China Stop 5: Great Wall

What can I say?  It's pretty darn impressive.  After jetting back to Beijing from Guilin we spent the evening with Carl and his family.  The next day Carl drove us up to the Wall.  Even in this ancient place, Subway had managed to open up a sandwich shop at the base which at first I found a little disappointing but then realized it was probably perfect for you to grab a little picnic lunch to take up to the Wall for the hike.

We elected for the gondola ride up the mountain vs. the 1 hour hike.  It was cold and much easier.  The Wall stretched for as far as the eye could see and we hiked along it for about 1 hour.  On the return trip down, we took a 'tobaggon' ride down this metal slide.   It was kitchy but absolutely a blast to essentially slide on our backsides down the mountain.  There is a video of the ride at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

China Stop 4: Yangshuo

Got off the riverboat in the small town of Yangshuo which was nestled at the foothills of the mountains.  The town is quite popular with European and North American expats that have setup little shops, restaurants, and cafes.  We stayed right in the heart of town at the base of one of the walking/shopping streets.  That night, I was on a mission to find a winter coat in the market.  Luckily Yangshuo is also popular with rock climbers so the shops were filled with North Face and Columbia gear - either knockoffs or items that found their way out of the factory.  Price negotiation is mandatory and usually done with each party typing a number into the calculator.  You literally have to walk away from the deal in order to get the best price.  I had vendors actually chase me down the street.  In the end, I got the coat I wanted which originally started at 450 RMB (65 USD) down to 170 RMB (25 USD).  Either way, the same coat in the US would cost closer to 200 USD retail.

The next morning we went on a bicycle tour of the countryside.  Our guide lead us through small farms.  Along the way you could see many farms being converted over to resorts.  It was a nice way to end our tour.

 

  

China Stop 3: Li River

The next adventure on the tour was a cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo.  The riverboat was a double-decker and we were seated on the top deck with the other foreign tourist while locals, tour guides, and local tourists were on the lower deck.  Although only about 85km, the cruise took 5 hours since the waters were very low and the boats had to move very slowly to navigate.  As we went down the river, local farmers would paddle out to the boat on bamboo rafts to try to sell their goods to the passengers.  It was quite a trick to time the approach alongside the moving riverboat and toss a hook to latch onto the side.  The scenery was spectacular as we wound our way through gorgeous mountains with rounded tops that I don't think you can see anywhere else in the world. The pictures speak for themselves.