One Very Short Life

Second Anniversary in PNG

2011-11-26T17:15:00.000+08:00

Today marks my second anniversary in PNG ... and the beginning of my third year here. How time flies!

Nostalgic Penang - Day 6

2011-11-18T22:57:00.007+08:00

Monday, 31 March 2008

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

Today would be our last day together. Quick and his family would leave for home at around noon.

That morning, Quick joined us for a walk. We went exploring along Lebuh Kimberley, Lebuh Carnarvon, Lebuh Acheh and Gat Lebuh Acheh streets.

We passed by Ah Chew Bar. Was this the seedy bar that Eng brought me 13 years ago to experience the atmosphere of a cheap bar?

On our return, we went for breakfast at Seng Thor coffee shop. Quick could not wean himself off Hockien Mee, also known as Prawn Noodle also known as Har Mee.

I could not wean myself off from Tua Pau (big bun). I only had this opportunity of buying one piece of Tua Pau at Leong kee Tea Garden because this particular piece was not picked up by the person who 'booked' it. This Tua Pau was really good, just like those that I first had at USM, more specifically at a stall outside the Sungai Dua gate, more than 13 years ago. Quick bought breakfast for his family here.

At 10:00 a.m., we were out again. Ling wanted to go to Bee Chin Heong to shop for some religious artefact. This shop was 'discovered' while we were out exploring Jalan Kimberley that morning. At that time, the shop had not opened for business. Quick and his family were shopping at Jalan Kuala Kangsar, behind Chowrasta Market, which he 'discovered' that morning too.

On our return to Oriental Hotel, we shopped for some preserved fruit at Penang Road.

At 11:20 a.m., we took farewell photographs with the family of Quick. These would be our goodbye photographs.

We checked out of Oriental Hotel before noon. Our last meal together would be at the Teochew congee stall near Komtar.

At about 12:15 p.m., we parted ways. Quick would be driving back to Kota Bharu with his family. Ling asked to be dropped off by Quick at CTY Aquarium for his last shopping of corals, while I walked over to have a look at the Komtar that we used to go so often 13 years ago.

Before 3:00 p.m., Ling and I would be on our way to Bayan Lepas International Airport for our flight to Kuching.

Bye-bye Penang.

Nostalgic Penang - Day 5

2011-11-15T22:52:00.003+08:00

Sunday, 30 March 2008

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

Eng brought me to the Teochew Congee stalls somewhere near Komtar 13 years ago. There, I saw diners squatting on low, small stools perched atop benches eating congee, and it was a strange sight. The congee with the side dishes was good.

Last night, I asked Eng where the location of the Congee stalls was, because I intended to eat there again. Based on the direction given by Eng, I decided to explore the area in search of the Teochew congee stalls this morning. Finally, I found it.

I continued walking the area around Komtar. There, lies the old Gama shopping complex. On the top floor of Gama, Ah Nee worked as a salesgirl at the gold smith shop. Yes, the pretty Ah Nee. What nostalgic feeling.

Breakfast was at a coffee shop along Jalan Hutton. I decided to have Kuey Tiaw Th'ng (flat rice noodle in soup). I have never tried this noodle dish before because it never looked appetising. It was not bad, 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

At mid-morning, we were at a beach. I did not know the name but it was not Batu Feringgi Beach. Quick's children enjoyed themselves riding the horses at the beach.

Then, we went to Ghee Hiang, another shop popular with tourists for its Tau Sar Peah pastry. The other shop was Him Heang.

For lunch today, we were going to try out Nasi Kandar Line Clear, off Penang Road. Five packets of take-away Nasi Kandar cost RM47. At the corner shop to the entrance of the Line Clear was another Nasi Kandar stall, but this stall has very few customers compared to Line Clear.

The afternoon was again spent at the hotel resting. In the evening, at about 6:30 p.m., Ling and I went to explore the streets of Lebuh Campbell, Lebuh Buckingham, part of Jalan Kapitan Keling, Lebuh Armenian and Gat Lebuh Armenian.

Tonight, Quick and his family would be joining a distant relative for dinner whom we bumped into while Quick was parking his van at the Oriental Hotel Parking lot a day earlier. The relative, a lecturer at USM, was someone I knew too. I stayed overnight at his house once with Quick 13 years ago. Though Ling and I were invited, we declined because we did not want to be 'intruders' in a family gathering. We would be looking for dinner ourselves on foot. Most stalls along Penang Road closed at night, but at the far end of Penang Road, just in front of Continental Hotel and Hotel Malaysia, food stalls would open for business only at night. One of these was Sup Hameed. 13 years ago, Eng brought me to have the first taste of Sup Ekor (Ox tail soup) somewhere here at a small Mamak stall. I remembered that somewhere there was a Hotel Malaya. Did Sup Hameed originate from this humble stall? Was this the place?

After dinner, we went for a stroll, walking along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Jalan Transfer and back to Hotel Oriental along Jalan Argyll. I was surprised to find Foochow Association here.

Nostalgic Penang - Day 4

2011-11-05T22:32:00.040+08:00

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

Saturday, 29 March 2008

While I was in studying at USM, I seldom went out. The fear of getting lost was too overpowering. I hardly explored the city, and was unfamiliar with the streets of Georgetown. On this visit, I was determined to explore the city, to make up for what I did not do 13 years ago.

I was out before the sun came out, and decided to explore Jalan Chulia. Ling was still sleeping. From Oriental Hotel to Weld Quay and back took about one hour.

Quick would be ferrying us around again today. We were going to Taman Lip Sin, at Sungai Dua, just outside USM. We used to go there regularly for Curry Mee. The area was sparsely populated and there were not so many building then. Now, there is hardly any space left for more building.

Super Tanker has taken over as the premier destination for hawker food. We went there for our brunch. I had my bowl of Curry Mee. This time, I mixed all the chilly sauce into the soup and rediscovered how delicious the Curry Mee was again. After the Curry Mee, I had the Penang Char Koay Teow (fried flat rice noodle).

After brunch, we explored the adjacent market. From there, Quick drove us to Air Itam, to visit Kek Lok Si temple. I saw the bank and the vacant land beside it. It looked so familiar. Where was the shop at the corner lot which I remembered housed the Bak Kut Teh stall where we used to come for dinner, with many choices of ingredients for the Bak Kut Teh? Has the shop gone bust? There was a shop selling Bak Kut Teh but it was not at a corner lot.

Soon, we arrived at Air Itam. Quick dropped Ling and I there, so that we could walk up the flight of steps to Kek Lok Si temple while he drove his family up in his Toyota Unser. In just about five minutes, we reached the ground of Kek Lok Si temple.

From Kek Lok Si temple, we decided to go to the Botanical Garden. I remembered there were lots of monkeys around. But, Quick did not drive us to the Botanical Garden proper itself, rather, we went to a vacant piece of land outside the Garden. There were a lot of monkeys around too.

From there, we went to Prangin Mall. With so many new malls and shopping complex going up, Komtar has been abandoned. It was the destination to go during my time. At that time, there were only Komtar, Sunshine Square and Gama, and pretty Ah Nee was working at the gold smith shop on the top floor of Gama.

There was a food court at Prangin Mall, where we all took some food. Again, it was Tua Pau (big bun) for me, and this one was large. But it was only average in taste. Ling has his Asam Laksa. We ordered fried popiah (spring roll) too.

We returned to the hotel, where Quick and his family took a rest. I was restless. At about 6:00 p.m., I asked Ling whether he wanted to go out for a walk to explore the streets. He agreed. This time, we walked along Lebuh Muntri, Lorong Stewart and Lebuh Cina until we reached Penang Ferry terminal.

We went out again at about 8:00 p.m. for our dinner at the night market in front of Sunway Hotel. This place was so crowded that you could hardly find an empty seat.

Tonight, Chong would be coming again. He would be bringing along Eng to meet both Quick and I. I had asked Chong to bring Eng along because I had hardly any contact with Eng, though Chong, Quick and I still communicate by email now and then. Finally, we would all meet again for the long awaited reunion. They finally arrived at about 10:00 p.m.

We decided to go out for a light supper and exchange news, to Red Garden food court along Lebuh Leith. It was almost mid-night when we left.

Nostalgic Penang - Day 3

2011-10-28T23:04:00.004+08:00

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

Friday, 28 March 2008

Today, Quick would be coming over with his family. He was expected to arrive at about noon.

Meanwhile, we have to move hotel today. Continental Hotel could not give us any room for tonight because it was already booked by others. There were a lot of hotels along Penang Road. A short distant away from Continental Hotel was Oriental Hotel. I went in, make some inquiries and booked a standard twin room from 28th March onwards. I was also able to book a family room for Quick and his family, adjacent to ours.

At Kafe 78, across the road from Oriental Hotel, I saw the Tua Pau (big bun). This was one of my favourite while studying at USM. I could not miss the chance eating it, so I ordered one. It was not as good as I hoped.

Ling's primary purpose was to visit CTY Aquarium at Jalan Burmah. We did not know the distant from our hotel but from the map, we did know the direction. We would be going there this morning.

We reached CTY Aquarium early. It has not opened for business. Its business hours was from 11:00 a.m. Photography was not allowed within the shop. I could only say that there were many species of fish, coral, sea grass and sea creatures for sales. Ling was mesmerised with such a wide selection of sea creatures to see.

Before noon, we hurried back to our hotel to await Quick's arrival. After many minutes on the phone telling him our location, Quick finally found us.

Soon, we were off for our lunch of Hainan Chicken Rice in his van. Lunch was good. The restaurant was full of lunch-time diners.

In the afternoon, Quick and his family took their rest. I was restless. Before 4:00 p.m., I asked Quick whether his family were interested in going to CTY Aquarium. Yes, they were interested. Soon, Ling was leading the way to CTY Aquarium.

Quick and his family returned to the hotel earlier. Both Ling and I returned just before 6:00 p.m. We dropped by the Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul at Jalan Keng Kwee, just off Penang Road, for some sweet, cold cendol.

That evening, I asked Quick whether we could visit our alma mater, USM. Soon, we were on our way there. We were waved through the Sungai Dua Gate to USM. Quick drove through the campus pretty quickly. I did not have the chance to step out and walk around the campus to see how much it has changed after 13 long years. I was only able to take a few photographs from inside the moving Toyota Unser.

After USM, I asked Quick whether he wanted to visit our former landlord. He agreed. From our former landlord's house, we proceeded to Gelugor.

Tonight was our night of Nasi Kandar. We were still early. At 7:50 p.m. we were at Shariff Nasi Kandar stall. All the side dishes were still available for us to choose. The queue was still long, like it was 13 years ago. We decided to order take way Nasi Kandar, this time with my favorite omelette.

At 8:40 p.m., we were in Jelutong. Yes, the place where I had curry mee almost every time at the stall operated by Ah Nee's mum. It was to see Ah Nee and it was nostalgic memories of the extremely beautiful Ah Nee that brought me searching for her mum's curry mee stall when we arrived at Jelutong. The stall was no longer there. Ah Nee was no longer there. How would she look like after this long 13 years, I wonder! Has she grown even prettier?

Quick's favorite stall at Jelutong was the "Pek Kui" drink stall. It was still there. 13 years ago, he said that drinking Pek Kui would ensure that the skin would be fair and beautiful, like the girls serving the drink. Indeed, they have beautiful, fair skin. But those girls were long gone, replaced by the present batch of young girls.

Back at the hotel, we could not wait to open our packets of Nasi Kandar. My favourite omelette did not taste like it was 13 years ago. Time passed, people passed on. The present cooks might not have been as great as the old cooks.

Nostalgic Penang - Day 2

2011-10-09T11:55:00.001+08:00

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

Thursday, 27 March 2008

We were up before 8:00 a.m. on the second day. The breakfast at Continental Hotel was a very simple Malaysian fare. Chong said that he would pick us up at 9:00 a.m.

With the free time at hand, we went exploring along Penang Road. Just behind Chowrasta Market at a street stall, I found very large curry puff on sale. It was however not very good.

Chong did not arrive until about 9:30 a.m. He was caught in a traffic jam at Penang Bridge. He would bring us on a round-the-island tour in his Innova.

The first stop was at the Penang Museum & Art Gallery. After paying the entrance fee, we entered. There were no other visitors, except for the three of us. Taking photographs inside the museum was prohibited.

The next stop was the flea market, located beside Stadium Bandaraya. There were a few vendors selling antique products.

During the course of our conversation, I mentioned to Chong that a former course mate, TSH owned a restaurant called Fortuna Restaurant. She dropped out before completing her degree. I asked him whether he knew where it was and that the address was somewhere along Anson Road. He could not recall knowing this restaurant but nevertheless, he drove towards Anson Road. Eventually, we ended up at Zim Sum for a Dim Sum lunch. What great luck as Dim Sum is one of my favorite Chinese food. We could not finish the food as we ordered too much for the three of us.

Soon, we ended up at Him Heang Sdn. Bhd, where Chong bought us some Tau Sa Peah. This was one of the two most popular places among visitors to Penang to shop for this pastry to be brought home as present.

Our next stops were Wat Chaiyanangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple and the Burmese Buddhist Temple right across the road from the Thai temple.

After that, we started our round-island tour. We stopped at the beaches, including the one where the tsunami hit and the famous Batu Feringgi Beach.

From the beaches, we arrived at Penang Butterfly Farm. I remembered when it first opened more than a decade back, there were more species of butterfly fluttering around and a lot more visitors. There appeared to be very much fewer butterfly and visitors around now.

From Penang Butterfly Farm, we went to Tropical Fruit Farm at Balik Pulau, where Chong treated us to an iced fruit cocktail.

We carried on our tour and ended up at the new Paya Terubong township.

At about 5:20 p.m., we reached Air Itam area. Chong drove us up to Kek Lok Si temple ground where we stayed for a while only, and from there, we went to Penang Hill, known in Malay as Bukit Bendera. By this time, it was almost 6:00 p.m. There were not many people around. The view of the surrounding area from the top of the hill was fantastic.

After about 1 1/2 hours, we were back at the ground station again. My belly was still full from the Dim Sum lunch, but anyway, we went for our dinner. I have Curry Mee for dinner, and I had already forgotten how Curry Mee looked like and what the paste in the spoon was. I thought the paste was belacan so I added only a little of it to my Curry Mee. No wonder, my favorite Curry Mee did not taste as good as I remembered it when I had them so frequently while studying at USM. Ling has his bowl of Hockien Mee, also known as Prawn Noodle or Har Mee. Chong has Fish Head Noodle.

At about 10:20 p.m., I asked Chong to drive us to Gelugor for supper. Gelugor was the location of Shariff Nasi kandar stall, where Quick and I had our dinner almost every evening during our study at USM. It was late already, and there were not much dishes to choose from. My favorite egg omelette was not available. The prices have also increased three folds. Then it was about RM2.20 for a serving of omelette, a piece of ayam kapitan and liver. Now, it was almost RM6.00.

From Gelugor, we went in search of the residence of my former landlord at Cangkat Minden (Minden Height). It took us sometime to locate his house as I could not recall the exact location of the house. Cangkat Minden lies between Gelugor town and USM. It was already 11:15 p.m. then. My former landlord has retired and his children have both grown up and are working already. Both husband and wife have not changed much physically after all these years. Their home is no longer rented out.

Finally, it was time to go back to our hotel. The time was already past mid-night. Chong has to drive back to Sg. Petani. Tomorrow, he would not be coming to bring us around.

Nostalgic Penang - Day 1

2011-10-02T10:34:00.001+08:00

(This post was published 3 1/2 years late)

It has been 13 long years since we went our separate ways after graduating from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang. The reunion was planned in December 2007 and in March 2008, we finally met up in Georgetown, Penang. Chong and Eng came over from Sg. Petani, Kedah and Quick and his family came all the way from Kota Baru, Kelantan. I flew in from Sibu, Sarawak with a friend.

Though our primary purpose was to meet again after these long years, I have other objectives - visit our alma mater and our old haunts, see how Penang has changed, revisit the tourist spots, walk the streets of Georgetown (which I never did before) and makan my favourite Penang food (which I greatly missed).

Wednesday, 26 March 2008

Airasia Flight AK5921 was scheduled to leave Sibu at 11:55 a.m. However, it was delayed. Subsequently, Flight AK 5951 from Kuching to Penang which was scheduled to leave at 15:10 p.m. was also delayed.

We touched down at Bayan Lepas Airport at about 7 p.m. in a drizzle. Chong was there waiting for us. He still looked the same after 13 years. It was great meeting him.

Soon, we were on our way for our dinner at Queensbay Mall, which Chong said had just opened and was the largest mall in Penang. We ate at a foodcourt but the food was not that great.

After dinner, we went searching for our budget accommodation. I have planned to stay at Hutton Lodge, which had a favorable review. However, the price for two persons did not fit into our budget. Furthermore, Ling wanted an en-suite room. After exploring for a while, we managed to secure a room at Continental Hotel, and it was only available for two nights. Nevertheless we decided to take it since it was already late at night. It was located at the far end of Penang Road.

After checking in, we were on our way to Gurney Drive for supper. It was 10:30 p.m. already. There, both Ling and I ordered Yong Tau Foo, costing RM17 for two bowls. I have never had Yong Tau Foo before. Chong ordered Asam Laksa, also known as Penang Laksa. Later, he ordered Or Chien for the three of us.

After supper, we walked around for a while before deciding to return to our hotel at past mid-night. Chong had to drive back to Sg. Petani, and we did not want to hold him any longer.

Cari Makan in Kuala Lumpur

2011-09-17T10:25:00.001+08:00

This was my first business trip after returning to PNG in early April. I had two full days on Thursday and Friday to cari makan in KL, as my boss flew off for another business trip on Thursday while I awaited my trip back to PNG on Saturday.

With the time available, I went exploring other parts of KL, something which I have never done alone before. In the past, I had only a night and a morning before going to the airport to catch the flight to Sibu or Singapore/ PNG in the afternoon. Usually, that meant going window shopping around Bukit Bintang area. This time, I had more time to explore places further away, including taking the Kelana Jaya Lines and KTM Komuter train to Petaling Street/ Central Market and Mid-Valley respectively on my own.

First, during the few days with my boss, one of the restaurants that we went was Loon Sing Restaurant. We were on our way by car from Johore to KL with a business partner when we stopped by at this restaurant which was famous for the Fuzhou dish, Buddha Jump Over the Wall dish.

Anyway, during the few days with my boss and the business partners, we had breakfast at the apartment where we were staying and dined at restaurants. During those meals, I hardly took photographs. I did not want my boss asking me questions which I would find too awkward to answer. However, when I was on my own, I dined at hawkers stalls. What a contrast!

That Thursday, after doing my shopping for a portable hard disk and other accessories at Low Yat Plaza, I took an early lunch at Venny Restaurant which lies behind Capitol Restaurant/ beside Low Yat Plaza.

That afternoon, I went to Petaling Street on Kelana Jaya Line train, departing from KL Sentral. At a kopitiam there, I saw big steamed meat buns being sold and had one. After doing my shopping for a pair of shoes and other items, I came to the food court somewhere at Petaling Street where I had a plate of mixed fried Kuey Teow and noodle. It was quite appetising.

On Friday morning, I had nasi lemak at a street stall. I then went to look for more breakfast and got myself a plate of fried noodle with clams somewhere near Jalan Imbi.

From there, I wander around the area but found myself lost. I kept walking and found myself at Jalan Raja Chulan, and soon the Masjid Jamek stations. Being unfamiliar with the train system, it took me a while before I got to the right station to get my ride to KL Sentral. From KL Sentral, I took KTM Komuter train to Mid-Valley. After having done my shopping there, I returned to KL Sentral and on the way to the KL Sentral monorail station, I stopped by Restoran Nasi Kandar Zafeeras for lunch.

That evening, I decided to have an early dinner, before Jalan Alor got too crowded. I had Dim Sum there.

On Saturday morning, I decided to look for breakfast somewhere near since I had to leave KL for KLIA before 12 noon for my onward flight to Singapore that afternoon en route to Port Moresby that night. It was good curry noodle.

Chinese Drivers

2011-09-17T09:50:00.002+08:00

Much has been written about the dare-devil Chinese drivers. They were infamous for breaking traffic rules, especially in overtaking other vehicles in dangerous situations. They were known to instill fear among western visitors because of their driving habit. Is this true?

During my last journey from Yangshuo to Guilin, I witnessed several unthinkable acts of ruthless driving, not only by our bus driver but others as well. I saw our bus being overtaken several times in dangerous situations. The local passengers did not even utter a hoot. The following is just one example of their ruthless driving.

The green bus in front overtook other vehicles and swung into our bus lane.

It continued approaching us head-on on our bus lane.

As it neared our bus, it served into its own lane confidently, without fear of knocking into vehicles coming from behind it.

It successfully veered into its own lane without colliding with our bus.

Longji (Xinzhai) Dining

2011-06-27T18:39:00.001+08:00

The madam of the house was the jack of all trades. She took care of the hostel business alone while her husband worked elsewhere. In the morning, she left the hostel to solicit for business at Heping. Food at the hostel came from her garden and the hills behind. She was also the one to clean and cook them for the guests. Amazing woman!

Sanjiang Dining

2011-06-27T11:18:00.002+08:00

At Sanjiang, I walked the four streets of the intersection where Bai Huo Hotel was situated. Eateries were clustered on one of these streets, and they all looked run-down and dirty. There were other eateries elsewhere too, especially on the east bank side of the river, but these were the nearest to Bai Huo Hotel.

Chengyang Dining

2011-06-11T08:05:00.004+08:00

Chengyang consists of a cluster of Dong villages. Dong Village Hotel where I stayed offered both Guilin cuisine and the local Dong cuisine.

Although its menu offered a small selection of food, most dishes were not available. This could be due to the lack of visitors. When I was there, the only other visitors who came were a French couple who arrived at night. Hence, it was understandable that the hotel did not keep a large stock of food. Therefore, guests were obliged to accept the limited choices that were offered.

Huangyao Dining

2011-06-11T07:57:00.003+08:00

Dining option is available in the ancient town itself. However, I wanted to eat in the new town, expecting to get better value for money. There were no other guests and yet, it became my longest wait for lunch to be served. In all likelihood, the restaurant had only started to shop for the provision upon my order. The dishes were only served after half an hour.

Xingping Dining

2011-06-04T08:47:00.001+08:00

There are a few hotels cum restaurants in this small town. At the hostel where I put up (it does not have an English name), the owner and his wife were also the cooks of the house.

On the second day, I woke up early to look for breakfast. There being not much choice, I ended up having Guilin Mifen and steam buns for breakfast.

Yangshuo Dining

2011-06-02T06:22:00.003+08:00

My itinerary to China has Yangshuo as my first stop for lunch. However, because of the hiccup in Guilin on my way to Yangshuo, I missed lunch. I went out in search of food at about 2:45 p.m. The lunch-time crowd had disappeared and virtually, all the restaurants and cafe were empty. As I walked the streets, my first taste of Yangshuo cuisine was hawkers' food.

Before coming to Guilin/ Yangshuo, I had read that restaurant food would cost more at West Street and that it would be cheaper outside this area. Hence, during my stay in Yangshuo, I avoided West Street, except for breakfast. My first meal was Guilin Mifen (Guilin rice noodle) at a hawker stall somewhere near West Street. It was here that I realised that except for the noodle, some slices of meat and soup, I would add my own condiments, which would invariably consists of two types of Guilin chilli sauces (very hot and not very hot), chopped parsley, chopped spring onion, chopped pickled long bean (sour), an unknown typed of chopped pickled vegetable (sour) and maybe, fried peanut.

Business starts late in Yangshuo, usually at 8:00 a.m. or later but some restaurants do open early for business at West Street.

During the course of my two weeks in Guilin/ Yangshuo, I quickly realised that for breakfast, the choices are limited to plain, white rice porridge, fried wheat dough, Guilin rice noodle, eggs cooked in tea, steamed buns and almost nothing else. Unfortunately, I was never fond of Western breakfast. It's boring. Otherwise, my choices could have been greater.

The only Muslim restaurant, situated facing the entrance to Yangshuo bus station, is at Pantao Road. There is a wide variety of noodles and rice dishes here. However, one of the woman staff has an attitude problem and I decided to stop going there during the later part of my stay in Yangshuo.

My favorite restaurant lies two doors away from the Muslim restaurant. Here, there were a wide range of dishes to choose too.

There were other places that I went for my meals. This restaurant was situated at the junction of Pantao Road and Guanlian Road.

Steamed meat buns have always been one of my favourite breakfasts, irrespective of whether I am in Sibu or other parts of Malaysia. Hence, I tend to buy steamed meat buns for breakfast whenever they are available.

At one street near West Street, I decided to try out a restaurant where the cook was seen frying noodles at the five-foot way. Yes, fried and not soup noodle. I decided to order a plate of rice noodle for my dinner, sans sour condiments. It was very good.

I saw a few eateries with food prepared for cooking being displayed outside their premise. I had hesitated about ordering it because I did not know how to order one. In addition, there was some apprehension about its hygiene because the raw and semi-cooked meat seemed to have been put on display for many hours already. I was worried about food poisoning. However, the cook said nonchalantly that yes, the meat was already on display the whole day. She said it as though having stale meat was no big deal.

The customer would make his selection of a plate of mixed vegetable, meat, etc. from the rows of raw and semi-cooked food on display there. This would then be given to the chef to cook up a dish. The plain claypot rice would be cooked at the time of the customer's order.

Guilin Dining

2011-05-28T10:12:00.001+08:00

Guilin has greater dining options compared to Yangshuo. However, I did not seek them far and wide for my meals. I would just enter a restaurant if I fancied it. Most of the time, I dined near Zhongsan South Road, where I put up accommodation at Happy Hotel.

One of my favourite restaurants was right behind Happy Hotel. The food was excellent and cheap. While in Guilin on the eve of my departure, I had hoped to have my last meals there but it was closed. On the last day in Guilin, I had wanted to take my breakfast there but it had not opened for business when I checked out from the hostel.

While walking out of Jinjiang Princes Palaces and Mausoleum, I saw this hole-in-the-wall on the inside entrance of the wall surrounding the park. It was around lunch time at about 12:30 p.m.

There were quite a number of restaurants on the same row of shops as Happy Hotel where I stayed. Just a few shop lots away were these two restaurants.

One of my favourite Chinese food is Dim Sum. I chose dumpling at Seven Star Park and also at a Dim Sum/ dumpling restaurant adjacent to the bridge along Zhongsan Middle Road leading to Ronghu (Banyan Lake).

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the northern Chinese version of the dumpling was not that good. I was hoping that dumpling in China, and in this case, Guilin, would be better. I was disappointed.

The claypot rice prepared at this restaurant along Zhongsan South Road in Guilin was different from the one which I ate in Yangshuo a few days later. The method of preparation was different. In Guilin, the claypot rice comes with some meat, sausage and an egg. For the side dish, you select and mix the pre-cooked food from a few trays displayed at the food counter.

My first meal in China was Guilin Mifen (Guilin rice noodle). It was the most popular breakfast meal in this region. Therefore, I took it on myself that my last bowl of meal would also be Guilin Mifen, before I leave Guilin.

Dining in Guilin - Yangshuo

2011-05-28T09:53:00.004+08:00

There are some dining cultures here that are distinctly different from Malaysian dining cultures.

The portion tends to be very large for vegetable based dishes, probably twice that we can expect in Malaysia. Meat based dishes tend to be smaller in size.
Spoons are never provided, both in noodle and rice-based dishes. They are only provided for rice porridge or soup.
Disposable chopsticks are used most of the time.
Plates, cup, etc. are shrink-wrapped in plastic in more established restaurants.

If drink is served, it is always tea. There is nothing else for you to order, except probably for alcoholic beverages.
The local people do not seemed to eat out much. This may account for the small number of eateries relative to its populations. At every restaurant/ stall, patrons are invariably visitors from outside the district.
The most popular dish is Guilin Mifen or Guilin rice noodle served in soup. They are found in every city. Malaysian-type rice and wheat noodles such as flat rice noodle (Kway Tiau), fresh yellow noodle, thin beehoon, etc. are not available
No Malaysian-type chilli sauce is used. Rather, chilli powder is used for deep fried food.
Food in this region is never sweet, but savoury, sour and spicy.

There is a dearth of good noodle dishes here. Whether it is Guilin, Yangshuo, Xingping or Sanjiang, the choices are very limited. In Yangshuo, with such a vibrant tourism industry and with so many visitors there, I could not believe that there are only such a small variety of noodle dishes. Maybe, I should move there and start a food business specialising in Malaysian noodle dishes.

Epilogue

2011-05-25T05:57:00.002+08:00

There were some unexpected discoveries and there were some disappointments.

Huangyao is a real discovery of a gem, courtesy of Am of sayingtheunsaid (http://sayingtheunsaid.blogspot.com/). Visit this place before high-rise buildings started sprouting up on the periphery of the village and spoiling the beautiful, rustic scenery. Some parts are already being developed. The Chinese are already there, but not in hordes as at Yulong River, Li River or Yangshuo.

Xingping is nice too. There were a lot of Chinese day trippers but was very quiet at night, with no night activities. Explore the river front, both at the jetty and the area near the bridge which were over-grown with bamboo groves. Right across the bridge, within a short walking distant, is the viewing point of the hills denoted in the RMB20 note. The old part of the town, which you can reach by walking along the alleys, was rustic and charming too.

The greatest disappointment was the scenery along the Yulong River and between Xingping and Yangdi. Maybe, my expectation was too high, thinking of the time before mass tourism came to Yangshuo. Maybe, I thought I could see super still water with those clear, blue sky reflecting off the Yulong River or Lijiang, green leaves in abundance everywhere, with nobody around or man-made structure at every corner. It was the pictures like those on this page and those in Chinese painting that drew me to this part of the world.

The timing of the visit in spring with the misty weather, the horde of Chinese tourists and the artificial and man-made structure everywhere spoilt everything. Every where you look was misty white. The cold winter turned the bamboo leaves brown on the edge, which otherwise could have been beautiful, especially along the Yulong River. The Yulong River and Li River at Yangdi could have been very still, reflecting the beautiful hills in the sun but no, there were the never-ending ripples from moving rafts carrying the hordes of Chinese tourists. The hill and water scenery at Gongnong Bridge could have been so beautiful but those man-made structure and the tourist rafts really spoilt everything.

Chengyang was a disappointment. There was only the Chenyang Bridge to see. The Drum Tower was not spectacular. Ma’an Village, right across Chengyang Bridge, sees its traditional houses slowly being replaced with brick and cement houses. The villagers are going to kill off tourism in Chengyang if they are so money-obsessed. When you cross the modern bridge from the village side to the main road and attempt to walk along the road towards Chengyang Bridge (not on the village side) or other villages the next day, you will be asked to pay for entrance fee again. This is unbelievable! The entrance fee of RMB60 is already steep enough and squeezing more money out from visitors is not going to be healthy for the local tourism industry.

Dazhai could have been spectacular. At this time in spring, only some of the villagers were getting their rice fields ploughed. The raining season has not arrived and the fields were brown from the dead rice stump. It there was rain and sun, the water-filled field would reflect the sun light giving the rice terrace its magnificent sight. Unfortunately, the sky was misty white, not clear and sunny.

I read a fair amount on Zhaoxing. Getting there directly is a problem. I read in blogs that buses departed from Sanjiang to Zhaoxing twice a day, early morning and mid-day. The morning bus was said to be reliable on its run. However, this was not the case. There were no direct buses. This was a great disappointment too.

Anyway, the best part of this trip was the first four days, and it was really fulfilling. If I were to go back, I would be going there in June.

Goodbye Guilin

2011-05-14T11:15:00.002+08:00

Day 15 (6th April 2011)

My trip to Guilin was finally coming to an end.

I checked out from the hostel early in the morning and made arrangement with the hostel to call a taxi. I would only need to pay the hostel RMB80. Flagging down a taxi on my own would cost more, between RMB90 - 100. The taxi would arrive for the pick-up at 8:15 a.m.

I had wanted to have a last look at Guilin before leaving. Unfortunately, it was raining. After an early breakfast of Guilin Mifen (Guilin rice noodle) for the last time and buying some steamed bun from the same eatery at a nearby lane, I returned to the hostel to wait for the taxi.

The taxi finally arrived at about 8:25 a.m. It was late as there was a bad traffic jam. Finally, I arrived at the airport at about 9:10 a.m.

There was a small crowd of Malaysian waiting outside the entrance to the check-in hall already. There was no time for photo-taking as originally planned. After checking in and getting the boarding pass, I went straight to the departure hall.

Airasia flight AK103 finally took off from Liangjiang International Airport for KL International Airport at about 11:35 a.m. My Guilin/ Yangshuo trip finally ended.

Goodbye Yangshuo, Back to Guilin

2011-05-14T10:57:00.002+08:00

Day 14 (5th April 2011)

Early that morning, I spent my final hours in Yangshuo at West Street, Diecui Road and Pantao Road.

At 9:15 a.m., it was goodbye Yangshuo.

This time, the RMB18 bus ride to Yangshuo ended at the bus station where I looked for the Daxu bus, instead of the bus terminal across from Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal. I was thinking of staying at a hostel close by but after checking out one, I decided to go back to Happy Youth Hostel because it was cleaner, and I felt safer there even though it was slightly more expensive.

After lunch, I just wanted to walk along Zhongsan Nan Lu to the north. As I walked on and on, I found myself looking at a park. I was at Banyan Lake (Ronghu).

Moon Hill

2011-05-14T10:35:00.003+08:00

Day 13 (4th April 2011)

The weather looked dreary with a light drizzle early this morning. However, I was quite determined to go to Moon Hill. On the way, I stopped at a restaurant to have breakfast. While eating, the light drizzle turned into a shower. There was no way to go to Moon Hill now. I would be soaked to the bone if I were to do that and so I returned to the hostel.

At 1:15 p.m. the weather improved. I got ready to go to Moon Hill. The sky was overcast but I took the chance to go there, hoping that the rain would not return. Today would be my last day in Yangshuo and if I did not make it, I would have missed Moon Hill.

What a difference 10 days made? There was an obvious difference in the "cherry" trees, with the leaves having grown larger. The yellow bloom of the Yew Chai flowers had almost disappeared too.

From earlier bicyle rides on the same road, I had not bother to take photos of some tourist spots along the way. This time, I decided to do so just for the record.

On the way back from Moon Hill, I decided to take as much of the scenery at Gongnong Bridge. I could only imagine what it was like without all those buildings and man-made structure. It could have been very much more beautiful.

The scenery on the way back to Yangshuo was as gorgeous as always.

On reaching the town, I turn into Guanlian Road. There was not much to see here.

That evening, more time was spent at the riverfront of Binjiang Road. This was my last chance to take more photographs of the waterfront before I returned to Guilin.

Some time was also spent at the small night market at the intersection of Diecui Road and Pantao Road.

Back to Yangshuo

2011-05-11T19:04:00.002+08:00

Day 12 (3rd April 2011)

The return visit to Yangshuo was met with unexpected surprises.

The spot at Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal where I got on the bus to Yangshuo the first time has a bus parked there but it was locked. There were a few people milling around, expecting the driver to come anytime. After a lengthy wait and with the driver still missing, I went across the road to the bus terminal where the Yanghuo to Guilin bus terminated. There was no Yangshuo bus. I came back again and shortly later, I overheard that the Yangshuo bus was departing from the other end of the station.

Here was the first surprise. A long queue had already formed for the bus to Yangshuo. Fearing that it would take too long to wait for the bus, I began to have doubt. Should I go to Yangshuo again? As I was hesitating, the queue got longer. It was about 9:40 a.m. already. I decided to get into line and within minutes, the queue doubled in length.

Two buses came in succession, and I went for the second bus, doubting whether I would be able to get a seat as I was well behind the queue. I was turned away together with 3 - 4 hopeful passengers in front of me. The first bus was still able to take in more people and I went over to the first bus. I was lucky enough to get on board.

On reaching Yangshuo, I did not see the hostel touts I encountered the first time. Time must be good that they did not have to solicit for guests or they could be having lunch. I went in search of accommodation at other hostels. Here was surprise no. 2. Fawlty Towers Hotel rate was RMB200. It was a real shocker. It could not be that expensive! I went to the hostel just behind and the rate was RMB150 for a dilapidated room. What happened to the cheap hostel rooms in Yangshuo? I decided to go back to Sons of West Street Hostel again. The rate was now RMB150, more than doubled from the RMB65 I paid a few days earlier. The fact had finally begun to sink in. This was the rate during the holiday season. I realised only then that I was in Yangshuo during the peak period, i.e. during the Qing Ming Festival holidays. There was regret. I should not have come but continue to stay in the RMB70 room in Guilin. Then again, I would be wasting time in Guilin. Going back to Guilin might see me getting a hostel room which had climbed in prices too. After asking for a discount, I was offered a rate of RMB140 per night as I was a "former" guest of the hostel, for two nights' stay. I took it after some hesitation.

Outside, the weather did not look too good. I had originally planned to cycle to Moon Hill that afternoon and to Xingping the following day. With the light drizzle, it was not a good idea. As a result, a good part of the afternoon was spent in Yangshuo itself.

The first destination was to Binjiang Road, to the section which I had not gone before. This was the pier where the big cruise boats from Guilin came to berth. Cruise boats came and went.

Next, it was exploring other streets.

Guilin Seven Star Park and Seven Star Cave

2011-05-09T18:05:00.002+08:00

Day 11 (2nd April 2011)

Today, I would be going to the Seven Star Park. The day earlier, the owner of the eatery behind the Happy Hotel has advised me to take bus no. 10 to go to Seven Star Park. Bus after bus stopping at the bus stop near the Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal was full. I then decided to take a tuk tuk to go there. As usual with the people in the trade, the sales promotion followed after I got into the tuk-tuk. He was not that persistent and soon, I was off to Seven Star Park.

At the ticket counter at Seven Star Park, upon payment of RMB90, a receipt in duplicate was issued. From there, I had to go to another counter to get my ticket by exchanging it with one copy of the receipt. The other copy of the receipt would be collected at the entrance to the Seven Star Cave if I decided to go in.

Seven Star Park is a very large park. There were many spots for photography, the main ones being the waterfalls and the cave.

(Download this 1,599 x 1,066 px map)

After the visit, I took bus no. 11 back to the hostel.

There were not many places of interest to me in Guilin. Tomorrow, I would be going back to Yangshuo. I would explore Moon Hill and those streets which I did not do so in the earlier visit. I would also like to go back to Binjiang Road, my favourite street one last time before leaving Guangxi for good.

Guilin Jinjiang Princes Palaces & Mausoleum and Solitary Beauty Peak

2011-05-03T20:08:00.003+08:00

Day 10 (1st April 2011)

The plan was to visit Daxu Ancient Town. As usual, I wanted to go there using public transportation. At the Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal, I was told that the bus would would be ½ kilometre away along Zhongsan South Road, towards the North.

There were a number of Chinese with luggage walking in the same direction and when they made a turn into a side street, I saw that there was a bus station at the far end. I followed from behind. At this bus station, I was told that the Daxu bus was based at another station. What a hassle! I gave up.

I then decided that I would be going to one of those parks which I have shortlisted, such as Jinjiang Prince Palaces and Mausoleum. As I was coming out to the main road, the touts/ taxi drivers who were based there began to approach me to offer their taxi service. One taxi driver offered RMB5. I was more careful this time, making sure that the trip to Jinjiang Prince Palace and Mausoleum would not cost me more at the last minute. On boarding, he began to begin his sales pitch. No, I was not interested.

Seeing that he was more interested in getting me to other places and not to my requested destination, I got off the taxi. Only when he agreed to take me to my intended destination did I get into the taxi again, and so off we went to the park for RMB5. He suggested that I paid for the RMB70 entrance ticket (there were another two ticket categories). This ticket included the Solitary Beauty Peak which lies inside the park.

I went in and was given a tag with the number 58 and asked to follow a female park guide. There was a small crowd there already. This was not expected but anyway, I followed her.

Jinjiang is only a small place, not worth RMB70 for the scenery I was looking forward to. It is for Guilin history buff.

A Rotten Day in Guilin

2011-05-01T15:07:00.003+08:00

Day 9 (31st March 2011)

One night at the Dragon Backbone Rice Terrace village of Xinzhai was enough. I saw the lady going off to work early, presumably to pick up more guests. This must be her normal routine.

After having my breakfast of bamboo rice (mixed with bits of mushroom, fried peanut and dried pork) at 8:30 a.m., I decided to leave.

I used the footpath through Dazhai Village to get to the parking area. Shortly after waiting at the parking area, a bus arrived at 9:00 a.m. It would leave at 9:30 a.m. My immediate destination was Heping, from where I would catch a bus to Guilin. The fare to Heping was RMB7.

Just after the ticket office is the junction of Heping. The actual Heping town was a short distant away. The bus stopped and the driver was kind enough to show me the direction of Guilin. Just as we were talking, and as at Chengyang, a bus was seen heading towards us and moving in the direction of Guilin. The driver said that would be the Guilin bus. I quickly disembarked and walked across the road to wave down the bus. I was off to Guilin at 10:30 a.m., with no waiting time spent at Heping. The Dazhai bus was still there with the driver seeing me off. What a nice gesture. The fare was RMB9.

The bus terminated at the same bus station where I took the bus to Sanjiang, i.e. Qin Tan Bus Station, at 12 noon. Walking out from the station, there were tuk tuk touts and taxi touts and all other touts. I ignored them all and decided to wave down a taxi. The fare was RMB10 to Zhongsan Nan Lu to Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal. This time, I decided to check out another place to stay. From the first visit to Guilin, I knew there were a few hostels along Zhongsan South Road. This time, I checked into Happy Hotel, which offered RMB70/ night. Throughout this trip, I found this to be the most satisfactory place to put up for the night, even though the room was a little bit too small.

Since I have visited all the key spots on this trip, minor spots that I would be visiting while in Guilin would be the Elephant Hill Scenic Park, Jinjiang Prince Palaces and Mausoleum and Seven Star Park. I checked this out with the hostel receptionist and she tried to promote her tour packages to other places. I was not interested and was only keen to go to Elephant Hill Scenic Park that afternoon. She said that she could arrange to get the entrance ticket to the Elephant Hill Scenic Park for RMB20 instead of the usual RMB40 through her tour guide. However, a service fee of RMB10 is required. I could join a tour group which would be leaving at 1:00 p.m. and on arrival at the park the tour guide would purchase the ticket for me for RMB20. It was such a sweet talk. After a quick lunch at an eatery behind the hostel, I was back before 1 p.m.

Shortly after 1 p.m., a car arrived, and not a tour bus or a van which I had expected. This was odd. There were the driver and the tour guide. While cruising along the road, my suspicion grew. The guide was babbling like any other tour guides. I was not hiring a tour guide and I was not keen to be guided. This would cost money, and certainly, more that RMB20. Something was wrong. I could not remember exactly what I did or said, but she kept on harping on visiting other places for a sum of which I could not remember. I was not interested and was adamant in going to Elephant Hill Scenic Park, which by now we have passed. The driver finally stopped the car. Angrily, I opened the door and walked away. I was not going to pay for this attempted scam. Those in the tourist business in Guilin are rotten to the core with their scams. Who could I trust? No one! I was determined to find my own way around and would approach the receptionist on my return to the hostel to demand an explanation.

With the help of passersby and my GPS, I found my way to Elephant Hill Scenic Area. I did not buy the entrance ticket as I was sure it was not worth it just to see the hill. I spent a short time outside the park and continued to walk without direction.

Soon, I saw the twin Pagoda. It was Shanhu Park. Again there was an entrance fee to go to the Pagoda. I could not be bothered with it and walk around the park, taking in the scenery.

Soon, my GPS told me that Zhongsan Zhong Lu (Zhongsan Middle Road) was ahead. I walked over to the road and there was a department store there. Outside, there was a stall selling fast food. I bought three sticks of skewered food.

After allowing for my aching foot to rest for a while, I attempted to walk back to the hostel, knowing that Zhongsan Middle Road and Zhongsan South Road forms one continuous road. However, I made a wrong turn and was lost. With aching foot, I decided to take the easy way of taking a taxi back. I asked how much, and the lady driver said that she would use the meter. At the stop where I got out, the meter showed RMB8++. On giving her RMB10, and expecting her only to give me a change of RMB1, she said that she was charging RMB1 for the petrol. What the fuck! It was only RMB1 and I could afford it. The Guilin people in this tourist industry are really rotten and have no morals.

On entering the hostel, the receptionist quickly babbled an apology and tried to explain things. I could not catch all that she was saying. She returned my RMB10 and I decided to let things end there.

What a day!

That evening, I strolled over to Xicheng Pedestrian Street. I mistook Xicheng for Zhengyang Pedestrian Street. Hence, I was quite surprised that Xicheng Pedestrian Street was not crowded with tourists.

After the cancellation of the Zhaoxing trip where I planned to stay for two nights and the single night stay instead of two at Xinzhai Village, I had three extra unplanned days. By this time, I had visited all the key spots on this holiday trip. I still had six days to go before my departure from China.

No Bus to Zhaoxing, So Off to Dazhai Village, Jinkeng Rice Terrace

2011-04-27T19:27:00.004+08:00

Day 8 (30th March 2011)

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to pack up to go to He Xi Bus Station. The trip to Zhaoxing would take 4 - 5 hours. When I arrived at He Xi Station at about 6:00 a.m. it was still dark. There were people at the station there already. The station light had not been switched on. When the ticket counter opened, I asked about the bus to Zhaoxing.

The ticketing clerk, a different lady from a day earlier, replied by asking back whether there was a Zhaoxing bus parked at the station. If there was none, then there would be no bus to Zhaoxing for the morning. There was none. A tout offered to take me to Liping where I could take a bus to Zhaoxing, but I was unprepared to do that, as this would be too much hassle. In addition, this would also mean that I would have problem getting a bus back to Sanjiang later on, and thus, disrupt my travelling plan. As such, I abandoned the idea of visiting Zhaoxing and instead push forward my plan to visit Dazhai, a village in the Jinkeng Rice Terrace further away than Ping'An from Longsheng. It formed part of the Longji (Dragon Backbone) Rice Terrace.

Before leaving He Xi Bus Station, I decided to shoot a short video of He Xi Station. After that, I took a tuk tuk for RMB3 for the short trip to He Dong Bus Station, where the buses to Longsheng were based. At He Dong Station, I was again one of the earliest passengers there. I bought the ticket for RMB18 for the 7:00 a.m. bus to Longsheng.

At the station, there was a luggage screening machine like those used at the airports. As I thought I need to screen my luggage, I reached for my back pack and at that moment, panic struck when I realised that the back pack was not behind my back. I looked around and I was sure I did not leave it anywhere at the station. It must have been left in the tuk tuk when I came over from He Xi Station. There was no way of getting back my back pack. It was as good as gone. At the same time, behind my mind, I had the feeling that when I was shooting the video of He Xi Station before leaving, I was not carrying the back pack, meaning I could have left my back pack at He Xi Bus Station. I was not sure but decided to go back to He Xi Station just to confirm it. There was a chance that it was still at He Xi Station. It was already 6:30 a.m. and I quickly got on a tuk tuk. By this time, I realised that the tuk tuk fare was RMB2, and not RMB3 as I overheard some one mentioning it at the station, and that I have been duped just now and the day before. On reaching He Xi Station, I quickly walked into the station and there was my back pack on the seat where I sat while waiting for the ticket counter to open. After taking my back pack, I took another tuk tuk back to He Dong Bus Station. The time was 6:40 a.m.

The bus from Sanjiang reached Longsheng at 8:30 a.m., after 1 ½ hour journey. I did not stop for breakfast but instead went around asking for the bus to Dazhai Village to see the Dragon Backbone Rice Terrace.

The bus to Dazhai left the station at about 9:00 a.m. but stopped just outside the station to pick up more passengers. It finally left at about 9:20 a.m. for Longsheng. The fare was RMB9. Mid-way through the journey, at about 9:45 a.m. the bus stopped at an area with nice building and buses parked outside. Some guys in uniform stepped into the bus and a guy thrust out the entrance ticket he was holding and asked for RMB60. That was the way the entrance tickets were sold to "outsiders" who were taking public buses to the Dragon Backbone Rice Terrace. There was a lady who came in too and she started soliciting for business asking me to stay at her hostel. I ignored her, because I knew I could find my accommodation on reaching Dazhai Village.

The bus went up and around winding roads. The scenery was beautiful with a stream flowing beside the road. Finally, we reached the parking area to Dazhai Village at about 10:30 a.m. The whole trip from Sanjiang had taken 3 ½ hours.

There were no old women, or for that matter anybody, who approached me to carry my back pack, although I saw them sitting underneath a building. They were probably waiting for a tour bus, not a public bus. The entrance to Dazhai Village was blocked by an inspection office. I showed the guy manning the post my ticket and proceeded to enter the place after it was stamped. About five minutes' walk away was a row of souvenir shops selling handicrafts. The tout who came in the same bus was still trying to convince me. In the end, I decided to follow her. There were really two villages there; one was Dazhai Village and the other Xinzhai Village and they took different route. The tout was from Xinzhai Village and I later ended up at her hostel for a room which cost RMB50, after bargaining.

(Download this 3,000 x 2,000 px map for your reference)

Xinzhai happened to be perched mid-way up a hill whereas Dazhai is at the foot of a hill. Xinzhai seemed to be less developed and I noticed only one other hostel there. This is a village occupied by the Hong Yao or Red Yao ethnic people.

The tout happened to be the owner of this hostel. Later, during my stay, she told me that she worked as a maid in Shenzhen for ten years. On her return, all her saving went into the construction of this hostel. Her husband who was a carpenter laboured to build it. Amazing! Presently, her husband was away at work and her only son was at school at another place. She stayed with her in-laws and basically took care of the hostel business alone, being the salesman, manager, cook, gardener, and everything else. I really admired her grittiness.

She suggested that I should see the terrace field the same afternoon. There would be no sun rise to see in the morning as the atmosphere would be covered in mist. After cooking me the lunch, I asked her how to get to the top of the hills. She advised me to follow the main path (i.e. the wider path) and to keep to the left path. Not being fully fit, I was glad when I finally reached what I presumed to be the Viewing Point No. 3.

On the way up, I saw a total of less than five women working on the terrace, planting vegetables, etc. It was still spring and too early for ploughing. The air was foggy and the field was covered with brown and decaying paddy stump from the harvest in autumn. It was not exactly at its most glorious sight. Nevertheless, the view of the terrace at some angle was very beautiful. I could only imagined its beauty when it was covered in water with the reflecting sun or when it was green with growing rice. I came at the wrong time and when I asked when was the best time to visit, the lady said, "June".

After 45 minutes, I finally reached my destination. I could have climbed further up to reach the top, but I presumed this to be Viewing Point No. 3. This was good enough for me already. I was back in the hostel by 2:00 p.m., disappointed that the vista had not been greener and the air clearer.

At about 4:00 p.m. I decided to explore Dazhai Village. I walked to the main road and from there walked to Dazhai Village. If I had known then, I could have used a foot path just outside the hostel where I was staying to go to Dazhai Village.

Dazhai Village was much more developed than Xinzhai Village and the layout was more organised. It looked more beautiful and modern too. There were many hostels here, and there were more tourists here too. There were a group of Russian speaking kids (how do I know?) at the village too. It seemed busier than Xinzhai. However, if you prefer the traditional look of a Red Yao Village, you should stay at Xinzhai.

Overnight in Sanjiang

2011-04-25T13:05:00.007+08:00

Day 7 (29th March 2011)

I did not take breakfast this morning. I was not willing to spend my money at Chengyang.

After checking out, I asked the caretakers how I would be able to get to Sanjiang. They told me to wait on the main road for "mian bao che" (literally, vehicle for transporting bread - how do they look like?) or buses.

While waiting for the public transportation on the main road, a tuk-tuk came across from the other side of the modern bridge. I asked the driver whether he was going to town, and he replied that he would be going later but not then. He was saying there were many vehicles passing through which would be going to Sanjiang. Just as we were talking, a loud horn was heard at a blind corner of the road (this is a practise around this region, including Dazhai, to warn vehicles coming from the opposite direction at blind corners of on-coming traffic). He said that would be the bus and when he physically saw the bus coming around the corner, he confirmed that it was going to Sanjiang. I quickly waved it down. The fare was RMB6, not RMB7 as mentioned by the caretakers.

The bus arrived at He Xi Bus Station, which was situated at a road junction. I would be staying close to this station since the buses going to Zhaoxing would depart from here. There would normally be two buses going to Zhaoxing in a day, one early in the morning and the next before noon. I intended to take the early morning bus so that I would reach Zhaoxing in the early afternoon.

Since I was still early, I took the opportunity to inquire about the bus to Zhaoxing. The reply was rude and the ticketing clerk said for that day, there was no more bus. There might be a bus early the next morning at 6:30 a.m. and another at 11:30 a.m. The fare was RMB32 and I intended to purchase the bus ticket there and then but was told by her to buy it the next day.

I saw only one hostel here, Bai Huo Hotel, which was across the road from He Xi Bus Station. I did not check out this hostel immediately since the five-foot way was being paved, making entry to the hostel troublesome. So, I decided to look for another hostel close by. I checked the four streets in the four directions and did not see any other hostels nearby. Sanjiang Hotel is situated across the bridge and too far away. In the end, I checked this hostel out and the rate was RMB68, with hot bath. It was clean and so I decided to take it.

(Download this 3843 x 2586 px map of Sanjiang for your reference. It is only 844 kb in size)

Sanjiang is a city under very fast development. There was construction work everywhere you look. The town was dusty and there were tuk-tuk everywhere, more than any other cities on this trip of mine.

There was nothing on offer in terms of tourism, except for a Dong Drum Tower. Taking out my GPS-enabled Blackberry, I walked over the bridge to look for it, but it was hidden from my view. I walked too far away and could not locate it by sight. By this time, my feet were already aching badly, after many days of walking. I decided to return to the hostel and later took a tuk-tuk to see it. The lady tuk-tuk driver charged RMB3, when it should have been RMB2.

Chengyang, Land of the Dong People

2011-04-25T10:50:00.007+08:00

Day 6 (28th March 2011)

The next morning, I was on the road by 6:45 a.m. I wanted to explore Zhongsan Road to check out the locations of hostels along this street. There were quite a small number of hostels at the southern end and less further north. I would know where to go the next time I was back in Guilin.

I returned soon. As I was checking out from the hotel, the elderly man arrived. What a dedicated man, providing such good service! He led me across Zhongsan South Road to his booth.

I paid him RMB60 and was issued a receipt accordingly. A lady, introduced to me, would lead me to the Sanjiang-bound bus when it arrived. Then, the lady left. 8:30 a.m. came and went. There was no lady and there was no bus. Finally, she showed up a few minutes late and led me to the bus stop adjacent to the ticketing booth. At 8:45 a.m., the bus arrived. Finally, I would be on my way to Sanjiang. She came aboard the bus and clocked the ticket (or so I thought).

Mid-way through the journey, she said I should get off the bus. I was caught by surprise. Wasn’t this the Sanjiang bound bus? No, we had actually arrived at Qin Tan Bus Station. She led me to the departure gate. The bus would leave at 9:30 a.m. That was fine. Since there was time to kill, I went to the loo just before departure time. On coming back, the conductor asked for the ticket. I gave her the receipt and then suddenly, she passed me a ticket which she was holding in her hand. The fare was RMB37.

I realised that I have once again being scammed, this time by an elderly man in cohort with other scammers. He made a tidy sum of RMB23 just by being nice and offering half-truth as advice. He probably made some more money by introducing me to the hotel too. How could I again trust another Chinese! Are there any honest Chinese in the tourism trade?

The bus departed as scheduled at 9:30 a.m. There were some surprises in the bus. At least three men sitting on the row in front of me spoke Fuzhou, and they seemed to be travelling independently. On the row behind me on the other side, there was a Fuzhou couple with their kid. I could not believe it. So many Fuzhou were travelling to Sanjiang.

From the husband, I found that he was working in Sanjiang. Were there many Fuzhou working in Sanjiang? It was a city that seemed to be under rapid development, with construction work being carried out on very road and street.

The bus finally arrived at Sanjiang at He Dong Bus Station (for long-distant buses from Guilin, Longsheng, etc.) after 3 hours at 12:30 p.m. I inquired at a ticketing counter and was advised to take a tuk-tuk with a fare of RMB2 to He Xi Bus Station (for local buses to Chengyang, Zhaoxing, etc.) to get the transportation to Chengyang Bridge. On the way, the tuk-tuk driver asked me about my destination and on learning that it was Chengyang, he offered to take me there for RMB40. It was affordable but anyway, I negotiated with him and his final offer was RMB35 for the 40 minute ride. I took it mainly for the experience as this was my first ride in a tuk tuk.

At the entrance gate to the cluster of villages at Chengyang, the tuk tuk driver stopped for me to purchase the entrance ticket. It was RMB60. He drove through the modern bridge and stopped at the first hotel near the Chengyang Bridge, Cheng Yang Bridge National Hostel. It was fully booked and we were told that all other hostels in the villages were fully booked too. He reversed and returned to the modern bridge where there was a hostel, Dong Village Hotel situated beside it (owned by Michael Yang, whose name appeared frequently when you do a search on Chengyang accommodation). The rate was RMB80 and affordable.

Earlier, I was told by some villagers at Chengyang Bridge that there would be a folk performance at 3:30 p.m. The only problem was where. From Chengyang Bridge, I strolled along the foot path which would lead to Ma'an Village in search of the performance. Ma'an Village lies barely 50 metres from Chengyang Bridge.

Though Chengyang was highly recommended by Western bloggers, I saw modernisation creeping in already, with cement and brick being used in new buildings. Commercialisation has also crept in and I have this unpleasant feeling that the villagers were very much material oriented, at least as far as money was concerned. It was a major disappointment, in so far as Chengyang Bridge and Ma’an Village were concerned.

Chengyang Bridge itself was occupied by villagers selling handicrafts and souvenir. The river flowing beneath it was not very clean, with rubbish clearly seen here and there. The waterwheels, which could be an attraction themselves have been abandoned, neglected and were decaying. The Dong villagers performing their dances, singing and playing music at 3:30 p.m. did not seem enthusiastic and the performance lack-lustre. During the drinking ceremony, donation was solicited. At Ma’an Village Square where the performance was conducted, the old women sellers would come back to you over and over again to sell their wares, even after you have bought them. I overheard one Chinese visitor saying to the old peddlers that she had bought some items already and asking them why would she needed to buy so many.

If you think you could walk on the main road to another village after paying the RMB60 entrance fee a day earlier, you would be disappointed. There are youngsters right on the main road side of the modern bridge who would stop you from doing so, saying that the entrance fee was for the earlier day. The official in uniform there would not stop them. This was pure greed. Shameful, really!.

It was not worth a night’s stay and you should just save the cost of accommodation for somewhere else. I have enough of this over-rated place.

Instead of staying until check-out time of 12:00 noon the next day, I had decided to leave early the next morning for Sanjiang for my onward trip to Zhaoxing.

Great-great Grand Mama of All Banyan Trees

2011-04-25T10:20:00.004+08:00

Day 5 (27th March 2011)

I was out on the street before 8 a.m. to explore Binjiang Road again, to the part which I did not go earlier. There was a long sheltered stretch at the end of the road, probably planned for the tourism industry. With the Lijiang right beside it, Binjiang Road is a good place to look for accommodation for vacationers who appreciate the scenery of the Lijiang.

After the Binjiang Road exploration, it was off to Banyan Tree. The route to the Banyan Tree Park is 100% on paved road. Most of the attractions of Yangshuo lie along this route, such as Ancient Totem Path (whatever that was), Assembly Dragon Cave, Butterfly Spring (cave?), Gongnong Bridge, Big Banyan Tree, Moon Hill, etc. It was an easy ride.

There were so many vacationers on bicycles, including those led by tour guides. It was just one long road with no turns so getting lost was almost impossible. The view along the route was very scenic, and when I was there, the flowers from the Yew Chai (whatever its English name is of this leafy vegetable) was blooming.

The entrance fee to Banyan Tree Park was RMB20. However, on reaching there, I was approached by a tout who said she could get it for RMB15. I doubted her, thinking that she would be selling me used ticket. In order to convince me, she bought the ticket with her own money first under my wary eyes, and I paid her after I had gone through the entrance. How did she make her money?

As at all the other tourist attractions along this route, the area was crowded with young Chinese tourists. There was a long line of coaches parked outside the road, obviously bringing in the tourists in packaged tours. They were more interested in taking photographs of themselves than the poor Banyan Tree, which seemed to be ignored by the majority of the Chinese tourists.

That afternoon, I would be going to Guilin for a night before departing the next morning for my next destination to Sanjiang, enroute to Chengyang Bridge. The fare for the public bus from Yangshuo to Guilin was RMB15, with no ticket issued.

The Yangshuo-Guilin bus terminated at a bus terminal right across the road in front of the Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal where we departed from on the first day. A hotel tout tried to sell me a room for RMB88 at a hotel there, but my intention was to stay close to the bus station where the Sanjiang bus would be based (which I leant later was called Qin Tan Bus Station). She said that Qin Tan Bus Station was far away and the bus ticket to get there was RMB7. She assured me that the Sanjiang bound bus would be passing through this area also and there was no need to stay near Qin Tan Bus Station. However, I ignored her, fearing another scam again.

After walking around a while at the Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal, I noticed ticketing booths selling bus tickets under the trees. At one of the booths, an elderly man manning the booth said he was selling tickets to Sanjiang, pointing to the bus schedule displayed at the front of the booth. He was friendly and helpful. He also said that the Sanjiang bound bus would pass through the area. I could buy the ticket from him the next morning. The bus would be departing at 8:30 a.m. and I should be at his booth by 8:00 a.m. to get the ticket.

Since that was the case, I decided to stay at a hotel nearby. He even offered to find the accommodation I needed, initially to a low-priced hostel at RMB40/ night but seeing it so dirty, I asked him to recommend another hotel. The second hotel was nearby and was also across the road from Guilin Train Station/ bus terminal too.

At this hotel, I asked for a room in the price range of RMB80. The receptionist replied that a room was available and after checking the room and returning to the reception, the price was RMB90. Umm! I sensed something amiss! Anyway, I agreed.

Huangyao Ancient Town

2011-04-25T09:25:00.005+08:00

Day 4 (26th March 2011)

When I came back to Yangshuo yesterday, I mentioned to the employee/ tout at the hostel that I intended to go Huangyao today. I asked her whether there was any agency organising such a tour. She said she could help to obtain information about it and asked me to discuss with her that night. However, I also realised that I would be at her mercy should she decide to jack up the price that night. Where would I go to book the trip as an alternative when it was already nightfall? In view of that, I decided to inquire from the local travel agents the same evening. Yes, they did offer the Huangyao package, although this was obviously not a popular destination. The price advertised was RMB198 but the travel agency would offer RMB150 for the trip, inclusive of entrance ticket and bus fare. The second agency offered the same thing, so, I accepted the offer there and then.

There was actually very little material on the internet on Huangyao. There were even fewer pictures. Originally, I had wanted to go there on public transport but based on the available information, it was always mentioned that the bus departed from Guilin, not Yangshuo. This would require changing of buses at a town called Hezhou, formerly Babu. In view of the hassle (and time wasted), I decided to join a tour for the trip to Huangyao from Yangshuo directly.

Jamie, the agency manager of Guilin Shanshui International Travel Service who signed me up did not come to the hostel to pick me up as promised. Instead, she sent someone to the hostel to lead me to the coach which would be departing at 9:30 a.m. However, the last two passengers, the two westerners only turned up at about 9:45 a.m. and only then, did we leave.

We reached Huangyao at about 11:00 a.m. The ancient town of Huangyao is fantastically beautiful, and ancient. According to the tour guide, it was built during the Ming Dynasty. There was the old building in their ancient state, the river where the movie “The Painted Veil” was filmed (as mentioned by Am of sayingtheunsaid blog), beautiful arch bridges, etc. I just loved them. According to the tour guide, Huangyao is populated by Cantonese, and indeed I heard it spoken among the locals.

There were actually two tour guides, both young pretty things, leading us on this tour. The one who accompanied us from Yangshuo did not speak English hence, on reaching Huangyao, she sought the assistance of another guide who speaks English, for the sake of the two westerners and myself. What a nice gesture, but unfortunately, as in most tour packages, the guides were ignored when they tried to explain the history of Huangyao. What a pity!

I actually spoke to both guides about the location where the film "The Painted Veil" was shot. The Chinese-speaking guide had no idea about this film whereas the English-speaking guide actually showed me the location. She also said that she has the film on her computer.

Rafting the Lijiang between Xingping and Yangdi

2011-04-23T12:47:00.005+08:00

Day 3 (25th March 2011)

I woke up early and left the hostel at about 7:20 a.m. for an early morning exploration of the town. However, the hostel had not opened its door. As in Yangshuo, business will only start at 8 a.m. I was too early. Outside, there was a street market right in front of the hostel. There was a school near the hostel and there were many parents and children around this area. I had my breakfast of Guilin Mifen again at the stall across the road.

By 7:55 a.m., I was back in the hostel. The tout has not arrived yet. At about 8:20 a.m., I saw her. She was late. She waved and said that she was buying breakfast for her son. By that time, I had already checked out from the hostel. When she finally returned, she led the way through the alley to the bridge and to her raft, manned by her son. She passed the takeaway breakfast to her son and left as I boarded the raft. This was probably the first raft out since I did not see any other rafts in the river yet. Unlike the bamboo raft at Yulong, the rafts here were made of pvc pipe and were motorised.

Half-way up to Yangdi, near the Nine-Horse Fresco Hill, the rafter stopped at a pebble beach to have his cold breakfast. Twenty-five minutes later, the raft continued its journey towards Yangdi. At about this time, I started seeing rafts moving towards Xingping from Yangdi.

At a spot which the rafter said was near Yangdi, he made a u-turn to return to Xingping. On the return trip, I realised that there could be a thousand raft that morning on the river. There was an endless stream of rafts, going up and down the Lijiang between Xingping or Yangdi.

After returning from the cruise, I went to take my bag and left for the bus station to take a bus to return to Yangshuo.

That afternoon, I hired a bicycle for RMB10 to explore the streets in Yangshuo. Somehow, I ended up tagging after some bicyclists, after seeing them on the road as they ride towards their destination. Unfortunately, a tyre punctured mid-way on the journey. As I made my way back to the hostel, I got lost in the town, until someone pointed out the direction.

After the bicycle ride, it was back to West Street again. This time, the weather was fine and I could spend more time there taking photographs.

Tomorrow, I would be going to Huangyao Ancient Town. The film "Painted Veil" was shot there. I was going there after reading the blog of Am of sayingtheunsaid (http://sayingtheunsaid.blogspot.com/).

After that, it was dinner. At the restaurant, I saw a patron there eating something that looked nice. It was the famous Beer Fish. I decided to order one too.

After dinner, it was time to explore Pantao Road. I planned to walk as far as I could before returning to the hostel, and I ended it at the Sinopec gas station. Pantao Road has nothing of interest at night, except at the junction with Diecui Road where there was a small night market with a number of small eateries and stalls selling souvenir. There was also a giant screen here promoting Guilin.

Rafting on Yulong River and Exploring Xingping

2011-04-22T12:29:00.006+08:00

Day 2 (24 March 2011)

This morning, I woke up early as usual. I wanted to take breakfast and explore the town before the start of my planned rafting trip on the Yulong River. As I made my way down to the hostel lobby, I realised the light had still not been switched on. There was no one, but another Chinese guest who was waiting to get out of the hostel too. It was almost 7 a.m. already. The door of the hostel remained locked. With all the commotion created in the lobby, one of the staff appeared and opened the door to let us out. I found out later in the day that businesses only opened at 8 a.m.

The program for today was rafting at Yulong River. The day before, the hotel tout who happened to be a staff of the hostel offered a rafting package, which would take guests to Fuli and back. I was not keen on this but made it known to her I was interested in the Yulong River raft cruise. I discussed with her in my limited Mandarin my plan in taking public transportation to Dragon Bridge via Baisha and asking her how I would be able to return to Yangshuo. She mentioned that she could help to organise the trip. However, the package from the hotel to Dragon Bridge and back was too dear for me at RMB200 and the trip duration too long, i.e. four hours. After hearing out other options, I decided to wait until this morning to make a decision.

This morning, I again have a few questions to be answered. The lady was there patiently explaining things to me. Finally, I decided to start the journey mid-way between Dragon Bridge and Gongnong Bridge on the Yulong River and ending at Gongnong Bridge. At Gongnong Bridge, I would need to hail a public transport vehicle to come back to Yangshuo. In the meantime, she would arrange for a guide to bring me to the departure point.

What a shock! The guide (or rather a motorcycle taxi driver) arrived at 9 a.m. The weather at this early hour was so cold and I was expected to ride on a motorbike. What the heck! So be it. With the numbing cold air biting on my hands, they felt painful. The ride was through some village roads and in less than 20 minutes, we arrived at the destination. I handed RMB10 to the motorcycle driver for his service and RMB120 for the raft. At the same time, I was besieged by the usual horde of aggressive peddlers selling plastic bags, rain coats and flowers. They were ignored.

The cruise on Yulong River passed through 6 – 7 weirs and a bridge before reaching Gongnong Bridge. It was over after about 1 hour 15 minutes. It cost RMY3 to get a ride on a mini-bus/ van (mian bao che) into town.

That afternoon, my plan was to go to Xingping for a night before returning to Yangshuo the next afternoon. From Xingping, I would be taking a raft along the Li River between Xingping and Yangdi to see what was considered the best part of the karst landscape.

After checking out from the hostel and stepping onto Pantao Road to go to the bus station, a bus slowed down in front of me with the conductor calling, “Xingping! Xingping!”. Hearing that, I stopped and boarded the bus. The fare was RMB7.

On reaching the bus station at Xingping, a crowd of touts rushed forward, jostling for business, with one still holding her bowl of noodles that she was eating. One persistent tout followed me around, even though I told her I was not going anywhere that afternoon. My plan was to take the raft only the next morning. She was saying it could be raining the next day and that there was sufficient time to go and come back that afternoon, etc, etc. I just ignored her and said that I was looking for This Old Place hostel for the night. Instead, she suggested that I stayed overnight at her place not far from Xingping.

As I walked around with her following all the time, she eventually suggested that I stayed at another hostel, making negative comments about This Old Place hostel. I let her led me to the hostel she mentioned, just to check out the place. It was clean but there was some problem with the hot water plumbing. By then, it was too late since the deposit has been made. The rate was RMB60 per night.

Even after I have checked into the hostel, she was still there hoping to conclude her business for the afternoon. Again, I told her I would only be going the next day. By that time, I have raised my voice already. She even dared to suggest that I made a deposit to guarantee that I would take her service the next morning. If I knew how to say “fuck off” in Chinese, I would have done so. How dare she ask for the deposit when I was not even considering her service! My language handicap saved her the day. I just said no. I told her that her price was too steep. She was offering a package of RMB130, including transportation for a two way cruise, i.e. Xingping-Yangdi-Xingping. I told her I did not need the land transportation and she offered RMB120. I finally agreed, knowing the price is reasonable, and told her to be at the hostel by 8 a.m. the next morning.

After she left, I spent the afternoon exploring Xingping town instead of the planned hike to Laocai Mountain. As I walked around, I realised that many parts of the town had been left behind by time. The old section of the town was still intact and lovely. Across the bridge, there were a few clusters of bamboo grove. Walking along the road across the bridge would lead one to the spot for the best view of the hills depicted in the RMB20 note. However, for the many day trippers, they zoomed past all these in the tuk tuk, never realising what they missed.

From Kuala Lumpur to Yangshuo, Guangxi

2011-04-20T21:15:00.004+08:00

Day 1 (23rd Mar 2011)

Having arrived at LCCT on 22nd March, I decided to spend the night at LCCT since the flight to Guilin would be at 0635 hours (not 0640 hours) the next morning. The day before, I had done the web check-in and have decided to check into the departure hall as early as possible this morning.

The plane finally took off, slightly later than scheduled. The captain announced that the flight would take four hours and five minutes. Just before landing, the captain announced that the temperature in Guilin was 9 degrees Celcius, much colder than I had expected and as it landed, almost everyone took out their wind breaker and wore them. As I stepped out of the plane, I could feel the cold. Immigration was slow, at least as far as the line I was in was concerned. On stepping out into the open air, I shivered. This was my first experience being in this kind of weather.

I was determined to do things the backpacker way, i.e. to take the airport bus. There were not many people milling around. At the far end, there were a few buses, both big and small. No one spoke English, but a man in neat uniform indicated to me the small bus with Guilin Liangjiang International Airport painted on the side that would be shuttling the passengers to the city. It did not leave immediately, until it was fully occupied. The trip would take 35 minutes.

My plan was to go to the bus station in Guilin and to take an express bus to Yangshuo immediately. However, the airport bus did not stop at the bus station but instead stopped in front of a hotel, which if I recalled correctly was Swan Hotel.

It was already 11:55 a.m. A taxi driver/ tout approached me. I did not want to take her taxi as I was thinking of asking around to get to the bus station. Earlier, someone said that the bus station was somewhere nearby. I thought of going there on foot. However, this taxi driver/ tout said that the station was some distant away and that I have to take a bus to get there. I was advised to take her taxi to the bus station, for RMB5.

That was cheap and I agreed, only realising on disembarking that I have been scammed. She did not stop at the bus station but at a bus stop which was probably less than 200 metres away. There were indeed buses to Guilin passing through but they were ordinary public buses, not express buses. After getting on one, it went in a circle to pick up more passengers. I scurried off the bus when it returned and stopped at an earlier bus stop.

To cut a long story short, I managed to find my way on foot to Guilin bus terminal by asking the people around. With their help, I was pointed the direction, which was actually the Zhongsan Nan Lu (Zhongsan South Road) train station cum bus terminal.

It was only a short distant away. From there, I managed to get on a bus to Yangshuo, after asking my way around. The bus left at 12:45 p.m. and the fare was RMB20. It reached Yangshuo bus station at about 2 p.m.

On arrival at the bus station, touts from the hostels rushed forward to solicit for business. A female (they were all females) tout made an offer and suggested that I went to see the room first before making a decision. I agreed, knowing that there were many hostels around the place which I could go to if I didn’t like her place. No English was spoken. Sons of West Street Hotel was clean, with hot water. The rate was RMB70 and if I stayed for two nights, I could have the room for RMB65 per night. The deal was done.

That afternoon, time was spent strolling along West Street and Binjiang Road. There were many spots for photo-taking, especially the river-front at Binjiang Road.

Guilin and Yangshuo Trip - Prologue

2011-04-20T20:42:00.004+08:00

The trip to Guilin was planned in 2008. That year, I failed to purchase my Airasia ticket to Guilin because in the FAQ, it mentioned that the name in the ticket must be the same as those in the passport. Not knowing how to put my name in the flight booking, I missed the dateline in the Airasia almost-free ticket to Guilin promotion.

In August 2009, I finally booked my tickets for the trip in May 2010. However, due to my overseas posting, I did not make it.

And in 2010, I made another booking for Guilin for my recent trip. There was some major doubt as to whether I would be able to make it this time or not, because as the date approached, there was a major event that could have put a stop to my trip again. There was the possibility that my leave could not be approved. I kept my fingers crossed and because of a slight twist of event, I submitted my leave application and it was approved with no question asked. There was still the fear that the approval might be withdrawn at the last minute, and I was never 100% sure whether I could make it this time until the last moment.

When the date of departure from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur came, and onward to Guilin, I knew I made it this time.

I must be thankful to Jam of lifeislikethat (http://lifeislikethat.com/) and Am of sayingtheunsaid (http://sayingtheunsaid.blogspot.com/) who through their blogs influenced me to go to Dazhai and Huangyao respectively.

Dazhai could have been more spectacular if it was June (as told to me by the hostel owner/ tout, i.e. when the villagers started planting rice then). Huangyao is a very lovely place, a discovery of a real gem, with ancient buildings, waterways and bridges. As mentioned by the tour guides, it is occupied by Cantonese and indeed, the language is spoken there.