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| OUTSIDE OUR HOTEL IN GUILIN |
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| FROM VIEWPOINT IN TUNNEL HILL PARK |
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| THE STUNNING SILVER AND GOLD PAGODAS AT FIR LAKE, GUILIN |
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| THEY WILL EAT ANYTHING HERE |
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| DOWN THE RIVER LI ON A BAMBOO RAFT |
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| RIVER LI SCENE |
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| DEMONSTRATION OF CALLIGRAPHY |
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| ILLUMINATED CAVES IN TUNNEL HILL PARK |
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| RUBI'S FAVOURITE PASTIME |
As the taxi weaved its way through the Xi'an city traffic I was amused, but not surprised, to see a road sweeper dodging the cars as he cleaned litter off the 4-lane carriageway. Once out of the city and onto the Airport Expressway, the taxi driver floored the throttle. We did 90 mph passing slower cars on both sides. Our seat-belt buckles were trapped under the seats, so we just hoped that there would be no sudden stops. We reached Xi'an Airport in just 30 minutes - somewhat quicker than the 70 minutes advised.
We checked in and dropped off the hold luggage only to have it handed back by security instructing us to remove any batteries (for my shaver, mobile phone charger and our torches). We put the batteries in our pockets for the flight, which was otherwise uneventful.
A shuttle took us from Guilin Airport to the city centre. We were interested in taking a boat trip along the River Li, and alighted near a hotel where they sold tours. However, after listening to the sales talk, we met a taxi driver outside the hotel who said she could show us where to get boat tickets at half the price. We decided to trust her and let her take us to a sales office just around the corner. Sure enough, the tours were much cheaper so we booked one for the following day.
The taxi then drove us to the excellent Shui Yue Ge Boutique Hotel where we would be staying, and later came back to take us to Tunnel Hill Park. Here we explored caves and climbed up to a viewpoint which overlooked Guilin city. Two hours later our taxi driver was back, this time to take us to the restaurants used by the locals for supper.
The following morning we were picked up by a coach that would take us to the River Li boats. We visited a place selling jade jewellery on the way, but resisted the hard sell. The boats were open bamboo rafts (except the bamboo was really plastic) with seating for four passengers. Although the boats had outboard engines, we spent much of the time peacefully drifting with the current as the river meandered between the steep, tree covered mountains. The ride was really enjoyable and the scenery stunning.
That ride over, we changed to more conventional river boats for some further exploration before re-boarding the coach to be driven to Yangshou, further south. There we stopped at a Buddhist temple and an exhibition of Chinese poetry and calligraphy, with demonstrations of the latter.
After a day in the countryside, Guilin's illuminated street signs made our return to the city feel like we were entering Las Vegas. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 8.00pm, but this was not too late to seek out a hot-pot supper.
On Tuesday we took a taxi ride back to Tunnel Hill Park. During Sunday's visit we didn't have sufficient time to take the guided tour of the Tunnel Hill Cave itself. This turned out to be extensive and contain many features such as stalagmites, stalactites, huge vaulted caverns and underground lakes, all illuminated with coloured lighting. After exiting, we crossed a bridge so that we could climb to the top of Pagoda Hill. As there had been some light rain whilst we were in the cave, care was needed on the slippery steps. The Pagoda constructed on the summit did not actually have an entrance and was there for appearance only.
We spent the rest of the day walking to the west side of Guilin, passing over Jiefang Bridge, around the wall of the Castle of Ming and back to our hotel via the pedestrianised market area. We enjoyed a coffee in the inevitable Irish Pub.
In the evening, our last in China, we bought a few gifts for friends and family with our remaining money. Tomorrow we would be in Hong Kong.