Yangshuo

Yesterday was our FREE day! We had a day to recover from our long cycle ride and explore Yangshuo. We had the first lie-in for as long as we could remember which was nice :) Down by the river, where we had planned to read our books, we were immediately pounced on by a Chinese man wanting to practice his English..2 hrs later, we made our excuses and escaped! We also visited Yangshuo Park where we enjoyed watching some Martial Arts lessons, and climbed up one of the smaller Kaarst Peaks to a small pagoda which gave great views over the town and the Li River. In the evening, we met some foreigners who were teaching English in a local school and had fun playing them at pool and table football!

Today we got back on our bikes to cycle out of Yangshou on some tiny dirt tracks. We got to see some of the smaller villages down the Yulong river. It was interesting to see the more traditional way of life in the area. After about 20km, we left the bikes and headed out on our mystery trek back to Yangshuo. Our guide had found the route by mistake a year or so ago, and it was pleasantly off the beaten track. Literally- the local villagers would point at the mountains and tell us it was not possible to cross them! But we did, taking some goat tracks and old stone paths that hadn't been used in ages. Luckily our guide had brought along his secateurs!
The walk was amazing. Unlike the rest of China, none of the land was being used- it was a complete wilderness and very peaceful. The only living things we saw were a few goats and a random man with a pet bird in a cage (!).