Our one bit of time outside the bustle of a city in China was in Yangshuo. This resort town rested in beautiful mountainous countryside, each karst covered in lush, green forests. The view outside our balcony was so wonderful we found it hard to get out and explore our surroundings.

We have picked up the pace recently and this was a real chance to rest in one place for a while. The weather was pleasantly warm (20C), with gorgeous sunshine throughout so we were blessed to see some spectacular views after climbing up a few hills.

The downside of visiting a beautiful place is seeing the negative impact of tourism. There were times in which both Chris and myself felt well and truly guilty for being there. Hotels are being built everywhere and areas of the river front being developed. The worst surprise for us was that a drainage ditch outside our hostel smelt bad and was full of fluff at the bottom from one of the buildings' laundry, so we decided not to continue doing our laundry after noticing in case it was our hostel.