Guilin, in the beautiful Guangxi province, is the hub for seeing all the surrounding countryside. The city itself didn't have much to offer so i only spent a day there. I met 2 nice people in the hostel though, Teague from Bristol and Leonie from Holland (yet another dutch friend!).

We went to a local park in which they had a new Panda Zoo! The 2 Pandas had an amazing new outside encloser - but where were they - sitting inside eating! I was determined to make the most of my Panda experience so sat with them for a whole hour - but it turns out they don't actually do much! I watched one eat bamboo for about 45 minutes, then just as i thought he was about to make a move, he rolled over and fell asleep in the same spot he had been eating!!! Very cute though!

The next day me and Leonie travelled together to the next town,Yangshuo, via the River Li. This trip costs about 400 Yuan if you book the organised tour which we couldn't afford. However there was a chinese girl, Dawn, staying in pur hostel who was also going to Yangshuo. She could speak some english so invited us to go with her via local transport! On the journey no one spoke a word of English and we could definitely not have done it without Dawn! It was so good of her because we were probably a bit of a burden - whenever it came to paying for something Dawn would get in an arguement with the driver over prices and they'd point at us - but she still managed to get us good deals! We took a local bus out of Guilin (10Y), mini-van to the river (1/2Y), bamboo raft down the river for 4 hours (33Y), truck to the nearest town (3Y), local bus to Yangshuo (5.5Y) = a whole days travelling costing 53 Yuan! So cheap! The river trip was beautiful! The endless limestone karsts were breathtaking and the fact that we were just drifting slowing past them on a raft was brilliant!

Lunch was an interesting experience! Whilst we were waiting, the cook came out from the kitchen in the back with a live chicken and killed it in front of us. I guess to show us it was fresh! This happened out 4 times in total - probably everytime someone ordered chicken! It wasn't as horrific as i thought it would be but still not pleasant whilst your eating! I hadn't ordered anything so ended up just having green tea!

Im now in Yangshuo with Teague and Leonie. My plan for the next few days is to stay here and explore the local countryside - if it stops raining! Hope you're enjoying the heat in England!

Love
Sophie
xxx