Don't worry or go to the bathhouse! China-2017. Part 20. A dream in its purest form.
Guilin - Yangshuo 2017-06-1.11 14 day
Rare morning meets us with the sun on this trip. And now again this is not the case. The rain is falling lightly, but annoyingly.
Oh no, I didn't start like that. Annoying rain, this is when in Kyiv you get cold on New Year's Eve at +8, because the rain hits your face and dampness makes its way even under the warmest clothes. In Guilin, the summer rain, of course, made us wet, but enveloped us in warmth and bliss. It is an incredible pleasure to walk among the palm trees and get wet under a drizzling, hot dozhik.
Summer!
In China!
No, no, the rain that day was not bothersome.
We have breakfast with buns and fruit in our room. I discovered Chinese bean desserts, very tasty. But Nadia was not impressed, so she has breakfast with croissants in the old fashioned way)
We're not in a hurry. We collect things, but we do not move out. We walk through the bright, rain-washed city, trying to buy a train ticket and aimlessly looking into the shops. We are discussing the question of staying or not staying for another day in Guilin.
For some reason, it seems to us that 3 days on Yangshuo is not enough, so we still go.
At the reception, please call a taxi. They refuse us, I don’t understand the explanation, but I think that this is due to the fact that the zone is pedestrian. The girl, as best she can, explains to us that we need to go out to the road and catch it with our hands. That's how we do it.
The taxi driver demanded 30 yuan, I offer 10. Rain, and an inconvenient place to stop, force both sides to agree to 20. Extortionate fares in this Guilin. We drive less than two kilometers!
The taxi brings us to the bus stop, and not to the bus station at all. The driver waves down the block.
I don’t really believe that you can’t go there, but we speak different languages, and even more so, it’s completely unprofitable for him to understand us.
Unloading. And then it becomes clear why the taxi driver did not take us to the place. We are surrounded by hospitablewomen and clamoring with each other: “Yansuo! Yangsuo! ".
-How much?
-thirty.
-20!
Tetechki offer 25, we are going to look for the bus station.
- Okay, 20 let's.
-Let's! Where is the bus?
The walk to the bus begins. We walk along the bike path, quickly, for a long time, very colorful. children and dogs run after us, all the women left out of work, quarreling loudly. We reach a crossroads. Aunts take us into a tight ring and press: “Mani, mani! ". The situation is heating up. I demand to show the bus, to which they point me to one of the people around us. She holds out a notepad and a pen. Conductor type)
- Gongonciche tsai nali? Wo yao cancan gongonciche!
In my head, this phrase means "Where's the bus? I want to see the bus!
” What this means in the minds of the women accompanying us, I don’t know. Aunts simply dissolve on the ground. And we are standing and thinking how we can get to the bus station now, because we have already moved quite far. I take out my phone to orient myself on the map and suddenly I see a bus standing at a traffic light, and “Yangshuo” is written on it in huge hieroglyphs. I'm jumping up and down, waving my arms, yelling:
- Nadia, Nadia! Yangshuo, Yangshuo! Bus! There!
From the bus they wave to us: “Come on, come on, run faster! »
The whole of China froze, we were flying like a bullet across the road, the suitcases were merrily squealing with wheels, the bus growled impatiently... We jumped into the cabin, and behind us were our two aunts. Hello, we have arrived, here you gogonciche, let's money, 20 yuan.
I look at the real conductor, she waves her head no and turns away. I make my way to her.
-How much?
- Well, it's expensive! Then I will pay 20 to those women over there, we have already agreed with them!
- Come on 20.
We are paying off the conductor, our helpers are completely furious, cursing and spitting. Everything is gone, the plaster is removed, the client leaves. Neither the driver nor the conductor pays any attention to them. We freeze too. We have found our gongonciche without you, you will pay us extra for ingenuity. They have nothing to do, they get out at the nearest intersection.
At the same intersection where our aunts left, an English-speaking girl comes in. He sits down next to us, asks the conductor how much the fare is.
She shows 3 fingers, which in China means three tens, that is, thirty. Behind the conductor, I show the girl two fingers. The girl holds out a twenty. The conductor demands to pay at least five rubles) The girl sends her to me with gestures. I blink my eyes and say:
- She is my friend, she travels for 20.
- No problem - says the conductor and leaves.
The bus is terribly cold. I wrap myself in a scarf, put on a windbreaker.
The air conditioner runs to its fullest. Nadia turns the levers and pimps over her head, and finds a position in which she blows less.
We drive to Yangshuo for a long time and I would say boring, if not for the landscapes outside the window. And outside the window! Movie Travelers Club show! )
As a child, I loved to watch programs about distant lands. I didn’t even dare to dream then that someday I would be able to drive like this easily and watch distant countries live. What is there in my childhood, even at the age of forty I did not even imagine that I would ever go abroad.
People are afraid of change.
But sometimes the world, without asking us, turns in a completely unexpected side. We get upset when we see this side, we want to go back to our old, but already destroyed life, we do not know how to live with this new side, we are hurt and scared.
But then, when the first shock passes, new facets of the world suddenly open up. New page. Most often, this page is brighter and more interesting than all the previous ones.
In Yangshuo, the bus drops us right in the middle of the road. The Englishwoman turns her head, asks me how to get to the bus station. I invite her to come with us to West Street in a taxi, but she does not need to go there.
I do five things at the same time - I look on the phone like a girl to get to the bus station, I brake a taxi and bargain with a taxi driver (45 yuan? ? Are you crazy, but they don’t fight like that even in Guilin! ), I answer the traditional "chunali" (< em>where are you going? ) of a Chinese tourist guy stuck to us - "vomen chu silu" (we are going to the west street), I assure Nadia that everything will be cheap and fine now , I nod to a tuk-tuker passing by: "stop, now we'll go together. " Do you feel the moment?
Here it is, life! I'm in China, I speak three languages at the same time and they understand me! ))
Tuk-tuker agree to go for twenty. The guy is going with us, the girl stomped towards the station. The taxi driver plots revenge on the tuk-tuker.
We fly in this miracle transport along Yangshuo like birds. The town is rather big, pleasant, modern, beautiful shops. And we are in the cargo tuk-tuk booth. In such a motorcycle "pie" with two shops. Exotic!
Our hostel is located on the outskirts of West Street, we can’t drive up to it, so we stop at the end of some crack between the houses, called the road, on which there will be a hostel somewhere in the depths. We are not in a hurry to unload. The driver and the guy decide how to explain to us where to go, I ask them to call the hostel to come for the suitcases.
In an expensive Fujin hotel, as you remember, such an undertaking failed miserably. And here they came to meet us, in the literal sense of the word, took the luggage and led us through the back streets.
The hostel is pleasant, not very well maintained, but stylish, trendy, youthful. The receptionist speaks English.
He is not very praised, but I liked it. The room was clean, the interior is cool.
And the toilet bowl generally smiled at us.
There are no washing facilities in the hostel, not even towels. We have our own, made of microfiber, but you can rent them at the reception. But there are electric mattresses, it is probably cold here in winter.
What is the most important thing in hotels? Kinds!
The views from the window are so-so, I agree) But from the terrace! Rooftop)
The terrace is terribly littered, which is incredibly upsetting. The ashtrays are full to overflowing, full of papers on the floor, dirty glasses on the tables... They save on the cleaning lady. Rest here is unpleasant. But climbing up to admire the views, jumping your eyes over the mess, is quite possible.
We don't have any special plans for the day, we're just going to wander around the city. From West Street, our "gap" looks like nothing) Behind the man in blue, an inconspicuous doorway. This is the entrance to the hostel. Above the opening is an advertisement for our terrace.
This handsome man guards the entrance.
There are a lot of people on the streets even in broad daylight, in the heat. In the evening there will be pandemonium.
We are heading to the river, the mepsmi map promises a waterfall there. We find it. focusing on the sound of water. Looks like a water pipe break)
A photo shoot with cormorants "I'm a cool fisherman" is taking place near the shore
Yangshuo has a rather savage way of fishing. Very ancient. The cormorant's neck is bandaged so that it cannot swallow the caught fish. Two cormorants are tied with a long rope to a stick and go fishing with them. The bird dives, grabs the fish, but cannot swallow it. The owner pulls the rope and takes it. The cormorant is hungry, so it dives again and again. It looks beautiful, but the bird is a pity.
(honestly stolen from the internet )
Walking by the water, looking at a structure that looks like a temple or a temple gate.
Near a nice house. I love pictures like this.
Back in Zhangjiajie, the Golden Man told us that tickets might appear three days before departure and added beautiful characters to our note for ordering tickets. Therefore, with great hope, we begin to bypass travel agencies. First, second, third - there are no train tickets at all. In Yangshuo, where English-speaking tourists are a dime a dozen, the agencies do not speak English, which is surprising, but true. Suddenly we find an agency where the girl somehow speaks English and she really wants to sell us something)
Surely you all know that selling is a talent. No worse than talent, say, artistic or musical. The talent to sell, if it does not exalt for centuries, then certainly will not let you die of hunger. If the seller is talented, then you will not have time to look back, as you will buy from him everything that you need and even what you absolutely do not need. And the girl was talented.
It is quite possible that there is a "rafting tour of Li + Xianggong", since it is on one side and quite far from Yangshuo.
But then, happy that they had successfully spent the money, they asked the girl where we could have a tasty and inexpensive lunch and, on her recommendation, went to a local restaurant to kill the worm.
The restaurant is beautiful, tasty and expensive. And it's not clear.
We go up to the second floor. We are greeted and asked questions, maybe they ask if a table is booked, we are thinbudon, we answer "Women yao chi" (I really want to eat). There are almost no people in the hall, we choose a table by the window and get acquainted with the menu, there are pictures in it, but very few. And the menu is quite large.
We carefully study the hieroglyphs, Google translate gives charming names:
Nadya chose a broth from the picture, and I fried cordyceps flower stubbornly looking for the hieroglyph eggplant in the menu. I can’t draw it from memory, I repeat to the waiter - Whose, Chiezi, but she does not understand.
- In yao chi chiezi! (I want to eat eggplant). - That's why everything worked out for me at home, but here such a stupor? ) Suddenly I remember that my teacher, who treacherously fled from me to China, is supposedly now in Yangshuo, and even if not in Yangshuo, he simply has to help me order food, since he taught me so badly pronounce eggplant. I'm going to call him already, but it dawns on me that there is a translator and I write eggplant in it. The waiter also remembers that she has a translator and writes to me: “Do you need eggplant today?
“Here I would grab a thread and agree that I really need it, I just can’t live without an eggplant, and today! But I was confused and said that I could actually get by) But I knew that the translation can be strange , yes, it turned out not so strange, in fact, there are worse. I don’t know why I got so twisted)
My gaze settled on the hieroglyph shrimp. Yes, this is what you need, it's not far from the sea, the shrimp should be good. I order shrimp, Nadia joins.
The shrimps are not very big, but very tasty! And a lot like! For the first time in my life, I ate so many shrimp at one time. Broccoli is fresh and tender. The best broccoli in my life. Ba, China, yes you can if you want! ) Rice is brought to the order, but I don’t like it and refused. Tea is free.
Exactly the one on the screen above "Chrysanthemum, tea for lunch. " It is said to be essential for digestion. And seafood is difficult to digest, so you need to drink a lot of tea. If there is no tea, then Coca-Cola.
It is necessary to tell you about one nuance. As soon as the waiter takes the order, he will issue a check. This is not for payment, this is information for another waiter, the one who will bring the food) I, frankly, was taken aback when I saw the number 500 with a tail there. Well, I think we had lunch) I ask what is so expensive, the waiter’s face reflects: “Oh, God, why did these stupid laowai come to my shift? ”, but she pulls herself together and patiently explains with a sweet smile that < s>you don't need to touch it with your hands and don't bother yourself either pay for everything at the prices in the menu and not a penny more, but it's not a check yet. In general, the restaurant is exciting)
Having eaten, we continue to walk the streets. There is something to see here.
Yangshuo is a very touristy city, in every sense of the word.
The main thing, of course, is the hills around.
The streets in the center resemble an amusement park.
Institutions compete who outdos whom in design.
We cut five circles in the center until we stop at the Enjoy cafe-bakery.
These cakes cost 1 yuan.
And it's amazingly delicious. The filling is tender, egg.
If you thought that Yangshuo is licked and sterile, and the only island of mess is on the roof of our hostel, then no, it's not true) You can meet a mess if you try, we are in Asia. This is street food. Hieroglyphs say - Grill. People buy and eat. There is a mini-market opposite the Enjoy cafe, that is, in the very center) Although, if you look closely, it's not a mess, everything is in its place and there is no garbage.
We are impressed with moped umbrellas. It's an engineering marvel! Come up with a roof over a moped, and even a folding one! Ah yes the Chinese, ah yes well done!
Convertible)
Evening is coming, it's time for us to go to the show. We approach the travel agency, the girl locks her closet and leads us to the transport. She has a cute puppy with her, he entertains us as best he can, sometimes jumping out onto the road. The hostess pulls him back by the leash.
I love different shows. I especially love Chinese shows. They are always grandiose and beautiful. This time we are going to the performance on the river "Impression Lui Sanjie"
The minivan is full, we are going for a short time. After unloading, everyone line up in two lines, we, the only Laowai, are tamed by the most active girl, and she herds us very well. Tickets are handed out to everyone, we go through the turnstiles, hustle, water is not allowed, I finish my drink so as not to throw away the bottle. It is not clear why it is impossible, in the subway, for example, it is enough to show that you drink and pass.
Along a beautiful bamboo alley we reach the "auditorium".
Our seats are at the bottom, closer to the center. There are a lot of people on the show. It goes 2 times a day, for 18 years. And there are always spectators.
The sunset fades quickly.
The scene is hidden underwater.
The show is grandiose, a lot of people participate, as well as a river, mountains, wonderful music. But nothing is clear at all) For me, these are separate pictures of the life of the Chinese, not connected by a common plot.
(honestly stolen from the internet)
There are many beautiful scenes. For me, the most beautiful thing is the dance with the red cloth.
After the show, we are taken back to West Street.
In the evening, Yangshuo celebrates the New Year all year round. The illumination is reflected in the water of a small lake. We are happy)
We wander in this fabulous garden and are touched.
West street turns into Khaosan road (there is such a tourist street in Bangkok, there is always no crowd), everything is yelling, flashing, selling itself aggressively, and it is impossible to breathe from smells, humidity and crowds. All the people who walked all day in the vicinity gathered here to taste the evening tourist life.
If I had to choose only one place for a trip to China, then I would choose not Zhangjiajie, not Fenghuang, not Dazhai, and not even Furong, which sunk into my soul very much, but Yangshuo. Here is the essence of Chinese tourism. All in one. Easy to get to. There are rivers, mountains, ancient villages and bridges, a bright holiday and souvenirs. Not expensive. And delicious, and this, you see, is worth a lot)
But none, even the most versatile, or the most beautiful, or the most intimate place, can replace travel, when you almost every day pack your suitcase and move to a new place again, when around every turn you will find an adventure, when you can string their impressions on the thread of memory like beads, so that later, sitting at home in a familiar chair, sort out and examine their treasures. Compose legends and songs. Life while traveling is a dream in its purest form - said Agatha Christie, and she knew a lot about it)
Don't switch! )
