China 853 Day 2 in Guilin, cruising the Li River

Hopping on a tour is really not my thing, but today
it was the easiest way to cruise the Li River-
just me, a Canadian family, two boyfriends from
Europe, and about a hundred Chinese. The boat
we cruised on is in the background- behind the
old feller with the two ducks on his bamboo pole.
So random.  So China.

Just me and the captain :)

 

It was a five hour, 83km cruise down the Li River
from Guilin to Yangshou.  The river is described
as a "jade ribbon winding among the limestone peaks."
On a sunnier day, I imagine the water really looks jade.

This was called 'crown rock'.

The twin peaks to your left is called "goat hoof."
I barely understood our guide, as I was a little
distracted by the phallic rock on the right!
I was the only one giggling :)))

The sun tried to break through the clouds, but honestly,
the weather kind of added to the mystery of it all.

A local fisherman, and behind him, other locals
were out spending a Sunday picnicking along the river.
It was a little chilly for that if you ask me.

While I was busy snapping photos of the
beautiful scenery, the locals, wildlife and such...

The Chinese women were lining up to get their photos taken
with the boys from Europe!  So Chinese....

...or they were huddled down in the boat on their cell phones...
every last one of them...as the beautiful scenery slipped by them.
Also so Chinese...

Lunch was served, which was like a Chinese TV dinner-
only different.  I ate the vegetables and about a third of the
rice and called it quits. It was a good thing I packed some oranges!

On the back of the 20rmb note is this scene from the Li River :)

After we docked in Yangshou, a few of us
continued on to Silver Cave, named after the
formation you see here. It really looks like
silver due to the calcite minerals.

As I trekked the 2km underground...

...wearing my English headset...

...I felt like I was caught somewhere between...

See Rock City

...and Mammoth Cave :)

The reflection pool was very pretty.. and then
it got warmer and I started to smell something
sweet in the air.  What?!

It turns out that one of the caverns is the perfect
temperature to store casks of fermenting rice
to make rice wine.  It seriously tastes like poo,
but the bottles and canisters are beautiful :)

 

I never cease to be amazed at how China works. I
was passed through four different people today, from
a private van, to a motorcoach, to a boat, to another
private van, to another motorcoach, and lastly
to a very expensive private car (just for me!) and I
 managed to make it back to my hotel all in one piece,
 12 hours later, for all of $40usd- and no tipping!
Happiest girl in China felt like the dudes in this photo :)

Let's see what tomorrow's adventures have in store...

G'nite, y'all!