Don't worry or go to the bathhouse! China-2017. Part 15. The road to paradise.
Fenghuang-Longsheng-Dazhai 2017-06-0.07 >
I wanted to wake up early, go to the river, admire the fog and the comparative desertion. But the body did not want to hear about such loads. He woke up and refused to get out of bed. The best I could persuade him to do was to crawl out onto the terrace and, while drinking coffee with excellent sandwiches, relax in an armchair, watching the morning river, which was completely fog-free and far from deserted.
Well, sometimes it’s worth listening to yourself and not tearing your veins, we have already seen Fenghuang, but we didn’t want to leave the race in the new province at all. Rest so rest. The view pleases, the coffee is delicious, the sandwiches are beyond praise.
We are going, at 10 am we call a taxi through the reception, it is better to wait at the station. And it begins. . .
No in 10 minutes, no in 15, no in 20. My brain starts to figure out what to do if we miss the bus, whether to go to the train station in Jishou or stay in Fenghuang for another day. And so, and so 1 day is lost, then it’s better to stay than to get on trains with transfers. Although, no, if you travel by train, you only lose the morning of tomorrow, and this is already something, you can just cut the time on the terraces where we are going now, and not throw away the whole day, sacrificing hot springs.
We are waiting for a taxi, thinking and watching how the horse walks up and down the stairs.
But the heavens took pity on us and the taxi still came. We arrive at the bus station, the time is still quite sane. I praise myself that I started calling the car so early. We change the receipt for tickets, find our gate, or as it is called by the buses, according to the signs. At the bus station, everything is clear, even if you do not know Chinese. We just look at the hieroglyphs on the ticket and compare them with the hieroglyphs on the signs. Hieroglyphs of Guilin look like a forest
Which is not at all surprising, because Lin is the forest in Chinese.
As a last resort, if something is not clear, we show the ticket to the Chinese they will drop their business and take you by the hand.
Today we are leaving Hunan Province and moving to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The journey is entering its second phase. The region where we are heading can be conditionally called "Guilin", the rice terraces of the Dragon Ridge and the karst hills of Yangshuo are waiting for us there. As well as hot springs in Nithan village. They say there is a proverb in China: "There is nothing more beautiful than the scenery of Guilin anywhere else under the sky. "
And I'll tell you - YES!
We couldn't close our mouths with admiration anyway, and in the vicinity of Guilin it just blows the roof off.
I understand that there are still many places in China where very beautiful landscapes and ancient cities will be no worse than we have seen, but I still consider our trip magnificent, very eventful and optimal for the first visit to China. The logistics are simple, described many times and in detail, the beauty of the AAAAA level (this is the Chinese classification of attractions. Five A is the highest score), accessible to any level of physical fitness and quite moderate in spending. The only thing that can upset is those landscapes that are presented on the Internet, taken from a height and very photoshopped. It is unlikely that you will be able to see exactly the same picture.
The bus leaves almost empty, there are barely a dozen passengers. It takes 7 hours to go to Guilin, 5 hours to Longsheng. We leave at exactly 11, after about half an hour all the Chinese put on masks and fall asleep. I do the same, I always have a mask with me. And earplugs. In China, these things are generally irreplaceable.
The whole cabin snores peacefully for about three hours, then the bus stops, drops people off and goes to the gas station. Shop, boiling water, tables, toilet. . . The passenger area is quite far from the gas station itself, so you can smoke. People are dispersing, someone is having lunch, someone has gone to the toilet, someone is smoking or just stretching their legs. After about 20 minutes, the driver comes for us and leads everyone to the bus. He opens the door. . and from there a gaping passenger jumps out like a hare with a question:
-Where's the toilet?!?
He slept so soundly that he did not hear when everyone left. And then I woke up, but the door was already locked and there was no one... The poor man endured 20 minutes)
We are waiting for him to trot on urgent matters, the Chinese take out their thermoses, drink tea. We do the same. Every Chinese always has a thermos with him. Save money on tea or steam noodles) And it was very convenient for us to drink coffee on the road, because in China you can not find it everywhere.
Finally, let's move on.
The road pleases, the green mountains are replaced by rice fields, and the driver behaves decently, does not smoke on the move, does not spit and does not bellow.
I can see on the map that Longsheng is not far away and I start collecting my belongings.
Wherever I go, if the trip promises to be more than two hours, I make a nest for myself. A rectangular inflatable pillow is designed for swimming, but how it always helps me out on land! ) It can be under the back, under the side, cover it with bulges such as armrests, or hardness such as a wall. The second thing in importance is the stole. Most often, a warm large scarf is used, which can be wrapped up from the cold, but at this moment, a light Indonesian pareo is used, of which I once brought countless. I always take both stoles with me - both warm and cotton. When you want to fall asleep in the seat of a bus or plane, even if there is no one around, you still experience inconvenience. The hand will slip, then the leg. So I came up with a pareo to use for swaddling myself. I wrapped my hand in the edge of the fabric and it does not fall off the fixed position even when shaking. What else is required for the "nest" is a backpack. I put it under my feet so that they do not swell. If there is a free place nearby, I sit with my back to the window, a pillow under my back, a backpack on a nearby chair under my feet, a mask and earplugs in places, and lightly wrap myself in a stole. That's it, I'm ready to go as long as I want. Everyone has their own comfort, I have this one, sleeping)
Warm socks are also often useful. I always take off my shoes on the road, and when I sleep, my feet get cold)
Well, since we are talking about useful things, the most important thing for China is wet sanitary napkins. Hands, legs, tail - rub, don't forget! )
Only we left in Longsheng, at 15:55, which means we have time everywhere. This is an exciting moment, just before the trip I had information that the bus might be late and local buses would no longer go to the rice terraces. We discussed this issue with Nadya, and out of two options, staying overnight in Longsheng or taking a taxi to Dazhai, we chose the second. The hotel on the terraces is already booked, it is impossible to cancel the reservation in a day, and even more so it is impossible to do it on the day of arrival. So, having calculated the possible expenses for a taxi, we decided to get to the place for any money.
We got out right in the middle of the street, crossed the road and went in the direction of travel to look for the bus station.
Looking ahead, I’ll say that we found the bus station only on our third visit to Longsheng, and now we’ve reached the bus standing on the side of the road, and started asking the locals where to find the bus to Dazhai. We were shown the direction and we went across the bridge, completely in the opposite direction from the bus station.
To see the rice terraces of the Dragon Range, you need to go to either Ping'an or Dazhai. We chose the latter for two reasons. Firstly, there is a cable car, and secondly, the way there is described on the Internet in more detail, although, for sure, the same bus goes from Longsheng to Ping'an as it did to Dazhai, and hardly any tourist gets lost in this area. Tourist places in China are famous for good logistics and insane prices.
Behind the bridge, without turning anywhere, we go along the street and see a small, old bus. The conductor loads our suitcases into the luggage compartment, we sit down, the bus is packed with locals. There are no European faces besides us.
It's a very short ride. A little more than an hour and we will be in Dazhai. The entrance to the protected area is marked by a checkpoint and ticketers. The ticket costs 95 yuan. You don’t need to get off the bus, the ticket attendant goes right into the bus and snatches tourists from the crowd with a trained eye. Well, we are, it's hard not to recognize us, but how do they calculate Chinese tourists? )
Grandmother in military uniform pleases with color.
They say that there is a left-luggage office for those who do not want to carry things but want to deprive local porters of their earnings. I didn’t see it myself, so the prices are only from other people’s words - you need to pay 30 yuan for a suitcase, which is much cheaper than carrying suitcases with you, because porters take 50 yuan one way.
When the ticket is already in your hands, then it's time to start getting aesthetic pleasure. Therefore, magnificent pictures begin outside the window. A mountain road winds like a serpentine, nearby, a mountain river rushes into the gorge, sometimes it powerfully rolls over the rapids, foaming with red rams and bucking on the stones, and at times it lazily spreads, capturing the lowlands into its captivity.
The mountains around are covered with forests, apparently the road was cut artificially in the mountain, exposing the lacerated wounds of the stone through which water flows with varying intensity. In some places, it lazily rolls down only moistening the stone, making it shine in the sun, and in some places it impudently flows in waterfalls, rushing straight onto the road and splashing with cheerful rainbows.
Waterfalls appear here and there, now jumping under our wheels, now importantly falling in the distance, among the green mountains. The bus rushes, not allowing them not only to photograph, but even to fix in memory. I lean out the window excitedly, shaking my head, trying to film.
Oh my God! I'm in heaven!
This road is certainly worthy to drive slowly, stopping or at least slowing down in the most beautiful places. But a bus and even a taxi will not give such an opportunity. And renting a car in China will not work. Therefore, I eagerly catch these crazy views, and the smells of moisture, and the sounds of water, and my own feeling of delight, saving up for the future, so that later I can slowly savor the memories on long winter evenings or in moments of decline, when pictures of past pleasure give strength and decorate everyday life. < br />
We arrive at the gates of Dazhai at 17:30. Porters in national costumes and with large baskets on their backs rush to us with offers for 40 yuan to take the suitcase upstairs to the hotel. The hotel we booked is quite high, for a healthy person, without things, it takes about an hour to walk. I don't want to go at all. I want to go. I ask the porter, who took a turn, how much a taxi costs. She speaks a mixture of simple English and Chinese words. We understand each other easily.
- It's very expensive!
-Not expensive at all!
- My friends rode for 80 yesterday.
- No, no one will go for 80, for 80 let me carry your suitcases myself.
- No, we won't go on foot.
- Then 150 yuan.
We lose interest in her and sit down on a bench to drink coffee, look around and think.
Immediately another bus pulls up, on which all the porters are distracted. With a mug I wander around among those who have arrived and meet, look into the eyes of men with keys, but I don’t speak to anyone, I drink my coffee and sit down on the bench again. The area is quickly emptying, everyone who could find a job ran to the mountains, and those who could not go home. A woman comes up to us and tells us in a conspiratorial voice that we will be able to go with her in 80, only we need to wait 10 minutes.
-Of course we'll wait! 80 is 2 people? - I specify so that there are no omissions.
-Yes, 2 people and all luggage.
After 15 minutes, we are loaded into a large SUV, with us 3 more Chinese tourists, our woman and a bunch of suitcases. We reach some patch, this is not the end of the road, but the car does not go further. The driver and the woman each take our suitcases on their shoulders and say that it costs 10 yuan per suitcase. Our contract more expensive than moneydoes not imply additional expenses, I also stipulated below that 80 is for everything. But the situation is exactly this - either carry the suitcase yourself, or pay 10 yuan. The amount is small, it's ridiculous to bargain. Carrying your suitcases up the stairs while saving 10 yuan is even funnier. We nod that we agree.
We walk a little along the road, then sharply down the stairs, between the hotels, of which there are a huge number, we go out to our own, standing right on the slope. The hotel is ours with English speaking staff and a crazy view of the rice terraces.
Of course, it was possible to settle in Dazhai itself, very close from the bus and on a flat road, but we came here to enjoy the dragon's backbone. Therefore, we quickly make out, bring in our things and go out on the terrace to smoke and meditate.
A beautiful sunset lights up, coloring the water-flooded terraces in soft pink.
I jump like a goat, taking hundreds of identical pictures. The sunset shines, gushes with colors, greets us, lures us into its fabulous phantasmagoria, captivates us.
- Nadia, we are in China! We are in China! Yyyy!
As soon as the sunset faded, the sky darkened and night fell. Like the lights were turned off.
What to do on the rice terraces when it gets dark? Of course eat and drink! A colorful cafe on the first floor of the hotel with soft pillows and delicious food. I don’t remember what kind of meat we ordered, maybe chicken or duck, I remember that the meat was not very cheap and very bony. That is, finely chopped bones with a small amount of meat. Deliciously prepared. The meat was traditionally taken with fried potatoes and cold cucumbers. Beer completed the pleasure of the day. We have been on the road all day, but there is no fatigue. A pleasant, tireless road led us to a chic place. The rice terraces of Dragon Ridge are beautiful, we'll go see them tomorrow in the morning.
Don't switch! )
