As we arrived in yangshou it was like something out of a film with karsts rising out of the ground and rice fields as far as the eye could see! We jumped in a tuk tuk and asked him to take us to a hotel we were recommended to called the giggling tree. We started on a smooth little lane which then turned into a dirt track…holding on for dear life!

When we arrived at the hotel it was a beautiful old converted barn in the foothills were water buffalos wandered the lanes! We rented bikes and headed up to a place called moon hill, unsurprisingly it was a big hill with a moon shaped hole in the middle of it! On our way back from the moon hill we bumped into a guy we met previously in china and a few other guys where we arranged to meet later for a few games of 'beer pong!' (This place was like a little travelers village as later we bumped into another girl we had also met in X'ian!)

After a heavy night in monkey janes, the reigning champions awoke and met the others to go into the famous water caves and mud baths! It was quite what we expected but we had an excellent day, wallowing in the mud and then washing off in the 'luke' warm baths! Unfortunately Shelly got a flat tyre on her bike so we adopted some strategic balancing position on the back of Richard's bike and we made it home just before dusk!

When we headed into town that night it was already dark and we got a few laughs and looks as we went to get the bikes. They handed us some head torches and we set off into the wilderness in the pitch black! It was more entertaining on the way home after a few games of beer pong, with Shelly doing so well until the last turn where she ploughed into a ditch just outside our hotel!

The next day we decided that 4 legs were better than 2 and we opted for a tandem bike…we looked like something out of the sound of music, riding through the foothills! We made our way up to the river that runs through Yangshou and boarded a bamboo raft, it as so pretty as we drifted down the river for a good couple of hours…even conquering a few waterfalls!

The next day our bums were too sore to even contemplate another push bike so we decided to take advantage of the scooters available to hire…we opted for a very speedy electric number…..20 mph max! Without a map in sight we set out find the famous dragon bridge…apparently very easy to find! After asking a few locals we finally managed to find the bridge and stopped for a picnic! The way back however was much more of an adventure! With Rich as per usual believing he has an in built sat nav and with the several failed attempts to get the bike over the dragon bridge we set off through a rice field….much to shelly's dismay but as she was paying little attention apart from taking pictures of water buffalo off we went! The locals looked on as rich persisted to make his own riute through the rice paddy….shelly had fallen off a few hundred meters back so was dragging her feet behind! After a local bribing us to go back with two melons we accepted the bribe and headed back to the so called road…..a dirt track with pot holes as big as craters all the way back to Yangshou!

Our final day in Yangshou started with us enrolling in a local cookery school….very hung over thanks to a Chinese dice game we had learnt and consequently lost the night before! It started with our guide taking us to the local market to buy the ingredients we were going to cook with…there were many delicacies on offer including fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, and as in any standard market live bunnys, chickens and dogs for your culinary delights! We learnt 5 different delicious Chinese dishes and settled down for a feast afterwards to enjoy our morning of hard work!

That evening we took to the river to witness the coolest fishing trip ever seen….with some very lazy fishermen! They have trained brids that dive in the water and return to the boat with mouths full of fish!!! The river was so clear you could see them dive under the boat and catch the fish mid swim!