Alison: As with Guilin, Yangshou didn't initially look exactly how the guidebooks had described it. We rolled in to a dusty old bus station and I had my first doorless toilet experience. Normally I run straight out of those toilets but almost 2 months in to China and I was less horrified at squatting with such a lack of privacy. I think I'm getting the hang of this travelling malarkey now :-) Don't worry though, I won't be leaving the door open when I get back!

The hostel that we were staying in was something quite unique and is a very popular choice amongst travellers so we were lucky to get a room though we had to make do without an ensuite bathroom. It is called The Culture House and it is run by a Chinese family. It is full board and they welcome you in to their family as though you are friends. For meal times you sit down with all the other travellers at a set time and dine together. The food was delicious and there was plenty of it. It was good to sit down with other people to talk though it could be a bit much when you were tired and just wanted to sit quietly. For breakfast you would sit in the kitchen with the family and all intently sit and watch Chinese dramas. The Chinese love action dramas and there doesn't seem to be any kind of watershed for programmes......I was quite put off my toast one morning watching a fighting sequence ending in a decapitation! The hostel also runs courses in things such as cooking, language and tai chi though unfortunately we didn't have time to take part.

Yangshou town is ok. It is very touristy with lots of tourist shops which do get a bit monotonous after a while. It has the most picturesque McDonalds I have ever seen though! It had a small lake in front of it and the most beautiful mountains behind it. The best parts of Yangshou can be seen when you cycle around it. It's hard to describe the feeling you get when cycling through the mountains and corn fields. It had such a feeling of relaxation which was only slightly spoilt by Nigel's attempts to race me! One day we cycled to a cave called The Moon Cave. You have to get a small canoe style boat into the cave. The entrance is so small that you have to lean forward as much as possible when entering so you don't hit your head. Inside there is a variety of different types of rocks to be seen but the main draw is the different natural pools you can go in. There is a cold spring which hardly anyone went in but us! There is a hot spring which was really nice. The best is the natural mud bath which is so thick that when you lie on it you just float! I was quite reserved getting in. Smearing the mud gently over my skin and carefully putting it on my face. Nigel just went in head first! Our skin was very soft after that one. I would definitely recommend it!  

Nigel: One of the days in Yangshou was taken up by half cyclying and half going down the Yulong River by bamboo raft. We were told that it was a bit difficult to find the river from our hostel so we orginsed for a guide to show us where to go. So we set off on the on push bikes following the guide down the road, but he wasn't quiet playing ball as he was on his motor bike, so trying to keep up with him was very difficult. By the end we were going that fast that we were asked to enter the Chinese Olympic cycling team. When we did eventually make it, it was not long before we were setting off down the slow but busy river as this is very popular activity. As you descend down stream you come across a precession of minny water falls, which all but one you are able to stay on the raft whilst you go down them. The other one you have to get off and then they perch the raft precariously on the side and then push it down. The height was similliar to the Nigera falls.... About 10 minutes into the journey our ores man asked if we wanted the our umbrella down, so we agreed but we thought we could put it back up when we got hot. It didn't queit work out as we had planned though as when we asked for it back up he said no... Fair enough, end of that conversation. We did get many stares from other fellow rafters, as we were the only ones with our umbrella down. The strangest part of the journey was every so often there would be raft that sold food and drinks, and some even had fridges, cookers and tables & chairs. We got to end 1 1/2 hours later a little burnt but it was well worth it as the scenery was amazing.

As mentioned in our last entry we had come this way to see the Cormorant fishing which is on the advert. This method of fishing does not take place any more as modern techniques have made it redundant, but they keep the show going for the tourist. We booked what we thought was a taxi thorugh the hostel to take us to the show, but it end up that we were both given a lift on two seprate scooters from the oweners of the hostel. We were given no helmets to wear and just told to hold on to the side. It was ok but we did get a little nevroues when they were doing 70mph and puling wheelies. The boat trip taskes place at night on the Li River and it is well worth the money. You follow another boat which has the fishingman and his birds and it is all lit up so it very easy to see. At the end of the trip they take you to the side of the river and you see the fish they have caught and your able to meet the fisherman. The image of peace and tranquillity that you get on the HSBC advert was a little shattered half way thorough as he decide to pull a packet of cigarettes out and light up while he was fishing.

We did have a little scare whilst we were there. As during our travels we have been saving our pictures on to a memory stick. One day we went to open it and it came up with warning virus and the files started to be wiped. Luckily we think we still have them so we might still be able to recover them.