2/21/2010 ? Bike Ride in Yangshuo

I awoke reluctantly in the morning for an early shower and breakfast. One thing that was special this morning was that the hotel was expecting to have no electricity from 8am-1pm. This meant that no warm water, or light in the bathroom would be available after eight. I waited until 7:45 to knock on the bathroom door and remind my roommate that I too would like a shower. After my quick shower and scramble downstairs with all my stuff (also our check out day) I got some breakfast. Now the time was about 8:15am and there was still electricity. However, during breakfast the power did shut off. There were windows so it wasn’t bad. I finished and went out to meet the rest of the group.

Today we were going to rent bicycles and pedal around Yangshuo. As we went out into the street to get the bicycles we met some other SAS students on bicycles who had traveled independently to the area. After chatting a bit we went and got our own bikes. I chose a nice single speed cruiser, which was perfect for the flat valley.

We braved the city traffic and went onto a nice little country road. First we stopped at a field of gape seeds that was in bloom. Tall stalks of yellow flowers filled the field and met the tall green rock mountains that shoot up from the ground. Nearby was a bee farm and honeybees were everywhere in the field.

Next we went to a farmer’s house and saw their one room building with cloth hanging in the open window. They had one main piece of furniture, their TV. Behind the house was a small river. It was very wide and had little current. Many people were out on their bamboo rafts to fish, relax, or socialize.

After the little house we went to a small village where we could get some water. We saw a man with two monkeys chained to his belt. It was a sorry sight to see an animal so similar to humans be chained and dressed in funny clothes. The man who was their master had a small stick, which he used to hit their butts when they did not stand or do as they were told. When the stick was brought out, the monkey’s facial expressions changed to fear, and dislike.

Up the road a vender was selling kumquats. I had one for the first time and it was delicious.

Then we were on our bikes again. This time we went to a park and saw a banyan tree that was 1400 years old. It was all decorated for the New Year too. This large tree was magnificent and held a high value to many in the area, for religious reasons and basic pride. 

After the banyan tree we returned to the city. Riding the bikes was perfect though. You could see everything and feel the interaction between yourself and the area. I could feel the wind in my hair and smell each different thing we passed. It was an amazing and wonderful experience; the perfect thing to end our stay in Yangshuo. When we returned the bikes we got on the bus and left for the airport to fly into Hong Kong where the MV Explorer was waiting for us.