We arrived in Yangshuo and I was blown away by how pretty it was. It was perched on the edge of the Lee River. There were narrow lanes lined with shops boutiques and restaurants which all looked amazing, and canals and ponds everywhere filled with with giant lily pads and lotus flowers, criss crossed by ornate bridges. The whole place had such a nice feel to it. It took me all of ten minutes to decide I loved it and declare it the best place in China. And one if my favourite places ever. Lots of "travellers" hate it and say its too touristy but that's part of why I loved it. Everything was so clean and landscaped. And the whole town was surrounded by huge limestone casts that they lit at night. There were loads of outdoor activities on offer, lots of really cool bars and clubs and all the western comforts (mc Donald's and KFC). But just 10 minutes out of the centre you were in the country and it really felt like the real China. We got to our hotel technically a bed and breakfast Sam's bed and Breakfast to be presice. It was about a 10 minute walk out of the busy part, in a quieter residential area. I felt like i had wondered into someone's house which essentially we had. Sam's mum greeted us and called Sam to came down to meet us. Straight away I knew that we had picked the right place. They made us feel so welcome. Sam was so happy and enthusiastic about everything .He was the same age as me but looked much younger (its probably that i just look much older than i am - I've had a hard life years of making coffee and now all this travelling). He was clearly the sporty outdoorsy type (obviously code for fit tanned and muscly). It felt more like you were catching up with a friend rather than checking in. Within half an hour Sam had already planned our days for us. Eventually he showed us to our room and it was amazing. The biggest room we've had so far with a polished wooden floor and wall to wall windows overlooking the town with the giant casts in the background. It was by far the best room we have stayed in. After months of travelling for the first time it felt like we were actually on holiday.
After a little nap we wondered into town and found a local cafe, i had a large beer and egg fried rice which was delicious and cost less than £2. We got back to Sam's and asked if we could extend our two days and stay for a week. I wanted to ask if I could just move in. But managed to resist.