Our Adventure!

Guilin After our not so fabulous time in Guiyang, we were ready for some good times in Guilin. This was to be our meeting place with our friends along the way. Nico, Louise, Nicole, & her friend Steph were all meeting there. As we are walking to our room, from above us are waving Spaniards! And what do they have in their hands? A fresh bottle of Scotch! The great guys they are, Ben got the Scotch as a parting gift... endless giving. With no sleep & crazy pressure in my head, I chilled out in the room while Ben & Nico went to check out the Pagodas. Then our first night was spent tracking down cold beer, unsuccessfully. Warm would do just fine in keeping our thirst quenched while everyone caught up on travel stories. We had heard of caves close by, so next day was spent at the Reed Flute cave. It was a bit cheese to be honest... Flashy lights & signs claiming the stalagmites looked like “a centipede scared by his reflection”??? No, it looked like, well... a stalagmite. I’d give them a “jellyfish”, maybe... But it was pretty. Then we arrived at the turtle section, where they claimed they’d discovered a 1000 yr old turtle inside the caves. The poor thing had charms for sale strewn over his back & there were back up turtles in a steel box no bigger than their own size. I shamelessly snapped a shot followed by a bit of pouting in a dark corner of the cave. For some reason, I’m drawn to taking photos of how badly animals are treated... It’s a habit I plan to snap out of. I’m always reminded of the time a friend and I seriously pondered the rebellious idea to set the cattle free in the country side away from their certain Cargill death. Our plan came to an end when we thought of the realistic ending; a bunch of cows sitting in an open pen too dumb to gallop away with glee, or them getting smacked by cars on the highway. Not the freedom fighting we wanted to be remembered for... That night, a certain somebody (not naming any names, ‘cus it was me...) decided to bust out the Scotch, & have a toast, or 2, to the Spaniards who had gone on their way. Somehow I had enough brain power to head to bed at a reasonable time for our very wobbly bamboo trip the next morning. We were up early, excited to see if the awesome stories of Yangshuo were true. The crew, looking a little hazy, boarded the bus to our waiting authentic P.V.C. bamboo rafts! Yes... They actually mould P.V.C. pipe to look like bamboo, rather than just use real deal. It kept us afloat, so no moaning I guess. The cruise was fantastic! Views of Limestone Mountains, 4 & 5 rows deep. Drifting by the thick jungle, you heard a deafening hiss from the billions of creatures nesting inside... creepy. A beautiful day. As we rolled into Yangshuo, that good gut feeling stuck, & we were oh so glad.