We were fortunate to spend Chinese New Year in Yangshuo near Guilin. Flights to major Chinese destinations are typically much cheaper if you leave from Shenzen in mainland China VS Hong Kong. To get there we took the Trans-Island Chinalink bus from Hong Kong directly to Shenzen Airport (u$d13) which only took 75 minutes including clearing customs & immigration (estimated time is 2 hours). We ended up being at the airport 3.5 hours before our flight which is a record for this last minute merchant. The flight to Guilin is less than 1 hour (u$d106ew)
It was bloody cold i.e. 2 Celcius when we arrived but thankfully it warmed up 16 Celcius a few days later. As you can see below the place is 'easy on the eyes'
The best way to see the countryside is to rent a bike for u$d3 per day. You can also take a 2 hour bamboo raft trip thru some spectacular scenery for u$d20
Our accomodation cost double the usual rate being it was New Years but still ended up being only u$d20 per night.
The local specialty food wise is 'beer fish' (fish cooked with herbs n' spices n' beer) - delicious!
It was bloody cold i.e. 2 Celcius when we arrived but thankfully it warmed up 16 Celcius a few days later. As you can see below the place is 'easy on the eyes'
Guilin, China
Yangshuo, China
The Silver Caves
Our accomodation cost double the usual rate being it was New Years but still ended up being only u$d20 per night.
The local specialty food wise is 'beer fish' (fish cooked with herbs n' spices n' beer) - delicious!
They also eat a lot of frogs, snails and even some dog.
It's a tough job but someone has to report this stuff! - Happy Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Tiger. 'Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xian Nian Kuai Le!'
Lucky Dog
Unlucky Dog!
It's a tough job but someone has to report this stuff! - Happy Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Tiger. 'Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xian Nian Kuai Le!'
Tags: ..Yangshuo, Guilin, Lijiang, China - Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xian Nian Kuai Le!..
If you like what you've read, why not subscribe to updates click here
Damn. Beautiful photos. Really makes me want to go...
ReplyDeleteWhich bus did you catch to Shenzhen airport? where from?
@ Fili: Thnx - google "trans island china link" There is a ticket office opposite Starbucks in the Elements mall, Kowloon & they also leave from Wan Chai - we travelled early a.m. so it was very quick (75 mins)but estimated time is 2 hours
ReplyDeleteOh, brilliant. Looked that up. I had no idea Trans Island has a bus going from downtown with a stop at Kowloon Tong. Very convenient for someone coming from Sai Kung. Thx!
ReplyDelete@ Fili: It very well run with reps each leg of the way. I think there also used to be a ferry from TST to somewhere near Shenzen airport (free shuttle) but seems to be cancelled due to dock repair work
ReplyDeleteGreat shots.
ReplyDeleteYou had sunshine? Lucky dog. I haven't seen the sun in so long I think it no longer exists.
@ Stevo: The last 2 days were sunny and warm - the first 5 were cold and misty
ReplyDeleteThose photos are astonishingly beautiful though I think the dog and frog comments and pictures don't belong in that post ;-)
ReplyDelete@ Fida: Got to show the good, the bad and the ugly!
ReplyDeleteYou were really lucky with the weather. We only had about one day of sunshine during spring festival here in Guilin... now that the work started again its warm, of course.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the area the next time, drop us a message. Perhaps we have a hiking tour to the countryside scheduled that you might want to join.
Spectacular scenery as always. I love those strange humpy little hills. But those poor dogs. Can dog-meat really be worth eating anyway? I fancy the step to the moon. It must be a mighty big step.
ReplyDelete@ Julian: Cool thnx - I have a feeling I'll be back
ReplyDelete@ Nick: I wouldn't fancy the dog meself - these poor critters looked scrawny too. Moon walking is dangerous!
Beautiful! Guilin is on my list too, waiting for some cheap ticket to fly there.
ReplyDelete@ 姍姍 (Venny): Try flying into Guangzhou or Shenzen and then connecting - may be cheaper than direct flight
ReplyDeleteGosh, you guys are so lucky, no?
ReplyDelete:D
What a gorgeous place. Makes me bite my butt even more that we didn't go to China while in Korea, sigh.
Those sign are hilarious.
The dog treatment,..., well, pretty much the same in Korea, sigh.
Awesome Quicky. Especially the colour in the caves/rocks whatever. Really must learn some geography how come the river valleys are so flat? Perhaps they're not river valleys. As for the poor little dogs, apparently the Chinese are pushing legislation through to ban the cooking of dogs and cats. I wonder if they'll be successful? Gorgeous photos. Now I'm hungry, it's 6:54 and time for dinner.
ReplyDelete@ Nicole: It always good to have an excuse to back out this way
ReplyDelete@ Baino: I hope the legislation is successful but there is a long tradition here of eating the poor little critters so it will be difficult
Beautiful! Yet another reason to go back to China, could probably spend years travelling there and never see it all - we can but try:)I like the signs, I know they're trying to 'fix' all of them but who wants correct grammar everywhere!
ReplyDelete@ Niamh: it's a huge country alright and a lot of it is way off the beaten tourist trek. Just need to find the time and money to explore it!
ReplyDeletehi, i'm planning a family trip to china somewhere this/next year. how many days do you think it's good to cover guilin/yangshuo? would you mind sharing your itinerary? thanks a lot!
ReplyDelete@ 姍姍 (Venny): Guilin is a pleasant enough city but it's the karst landscape around it which is the attraction. The same landscape is in Yangshuo which has a small town feel to it so I would say max 2 days in Guilin and 5 days in Yangshuo.
ReplyDeleteWe booked a taxi from Guilin airport direct to Yangshuo for 270 Yuan and spent 5 days there. Then took a bus 15 Yuan to Guilin and spent 2 days before flying home.
shoot me an email if you have any more Q's