The plan for today is to take a river cruise for around 40 miles along the Li River to the town of Yangshuo - known for even better scenery than Guilin, as well as being regarded as one of the best rock climbing spots in Asia.

It transpires that a boat has departed Guilin half-full. Never seeing an opportunity pass by, our tour guide arranges with the captain to get our group on the half-full boat - with the fact that the boat is moving on the water apparently not being an insurmountable hurdle. The solution to the conundrum is in the form of a rusting narrow-boat, moored alongside a grassy bank. Before you can say 'health and safety' our coach stops and the entire tour group empties onto the creaky vessel. It catches up with the main boat and we all walk the plank linking the two craft.

The views from the cruise are spectacular, truly some of the most distinctive and awe-inspiring sights in China if not the world; we sail past a viewpoint that is famous for being the picture on the back of a 20 Yuan note. Despite the magnificence of the scenery, the Chinese seem far more interested in pictures of that other great wonder - me. I pose for no less than five separate pictures with excitable tourists, obviously keen to say to their friends and relatives: "I went to Yangshuo and I saw a white man."

My guide book informs me that the best way to experience the area is to hire a bike. I haven't ridden a bike for over seven years, but casting aside the not insignificant chance of serious injury we hire our bicycles for the day as soon as we arrive. Dodging the rickshaws, motorbikes and people brandishing sugar cane is certainly a challenge as I'm focussing very hard merely to stay on the bike.

The book was spot on and the area south of Yangshuo is perfect for exploring by bike, as we cycle by paddy fields and sweet smelling orange groves, with the stunning steep sided mountains providing a glorious backdrop. Lunch is served on a moored raft with one of the most perfect backdrops I have ever eaten a meal over. We later stop at 'Moon Hill' an rock that forms a full arch. It is said that Richard Nixon at first sight could not believe his eyes and trekked the mile up the mountain to take a closer look. We also follow the sweaty and arduous route and find a group of rock climbers traversing the inside of the arch. One climber talks to us for a bit and it turns out one of the rock climbers has spent time working for Cirque du Soleil - people travel from the world over to climb in Yangshuo. It is another excellent viewpoint, with a stunning panorama of the mountains with hot air balloons occasionally taking off.

We spend a relaxed evening exploring the town, it helps calm by beating headache and aching limbs after a long day in the sun and the saddle. Yangshuo feels overrun by tourists in a way that Guilin does not. The main street is almost exclusively souvenir shops and you could be in any country in the world - although the tat on offer here does go a step beyond - one shop offering t-shirts of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler, amongst others.