Yangshuo, China... one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Our vacation began Friday night. We left by sleeper bus from Zhongshan to Yangshuo, an 11 hour ride. Sleeper buses. Hmm. Three rows of bunk beds, all way to small for any American. They are certainly made for Chinese people. The bedding was damp. I'm sure it was nothing but the humidity, but in the moment... your imagination really gets the best of you. So you would think that being on a sleeper bus, this would involve sleep, but rather... we were entertained by the Chinese Opera on TV until 1:00 am. I had a top bunk and the television screen was placed right above me, just one bunk ahead. I had my headphones in trying to eliminate the majority of the sound, and when I took them out I couldn't believe how loud they were playing this opera, and the funny thing is... no one was watching it. Oh China. About an hour into our ride I realized how badly I needed to use the facilities. The next time I would have access to one would be at the stop they make at midway. I don't think I've ever had to go so bad in my life. Oh my, so once we got to the bathroom stop, as much as I didn't want to get out and go because of how gross I was imagining it would be... I did. I had to. And... It was definitely as gross as I imagined it and more. I will skip the details, but I will say... it was a great experience. I say that about everything now... whether I want to experience it again or not... it makes me feel better about it. Despite all that, and besides the weird Chinese man that was always staring at me, one bunk away every time I rolled over... the second half of the ride was much smoother sailing than the first.

We awoke upon arrival close to 5:00 am. We were dropped off, not at a station but just on the side of the road in the wet mist. It was still dark out, but light enough to be able to see a quite obvious change of scene. The silhouettes of the mountains were gorgeous and it wasn't even light out yet. We were approached by an English speaking man who inquired of us where it was we needed to go. We told him Monkey Jane's Hostel and he said he could get us there by taxi for 60 yuan.10 for each of us. It was a rip off, and we knew it... but it was early, dark, wet, and the streets were deserted. We felt like it was our only option. So we waited a moment, for our 'taxi' but none came. A covered motor buggy pulled up however, and the man motioned for us to get on... so, we did. He took us to Monkey Jane's where we woke up the receptionist and ended up not even checking in yet for fear they would charge us for that night. We walked down the stone streets just before sunrise and marveled at the mountains surrounding the city. It was beautiful! At 8 o'clock we checked into our 6 bed bunk suite :) … and started the day. MUD CAVES, first event on the agenda. We didn't want to loose any time... we only had 3 days in Yangshuo so we booked our mud caves adventure with the hostel just an hour or so after we checked in. We went with another American couple and had a fantastic time. Our transportation there made it an epic trip. There were 9 of us crammed into the smallest van I've ever seen. Jam, Abs and I were in the very back seat and the whole back panel of the thing was coming off. The seats flew every time we hit a bump. Ha. It was so much fun. The mud was cold... very cold... but it was worth it. We dove in, swam around in the mud, took some pictures... loved it. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures because we couldn't take camera's in... but we bought a couple prints. The caves were absolutely phenomenal, and the hot springs following were even more wonderful. Since we got here I have been saying how wonderful a hot tub would be... and those hot springs just hit the spot. It was cold, they were warm... and it felt marvelous. The bus ride out there and back was breathtaking.

We spent the majority of our Easter Sunday on the Li River. We bartered with a sweet little lady on West Street whose husband does bamboo raft rides. It was a steal! For 4 hours on the Li river, surrounded by stunning mountain formations on a cool overcast day with a cute little man and good company , we paid 20 yuan each. Which is about $3.50. The surroundings are astonishing! I have never felt so small in my entire life, just being surrounded by God's beautiful creations and being encompassed by it all. It wasn't a super clear day unfortunately, which made it hard to see the endless Gui Mountain peaks, there are so many it's unbelievable, but the river was clean. Not just compared to other rivers in China. It was very clear...we could see all the way to the bottom. A beautiful day indeed. On our way back, our driver stopped at a small village along the river. It was so great. There were chickens everywhere. We saw a mother hen with about 8 of her little chicks. It was so sweet, especially being Easter Sunday that was kind of fun. I love the little villages that we visit with the stone pathways, brick buildings, and the sweet people that inhabit them. It's so amazing. These people are so happy and appear so content. They have no technology at all. There were a number of open doorways we passed by with women just sitting and making food together, playing with their children. Abs and I were thinking how neat of an experience it would be to go and live there with them, and do what they do for a period of time. Imagine all the things that we would learn from them.

Monday was certainly a day worth mentioning.... Sunday night we were visiting with Peter, the receptionist at our hostel and Jaimie and Jillian asked him if there was any way we could go horseback riding along the river and he said he could maybe try but not likely, and if we did it would be expensive. So rather, he suggested that we ride a water buffalo. Naturally, we were all game for that. He told us to meet him at 10 o'clock in the lobby Monday morning, so we did! But not really knowing for sure if we'd be able to really ride a water buffalo. Sure enough though, Peter was ready to take us out to a water buffalo so we rented petal bikes and scooters and we rode out to the country side outside of the city a ways. It was soooo beautiful. The day Monday was less drabby and actually quite nice. A little chilly, light jacket weather but those came off not far into our bike ride. Peter rode his motorcycle at the front and we all followed behind to a smaller village just outside of Yangshuo where we met up with a friend of his, the most adorable little man I have yet to see in China. You'll understand once the pictures get posted. He was there with his water buffalo, Anyo. We each paid 10 yuan each to ride Anyo and take pictures with them. Most of us just wanted pictures of the little man, whose name unfortunately I cannot remember, and he LOVED it. I think we made him feel really good with our little photo op. :)

After leaving there, Peter wanted to take us up a little further to his hometown to show us his home and his garden. Because of all the rain the day before, our trek was more intense than we'd anticipated. A lot of it was uphill and suuuuper muddy. Four of the girls on scooters actually slid in the mud. Two shared a scooter, and two of the scooters had a hard time in the mud. Kind of really funny. Some thought it was more funny than others. I was so grateful I had a petal bike. It was really nice though, biking, enjoying the breeze and the views. We got to Peter's village and we saw his home and where he lives, and his massive gardens. It was so neat. He had beautiful gardens with tons of trees and plants. He makes a living off of selling the fruit and vegetables that he grows. Our favorite were the Kumquats. I've never had them before now, but they are like little cuties only you eat the entire thing....skin and all, and the skin is actually more sweet than the inside. Mmmm. They are so delicious.

It was really great to be able to spend the day in the country side and have our own little guided tour free of charge by a friend. And we got to visit his home and learn about him and his life and see what kind of things he does. I think it made him really happy too, to be able to take us all and show us what he holds dear to him, the things he is proud of. We didn't get to meet his family but we would have loved to. When we left, he told us all that he loved us. Ha. Oh Peter.

That night, we walked around and enjoyed the city a bit more. The city is striking and very authentic. It is filled with tourists... but the draw isn't the quaint city... it's the natural beauty all around it.

Our sleeper bus home left at 8 o'clock and it was a much more relaxed trip home than it was there. I'm really just pleased that I didn't have to use another bathroom at an early morning pit stop again. As always, it was so great to get home to Zhongshan.