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We heard Dan get up around 7AM to go to the bus station. His friend “Ice” – the young woman who had worked at the 15th floor bar in Changsha – was supposed to be arriving in Yangshuo and Dan had offered to help her find a room. It turned out that she didn’t get in until closer to 11:00.
Chris, Judy and I went out to do some shopping. A bunch of stalls were set up along Binjiang Road, which runs along the Lijiang river. They sell everything from silk pajamas to hand-painted scrolls and fans to trinkets and trash. We discovered that once you’ve bought something, you are marked as a serious shopper and get mobbed by all the vendors. They follow you down the street, shouting lower and lower prices for things you never wanted in the first place. All starting prices are at least twice what you should pay. The most amusing example was a shoeshine guy. The fact that we were all wearing sandals or flip flops didn’t seem to dissuade him at all.
We walked along the river, where the view is truly spectacular: go to http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172069162/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539 for all our Yangshuo shots. There are a ton, enough to need to buy another memory card and video cassette. While sightseeing, we were approached by a woman hawking “bamboo boat” tours of the Lijiang, which sounded good. Judy talked her down to 40 yuan/head but explained that we would have to come back later, when they boys returned.
After shopping & walking around, we went to get Adam & had lunch at the Belleview Café, a scenic restaurant perched above a small waterfall overlooking the river, and just across the street from our hotel. Dan showed up as we were finishing up. He’d gotten Ice into a hotel and was going to bring her by.
We met again in mid-afternoon, this time with Ice, and all went down to the river to check out boat rides. The big cruise boats were 160 yuan each, which made the bamboo boats look even better. We went back to the bamboo boat lady and she got us two boats. The “bamboo boats” we rode in aren’t really bamboo, but rather tubes of aluminum – probably 8” in diameter, strapped together to form a floor. The ends of the tubes are bent up slightly. A few wicker seats, a slot for a beach umbrella, and an outboard motor attached a propeller via a 6’ shaft complete the boats. It wouldn’t be tough to make one of these.
We cruised upriver – Judy and I in one boat, Ice and the boys in the other. The view from the river is even more impressive than from the shoreline. We passed tourists and locals playing in the shallows, and within minutes were away from the city. Here, we saw water buffalo and real bamboo boats poled by fishermen… plus an unobstructed view of both the town and the natural beauty around us.
When we got back, more shopping, dinner, a pedicure for Judy (over an hour for 35 yuan), and everyone on their own for the rest of the evening.
Chris, Judy and I went out to do some shopping. A bunch of stalls were set up along Binjiang Road, which runs along the Lijiang river. They sell everything from silk pajamas to hand-painted scrolls and fans to trinkets and trash. We discovered that once you’ve bought something, you are marked as a serious shopper and get mobbed by all the vendors. They follow you down the street, shouting lower and lower prices for things you never wanted in the first place. All starting prices are at least twice what you should pay. The most amusing example was a shoeshine guy. The fact that we were all wearing sandals or flip flops didn’t seem to dissuade him at all.
We walked along the river, where the view is truly spectacular: go to http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172069162/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539 for all our Yangshuo shots. There are a ton, enough to need to buy another memory card and video cassette. While sightseeing, we were approached by a woman hawking “bamboo boat” tours of the Lijiang, which sounded good. Judy talked her down to 40 yuan/head but explained that we would have to come back later, when they boys returned.
After shopping & walking around, we went to get Adam & had lunch at the Belleview Café, a scenic restaurant perched above a small waterfall overlooking the river, and just across the street from our hotel. Dan showed up as we were finishing up. He’d gotten Ice into a hotel and was going to bring her by.
We met again in mid-afternoon, this time with Ice, and all went down to the river to check out boat rides. The big cruise boats were 160 yuan each, which made the bamboo boats look even better. We went back to the bamboo boat lady and she got us two boats. The “bamboo boats” we rode in aren’t really bamboo, but rather tubes of aluminum – probably 8” in diameter, strapped together to form a floor. The ends of the tubes are bent up slightly. A few wicker seats, a slot for a beach umbrella, and an outboard motor attached a propeller via a 6’ shaft complete the boats. It wouldn’t be tough to make one of these.
We cruised upriver – Judy and I in one boat, Ice and the boys in the other. The view from the river is even more impressive than from the shoreline. We passed tourists and locals playing in the shallows, and within minutes were away from the city. Here, we saw water buffalo and real bamboo boats poled by fishermen… plus an unobstructed view of both the town and the natural beauty around us.
When we got back, more shopping, dinner, a pedicure for Judy (over an hour for 35 yuan), and everyone on their own for the rest of the evening.
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