Shanghai to Guilin

I got up nice and early and checked out, courtesy of the sleeping security guard. The metro was nice and quiet for a change, which made it easy to negotiate with my pack. I also made suprisingly good time and got to the airport way too early. Better that with an easy journey than a difficult one and be on time though.

The airport was a bit confusing to begin with, but actually made a lot of sense once I got to grips with it. My flight was not even on the board yet, so I had to wait around 30 min to find out where to check in. The next bit was straight forward and I helped myself to a satisfying club sandwhich and coffee breakfast. it was worth the expense. I then went and had a nap on the seats near my gate (the furthest away, of course). It was another little plane, but I got fed this time :-)

Upon arriving in Guilin I had to wait an age for my bag to come round. Perhaps because I was one of the first to check in? It turned up though and my heart beat returned to normal. I found the bus to the city right outside the door. Easy. Unfortunately, it didnt stop at the bus station as I had hoped, but outside the air travel office. I had to get a taxi driver to ring my hostel, because he couldnt understand the english address. He didnt charge me too much though and it was only 5 min.

The hostel was down a back alley and on the second floor. The dirty steps up did not bode well, but it was really nice. The reception was in a large lounge area with loads of comfy sofas and a pool table. The room was fine, though it lacked a locker!

It was then about 15.00, so I went out for a wander. Guilin is an interesting place. The town is a quicky expanding ugly mass of concrete, yet settled in between the bizzare and fascinating 'karst' limestone peaks. These tree covered lumps spring up all over the place in apparently random formation. Until quite recently I imagine Guilin to have been a quiet unassuming little town, but then somebody added Yangshuo, an idyllic little settlement nearby, to the lonely planet and suddenly it became the gateway to tourist paradise and accodingly sprung to life. Now it is impossible to face in a direction where you cannot see a travel agent, or a tour bus!

I returned to the hostel, booked my hostels in Yangshuo, and went out for dinner. I pointed at something that looked edible and the lady indicated the relevent tank of live fish. I had three river catfish, selected from the tank, which were deliciously flavoured if a bit tricky to eat with chopsticks! Im getting quite good at using them now, but this was beyond my level of expertise.

I booked a tour for the next day, at went to bed.