Easy Start

My intention at the start of this trip was to start easy and I have definitely succeeded in doing so. Hong Kong was a breeze, crossing into China not a problem, and arriving in Yangshuo, aside of a 4 am arrival and being greeted by a pesky tout, travel has been easy. In part this is due to the fact that my first stop is in a place that’s well accustomed to tourists from all over the world and its not hard to find English speaking people.

Right now its pouring down rain in Yangshuo. When I got here it was quite dry, dusty, and a bit polluted. The rain is doing a good job af clearing out the air and it's really quite pleasant. Upon arrival I quickly settled into a routine. The main touristed area revolves around West Street. It’s a gaggle of shops, bars, restaurants etc. going full throttle all day and night. Not my cup of tea. Instead, I was drawn to a relatively quiet side street, not far from west street, with a row of cafe’s catering to western backpackers. I’ve eaten at 3 of the cafés but my favorite is the “Minority Café”. It’s run by 3 very hospitable young chinese minority women. The food is great and I’ve been eating almost all of my breakfast and dinners there. A big bottle of local beer is 6 yuan ($1 usd), meals on average run 30 yuan ($4 usd). The vegetable curry is probably about the best I’ve had anywhere in Asia and the stuffed snails are excellent.

Today is my fifth day in Yangshuo and I plan to leave on Tuesday. From here I will head to some small villages in the coutryside to see some rice terraces then then hop a train to Kunming for a quick stop before making my way to the border of Tibet. Rumor has it that Tibet will be closed to foreign tourist in May but Tibet travel info always seems to be inconsistent. Anyway, I think I should probably try to make arrangements sooner than later. I’ll need a permit and will have to be a part of some kind tour group. Sometimes a tour group just includes one person, yourself, and arrangements into Tibet are made by a local agency for a fee. If you book back home in west you could spend a fortune. If you arrange everything in China it can be very reasonable or even quite cheap.

In afternoon the rain abated and I went for a short hike up Moon Hill. The standard path doesn’t take you to the very top but there’s a well worn side trail that does. Naturally I took it.