longji, hongxi

set off at 7 for the longji terraced plantations. 11 of us in a jinbei minivan. the driver was a bit of a speedfreak, good thing he was limited by the van. this was pretty much the bunch of people who had booked their vacations through ctrip.com, including the guy who puked on the plane and the chinese guy with green eyes.
longji was a 2 hour hike which covered 2 viewing spots. the best time to visit is when the terraces are filled with water, which was of course, not at the present moment. reminded of the terraced plantations in ubud. though not sure if ubud could claim to being over 600 years old. and for those who preferred not to walk, palanquins(!) were an option.
lunch was very good: glutinous rice with nuts and mushrooms cooked slowly in bamboo tubes, steamed country chicken in a delicious broth, lup cheong with bamboo shoots and wild veggies. also tried the rice wine, which was more tart and alcoholic compared to the yunnan version.

there was too much time to kill before our flight at 8.45 pm. our driver enthusiastically recommended this rubber dinghy water adventure at 180 rmb a pop. coming right after lunch, no one was interested. the alternative of hongxi (red stream) was proposed instead. it was 45 rmb for the entrance fee and it turned out to be a pleasant and cooling walk alongside rapids with a magnificent waterfall to boot. it was all the more enjoyable for being totally unexpected and unplanned. it didn't seem to be a major stop for tourists in general so we had the place largely to ourselves.

despite the long-held aversion to travelling during the golden weeks, the trip was not as bad as i'd imagined in terms of crowds. tour groups were far more noticeable in guilin as they traipsed from one "must-see" to another but yangshuo was largely free of them. it seemed that guilin catered more to domestic tourists while yangshuo was geared towards the westerner backpacker crowd. sure xijie was crowded but it was also nice to have a bustling street to wander along with gelato stalls and cool dark cafes to pop into for a respite from the heat.
time to start thinking about the next trip.

yangshuo

we set off at 7 plus to rent bikes. 20 rmb a day with a 100 rmb deposit per bike. half my money's getting tied up in deposits! (including for the rooms at didu.) it apparently costs 5 rmb a day in the off-peak season. breakfast at meiyou cafe and then off to moon hill. route was easy enough and scenery along the way was pleasant. the verdant landscape bounteous with karst peaks, undulating agreeably in every direction, and reflected in the padi fields and the streams and rivers. even cycling, there were persistent locals paddling alongside, promoting various holiday activities. the hike up the hill was not too bad. one determined peddler hiked along. reached the top to find a group of french tourists enjoying the view, and fending off an entourage of peddlers.
felt good to have a head-start on the other tourists (american, british, french, german, hk and fr guangdong) who were starting to stream in when we returned to the foot of the hill. tried looking for the backroads for that true rural experience, but it was too far, too hot and my butt was too sore. it was back to yangshuo town proper (according to the signboard) for our cheapest meal yet: guilin noodles at 2 rmb a bowl. it was sold by weight, and you ladled your own soup and added your own garnishing (chilli, pickled vegetables and radish).

decided not to bike back from the end point of the bamboo raft trip, which we booked from uncle sam's travel at 150 rmb per raft (for 2 pax). people there were pleasant and seemed honest as well. had told us that there was no need to hire a guide to get to moon hill.
took a local bus (4 rmb) to jinlong bridge, the start point of the yulong river bamboo raft punt. [check out www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen3/f14.html for a panoramic view of yulong river.] quite happy to do this in the afternoon since most people did this in the morning. had the river pretty much to ourselves save for the odd raft or two, once with a man raking up seaweed from the river. the sun wasn't a problem as the rafts were thoughtfully affixed with umbrella shades. it was a leisurely 2-hour drift, with gorgeous views of the hills reflected in the water. could also see cyclists and villages along the way. have to be prepared to get a little wet though. ended up on motorbikes in order to get back to xijie. bilked for 10 rmb a bike and we were dropped off quite a ways from xijie. though it did mean we had the chance to walk past the fruit market.

made it back in time for our 6pm rendezvous with the roast chicken (40 rmb) that we ordered the day before. it was pretty good but have to admit that the gimmick of limiting supply was a good one. also had pizza, fries and chocolate cake from cafe china. it started pouring halfway through dinner. had to get back to the hotel by 7 to catch the transport for the impressions of liu sanjie show.
warning: rant ahead.
because of the rain, the decision to go ahead with the show wasn't made till very late and we left the hotel at 7.50.
the entire thing was a bloody mess. first off, because of counterfeiting problems, we had to wait for a tour guide to exchange our receipts for actual tickets at a booth. said booth was surrounded by frustrated agents talking loudly and gesticulating wildly. once i got my ticket, had to make my way to the entrance, conveniently located 15 minutes away via a barely lit pedestrian path, save for the occasional flash of lightning. it was also chock-a-block with vehicles which meant that one had to walk off the path and in the mud. by the time i actually reached the venue, it was 8.30 and the show had already been playing for 20 minutes. laid the raincoat provided on the wet seat, hoisted the umbrella overhead and grimly prepared to watch the show. think at one point there was a scuffle in the vip seats and shouting ensued. chose not to focus and pretended that it was part of the show. or maybe it was part of the show. who could tell over the rain?? traffic situation after the show was another mess. with a second performance, there were vehicles both leaving and moving towards the venue. except that at one point, the road was only wide enough for one vehicle to pass. was ripped off 10 rmb for a ride in a mini-van back to xijie with a few other disgruntled out-of-towners.
the show itself was impressive as sheer spectacle. the setting of the looming hills, the immense water stage, the huge cast and the clever use of lighting was surprisingly effective. though whenever the spotlights came on, one was distracted by how heavy the rain the was. some of the effect was rather incongruous though. when the women removed their robes and danced in their skintight skintone suits, the show took an unexpected turn into the burlesque. when the performers emerged from the pitch dark with their silvery glittering costumes, the first though that popped into my head was "pirates of the caribbean." then as the line grew longer and longer, it turned into a line of ghosts, kings and ancestors.

lijiang, yangshuo

took a while to find our boat at the pier, sorry, luxury cruise liner. apparently, we were the only cheapskates with the 10 rmb lunchbox option. this was duly emphasised by the waitress who showed us a menu. our refusal to order food at inflated prices didn't endear us to her. "it's just rice with an egg and vegetables you know." "and no, the bottled mineral water isn't for your kind."
the journey was pleasant enough. got terribly sunburnt from spending most of it on the upper viewing deck. best tracks that came up on the ipod: radiohead's everything in its right place, pet shop boys' liberation, beta band's dr baker.

took 4 hours to reach yangshuo. didu (imperial city hotel) was located at the end of xijie (west street) that was conveniently close to the pier. xijie itself was reminiscent of lijiang (yunnan). the tourist hordes are here, and they're here to stay. except that it's packed into one street here: cafes, bars, rooms, restaurants with western food, artists painting your likeness on t-shirts, t-shirts with catchy and/or rude phrases, ethnic clothing, contemporary clothing and scarves and bags, tablecloths, a silversmith, foodstuff, silk blankets, tour agents, foreign language (ie english) schools, men selling flutes playing folk songs, carving on grains of rice, yak bones and egg shells, paintings, naxi knickknacks.
dinner was at peng dajie's for the local specialty: fish cooked in beer. sauce was hearty and yummy. also shuidoufu niang and a mountain of kangkong. a very reasonable 110 rmb for the meal. this was just a street away from xijie but number of laowai eating there: zero.
back to the hotel by 7.30 pm for the cormorant fishing viewing experience. [we were charged 50 rmb a head; it's double that if you don't look chinese.] the birds were attached to the boat by string and would constantly dive for fish. once in a while, the fisherman would lift a bird out of the water with a paddle and reach into its throat for the catch. also noteworthy for the huge swarm of mozzies buzzing around the naked light on the fishing boat. we watched from an adjacent vessel, feeding the mozzies which fed the fish which fed the birds which fed the fishermen. ah, the circle of life.
back to xijie after about 30 minutes. more packed than ever. glimpses of fireworks in the night sky.

guilin

despite best efforts at "free and independent" travel, still end up relying on agents for all kinds of ticketing and arrangements. on the transfer from the airport to the hotel, a guide briefed us on the dire ticket situation, pretty much for any and every activity. jolted by mild panic, we ended up booking the lijiang (river) cruise tickets as well as the day trip to longji on 6/5 with her. [the 2 lijiang cruise ticket options were: i) 430 rmb for foreign tourist treatment, including transport to the port and ii) 370 rmb for cruise plus yangshuo half-day tour. good thing this chinese couple wanted option (ii) without the tour. which turned out to be available, "but only because we're a large reputable agency," for 250 rmb and 30 rmb handling, ie rip-off, fee.]

the golden elephant hotel was conveniently located near a bus stop and a stretch of restaurants as well as opposite eponymous attraction, elephant hill. first things first, lunch: steamed catfish, baiguo duck soup, wild vegetables and guilin noodles. they certainly like their food fresh here. both the fish as well as the duck that was to travel down our gullets were handpicked and weighed. quite a few of the restaurants had these animals out front: ducks, chickens, fish, snakes, turtles, rabbits and bamboo rats. meal was rather pricey at 240 rmb for 3. i blame the duck.

the tourist attractions were a disappointment. best things about the seven star limestone cave was the 20 degree temperature. so who first came up with the descriptions for the limestone formations anyway? this has now passed into orthodoxy, the practised patter of the guides. surely there must be heretical texts out there: beneath the bounteous banyan, the dominatrix stands, ready to flick the whip on the cowering slave before her.
decided to skip elephant hill. if the entire attraction can be summed up in 2 words...
headed to fubo hill, which was ridiculously packed for a dubious attraction.
the free tourist bus 58 attracts the locals as well but isn't all that frequent. regular buses ply the same routes for 1 rmb a pop.

back to that same stretch of restaurants for dinner. curiously enough, it was the same shrink-wrapped crockery that we encountered at lunch. a crockery monopoly?? we had fish head tofu soup, tofu skin and cabbage stems, yam with fatty meat, and some snail-like creature. none of which required on-the-spot, before-our-eyes slaughtering, so it cost only about half what we paid for lunch. walked about after dinner but there was nothing particularly interesting. lots of neon lights, including a flashy flashing one for the hospital.

shanhaiguan and meng jiangnv temple (qinhuangdao, hebei)

the uncomfortably cold night was followed by a breakfast buffet (extra of course) that consisted largely of cold unappetising dishes.
our local guide was a bubbly girl jia fang, or party A in a legal document as she cheerfully informed us. we learnt from her the Big Fat Hairy Deal fact that qinhuangdao is only one of two cities named after royalty, the other being st petersburg. it was transformed from a sleepy fishing village when qinshihuang ventured here to perform some rites or other. as we travelled through the city, there was little to attract the eye, except for this: the "age of burning lives" bar. so that's what we all were, mere fodder for this age, so why not down some alcohol and burn brighter and faster?
shanhaihuan, where the great wall meets the sea, was the main attraction for the day. the specific spot is named laolongtou (old dragon head). shanhaiguan was a veritable fortress, with walls within walls and filled with traps for potential attackers. it also houses the "tianxiadiyiguan" (first pass under heaven) calligraphy, or rather the 5 versions of it. the effect though, was more akin to that of a fun-fair that's gone to seed. the game booths had stuffed toy prizes that looked as though they would rather be someplace else. the section of the reconstructed wall where one could walk upon was lined with souvenir stalls stocked with site-specific memorabilia and russian bric-a-brac. baboushka dolls anyone? the other attraction, in the loosest sense of the word, was the meng jiangnv temple. it was admirable how an entire attraction could be spun around meng's tragic tale, but even haw par villa offered more kicks. hellish dioramas beat scenes from a virtuous love story every time. given that the temple merited the top AAAA national rating, what i would dearly love to see is a single A-rated tourist attraction. how about a C-rated one? perhaps this would apply to sites with nary an attraction but lots of souvenir stalls and game booths. wait a minute.
the highlight of the day was a seafood meal we had all been looking forward to: fish, cockles, crabs, and pipixia, some variety of shrimp which was in season.
headed back to beijing after shanhaiguan, with a final change of vehicles since van no. 3 did not meet the exhaust standards and could not enter within the third ring road area. xiaosha from the travel agency and her boss were there at the handover. more profuse apologies. after picking up the expenses for the ropeway (130 rmb a head) and the meals on sunday (30/4, 20 rmb a head), we were offered (group of 11) a free trip to an attraction in the outskirts of Beijing.

panshan (tianjin)

it began badly.
an hour plus after leaving beijing, smoke started to emerge from the hood of the van. we pulled over on the side of the highway and waited for a replacement vehicle to arrive. and waited. and waited. 3.5h passed before it came. the souring mood was not helped by the vehicle which arrived - cramped and stained, and as it turned out, slow and driven by thugs.
we reached our first stop panshan (mount pan) in time for lunch. qianlong claimed that had he known about panshan, he would not have gone south of the yangtze river. guess the experience is different if you're looking at scenery from royal comfort; no wonder emperors always picked the least accessible spots to gush about. most of the original architecture was destroyed during the war with the japanese and the madness that was the cultural revolution did the rest.
the sights were what they were - calligraphy of leaders inscribed on the rock walls, man-made set-pieces for photo-taking, temples with the acrid tang of smoky incense. we made it to the peak around sunset, thanks to the tireless urging of our guide. due to the unexpected delay, we were moving against the flow of human traffic for much of the way up and were pretty much the last group on the peak. the serenity and the sunset were a welcome bonus. as we made our way down from the top, the workers who lived there were already settling down for their evening meal. we reached the second stage of the ropeway at about 8 and found that it had stopped running. the prospect of stumbling down the mountainside in the dark was not attractive, but would have capped the day off splendidly. alas, after some time, they managed to rustle up the duty personnel and reactivated the ropeway for our group to travel to the foot of the mountain.
to find our luggage taken hostage. some payment problem which had yet to be settled with the thugs who drove van no. 2, so they refused to open the door. nothing to do but stand in the dark, hungry and tired, and think warm and delicious murderous thoughts. it took about 30 minutes before a phonecall by our guide to someone further up the authority chain did the trick. van no. 3's driver turned out to be a qinhuangdao old hand and more importantly, not a thug.
by the time we reached qinhuangdao and sat down to order in a restaurant, it was past midnight. the first round of order of 11 bowls of noodles fell through when we were informed that there were no more noodles. nor dumplings. nor eggs!? they had seafood though. so we left, hungry and tired and pissed-off. good thing for 24h porridge places where we finally managed to eat.
the hotel (ocean hotel), located next to a picturesque commercial container port, was large but worn, with an air of neglect palpable in the lobby. disappointment seeped in like dankness into the lobby sofas. the room contained dubious sheets, a stained tub and a shower curtain that was really a living breathing creature.