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.