most of the time! Although the cafe was run by Chinese they were really relaxed and friendly. To order some food, I had to go first to the main desk and pick from the menu what I required, then write in a book the cost and my name. I was of course, on trust to pay before I left the cafe, or in the case of people that had been staying there for a while, when they left the town.

We sampled some of their wonderful Western food, and had a few beers before leaving to go sightseeing around the town to find out what other events were going on. We spotted a couple of lads who were carrying a large box of fireworks (something the Chinese are famous for), this we assumed was in preparations for the New Years Eve celebrations later that evening. Once we located a shop that retailed them, we purchased some for ourselves to 'play' with when the clock struck midnight that evening. We went to another cafe called "Williams Cafe" where we met a couple called Alfreda (Freddie) and Ken who were from Hong Kong, or at least Freddie was, Ken however was from New Zealand but they both currently lived and worked in Hong Kong. Freddie was a lecturer at the Hong Kong Chinese University at Shatin in the New Territories in Hong Kong. Ken had his own business as an importer of art from around the world which gave me the opinion that they were not short of a few pennies! We all sat together and got along really well and the evening flew by when, suddenly, the manager announced it was almost midnight and directed everyone out into the street. At first we thought he was closing, but then he produced his own large box of fire crackers and rockets to let-off so we fetched ours from the restaurant and together, with just about every other Westerner in the town, started to ignite the fire-works. The noise was incredibly loud, as the Chinese fireworks are not attractive like the ones we are used to in the U.K., they are just deafening! Actually it was quite a dangerous situation as most of the people were very drunk and in no fit state to be letting off fireworks I don't think any one was hurt, but that was just pure luck!

Ken and Freddie gave me their address and told me to go and stay with them when I reached Hong Kong, something that was very good of them I thought. The rest of the evening was spent in Lisa's cafe just drinking and chilling out, it was a great way to see in the New Year.

1st January (Day Twenty Seven) New Years Day.

Well, the Chinese certainly got their own back on us this morning for keeping them awake last night. We were very rudely awoken at 8.00am by the sound of yet more firecrackers, I thought that we had a quite a large number night, however, I was wrong as the Chinese had at least double what we had! Once again the noise was deafening and most of it appeared to be right outside our bedroom window. As soon as the racket stopped and we emerged from under our sleeping bags, we got up and made our way to Lisa's for breakfast which consisted of, yogurt, fresh fruit and muesli followed by poached eggs on toast. Now I realise that this isn't very Chinese, but after the stomach upset that I had a few days earlier, I'm still not ready for Chinese food just yet.

After breakfast, we had decided to move out of our hotel to one just a short distance away which, although a little bit more expensive at 60Y (£6.00) per night, did have the luxury of heating in the rooms which we were badly in need of. The price was for three people sharing one large room so at £2.00 each it was not too expensive really. As we were checking in, I was amazed to see Erick walking by (I had been travelling with him and Rick earlier and thought I would not see them again), it transpired that they had doubled back on their planned route to see Yángshuò for themselves. We played a bit of a trick on Rick who was in his bedroom reading, Erick went in first and sat down, then I walked in and just acted as though nothing was wrong and started to chat to Erick, and casually said Hi Rick! his face was a picture as he could not believe what was happening. After chatting for a while we decided to go and see the town together.

I was amazed to find that the sleepy little village that we had arrived at yesterday could look so different the next day. There was a two day holiday and there were literally thousands upon thousands of people in the narrow cobbled streets, just where they came from was a mystery, as the town itself does not look as though it could house so many people. We could only assume that they had come into town from the neighbouring villages.

I spent the day just walking around the town and taking photographs of various people. Generally there was a great party atmosphere all day long, as the Chinese celebrated their holiday and the New Year. I thought that it was strange that they were having this holiday and party, as the New Year on 1st January was, or so I thought, a very Western tradition and the Chinese have their New Year in February or thereabouts, still it made our New Year celebrations more enjoyable.

At the one end of the town was a large market with people selling just about everything, and outside the market was a visiting Dentist, and my God what a sight it was! The was a chair outside in the street and a small table next to it with a selection of crude pliers and other dental utensils, all of which were open to the dust and fumes of the market and therefore totally unsterilised. Next to the chair was a sight that had to be seen to be believed. There was a large pile of teeth on a piece of cloth, that I could only assume were the remains of the mornings work! I was glad that my teeth were feeling O.K. that day!

The market itself was yet another sight one had to view to believe, especially the meat 'department'. There were huge joints of meat being cut up and purchased as one would usually see in such a place, however, normally the meat would not be cut up on an old chopping block that looked quite filthy, by an even filthier looking Butcher with a cigarette hanging from his lips all the time. One of the Chinese delicacies in view was dog meat, I knew without doubt that it was dog meat as they were skinning and cutting up dogs in front of dogs that were either waiting for their turn, or were just casual onlookers like myself. I certainly did not stay to find out. As much as I wanted to take photographs of the market, especially the meat section, I just could not, as the sight and the stench of the meat made me want to get out there as quick as I could, or risk throwing up in front of everyone.

Mentioning cigarettes in the last paragraph has reminded me about my own smoking habit. It has now been 27 days since I have had a cigarette and I had not been missing them at all.

The day was a fairly leisurely one and after walking my feet off, I headed for Lisa's cafe at 4.00pm to finish off a letter that I had started to Michelle, it was so relaxing inside, just perfect for writing. I spent most of the evening there, the others came in later to join me, to sit and chat to other travellers and exchange experiences and tell of good places we had been and where to avoid. We got to bed quite late after arranging to meet tomorrow and hire some bikes to explore the nearby countryside.

2nd January (Day Twenty Eight)

Once I was up and had something to eat, I met up with Erick (American), Rick (Canadian), Gunta (German), and Fredrick (Swedish), to hire some pedal bikes to go out of town and see the area at a fairly leisurely pace. The cost of the bikes was very cheap at just 2Y (20p) for the day, a bargain!

The whole idea was to cycle out of town a few kilometres to the South, to visit Moon Hill which as the name suggests, is shaped like a half moon. The Lonely Planet book says that the views from the top are stunning, but there was a fair bit of low cloud around, so I don't think any of us expected too much. The cycle ride took around fifty minutes to get to Moon Hill and was very pleasant as it was such a good way to see the countryside. There is a law in China that when you approach another cyclist or pedestrian on a cycle, you must ring the bell, which is something that the Chinese do all the time. When ever you are in the vicinity of a public road in China, you will always hear the sound of bicycle bells which, when you are in a busy city, always sounds peaceful. The ride was great and all along the route the Chinese were shouting and waving to say Nî Hâo (hello), I think they were just surprised to see so many foreigners all out on the bikes together, some of them gave us a bit of a race which was great fun.

Once we were at Moon Hill the walk to the top was quite strenuous, especially after the bike ride of almost an hour, but walking up as fast as we could it only took us about half an hour to reach the top. I should actually say near to the top, as just when we were about exhausted and saying, "Are we there yet ?" we bumped into an old man who just so happened to be selling cold beers and cans of Coke, as well as post cards and other useful items! It transpired that the old man was seventy nine years old and every day he walked up Moon Hill to wait for travellers that just might be passing to sell them drinks and other items that he had to offer. He appeared to carry two large boxes on a yoke over his shoulders, and taking into account the age of this guy, I thought he did bloody well to get up there in the first place as we had found the climb fairly strenuous! Now I thought that he was one of the most entrepreneurial people that I had met in China, I don't know what it was about this old man, but I don't think I'll ever forget him. He had a letter that had been written in English for him which said something like:- "Please buy something to help me feed my family, I'm 79 years old. Thank you". Well I don't think anyone could resist buying something, for me it was a large bottle of beer, as I figured that this would be the heaviest item for him to carry, and it would make his load lighter going down the hill later that day. He was so pleased to see us and he let us take his picture, which is something that not all the Chinese are willing to do, something to do with the religious side of it I think.

The views from the top were o.k. but as we suspected, due to the foggy conditions, it could have been a lot better, still we were all glad that we had made the effort and walked up to the top. When we returned to the bottom we were met by Zhang Yen Feng, who told us that he was the owner of the Black Cave and invited us to go and visit it with him (for a small fee of course). After a short discussion we all decided to go and see it for ourselves and he showed us an exercise book where previous visitors had written comments about their visit to the cave, all of which were very good. Zhang Yen Feng had his cycle nearby and we followed him a short distance to the entrance, which was half way up a small hill and had a locked iron gate at the entrance. Zhang Yen Feng told us his English name was 'George' which for an English name, was fairly normal, although he never told us his surname which was probably 'Bush' (ex-president of the USA) as that was normally the type of name they would chose. Anyway, George told us that to view the entire cave would take us about four hours which was too long for us, so he told us that if we wanted, we could go on a shorter journey through the cave system to visit the water fall, which is what we did.

George knew the cave like the back of his hand and, after we had walked and crawled in sections for around forty minutes, we came across a very, very small hole in the wall of the cave, where George said we had to go through to see the water-fall. Everyone said "No" as it meant we would have to lie in the mud to crawl through this small hole, however I felt that I could not come so far and not go to the end so, like a fool, I opted to go through the hole with George. When I say the hole was small, it was incredibly small and I had a difficult job to get through and was stuck at one point with one arm in front of my body and the other arm along the side of my body which had made me a bit too wide. This was the first time that I had been in such a situation so deep underground, and I have to admit that it was quite a scary feeling to be jammed in a hole up to my shoulders. Still, with a bit of wriggling I managed to free myself and continue on with George to the water-fall. It was worth it although I think the others should have gone as well because I was feeling guilty that they had to wait for me to return. There was also a lake and many brightly coloured stalagmites and stalactites which looked beautiful in the torch-light. Getting back through the hole was just as bad as it was up-hill and there was only mud to pull against, but eventually I made it and we all headed for the exit, led of course by George. Outside it was pouring with rain which was quite fortunate as I was covered from head to toe in mud and needed the wash rather badly! George collects foreign money and stamps so, before we departed for Yángshuò, he bought from me a £5.00 note that I had and I gave him some Russian  money (Roubles) and an English postage stamp. He was over the moon with delight.

The cycle ride back in the pouring rain was great fun and by the time we reached Yángshuò we were soaked through to the skin. After returning the bikes I headed for the hotel to get stripped off and have a bath and relax because, as well as being soaked through, cold and hungry, I was absolutely exhausted!.

That evening it was back to Lisa's Cafe for our last taste of Western style food (We ate like pigs!) The next day Fredrick and I were going to travel further South and start to make our way to Hong Kong and, hopefully, a spot of sunshine.

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