Yangshuo: Li River Trip

Nicole and I are happily ensconced in hotel in Yangshuo. ("Ensconce," by the way is a silly word, often used in travel writing. It is nearly as bad as "traipse." A sconce holds a candle, and, no, we do not feel as though we've been stuffed into a candlestick. We are quite comfortable.)

We have firmly entered China's western tourist region. Yangshuo serves a backpacking and rock climbing clientele and is overrun with Australians, Germans, French, and the odd American, who is skulking, mostly to avoid the loud anti-Yankee tirades unleashed by the others.

We have gotten here thanks to a boat ride the Li River from Guilin. One of the two Chinese poets whose names I know, Li Po, has called the Li a blue silk ribbon wandering through a forest of jade pins. His description can't really be improved upon. Unless, of course, you consider the pesky fog (smog?) that has shrouded the region in haze.

In any case, if you've never seen a karst landscape, hopefully the photos give you an idea of what we're talking about. The river rolls on for miles through these curiously tall, rounded peaks, covered with lush trees and faced with stern planks of stone. Of course, this being China, you see it all from one of a line of boats that crowd the river like a fluvial traffic jam.

But a boat trip is a very fun thing. The moment we shoved off, there was tremendous excitement. We all piled to the top rail with our cameras at the ready. For the next 20 minutes we shot everything from ducks and mountains to people picking up garbage on the side of the river. Time wears. Soon, we found ourselves standing wearily on the deck. Hours later, we had retired our seats and ordered beers. Near the end, a tour guide announced that Brad Pitt was beating Angelina Jolie to death just outside the boat. No one even bothered to look up, though someone did say, "Screw you, sir. We're going to sit here, get drunk, and read our books."

Still, I like a boat ride, and Yangshuo, though neon-bathed, is a beautiful place. Karst promontories tower above it, neatly framing a small lake and graceful stone bridges. This is postcard China, but it's also no secret. Sloppy backpackers and well-heeled Chinese throng streets lined with a familiar mix of cafes, bars, pizza parlors, and stores selling "native" art. We may not do much here but take a walk around: almost every activity involves booking a tour through an agent, and they all feature hard-sells and visits to dubious attractions. At any rate, the scenery goes well with a latte.

Future note: We've decided to fly east today to take in Hong Kong and Macau, and then shoot off an extended trip/rest in Vietnam. China has been fun but exhausting. Stay tuned.