We have had a fairly quiet day today as once again the weather is rainy. In the end we got up slowly, had breakfast and wandered around buying a few souvenirs. I got a set of Chinese placemats and table runner thing and a few cushion covers for just under a tenner. Probably not all that cheap but I felt happy with them anyway.

As we were leaving in the afternoon a fella chased us up the street. He turned about to be someone Simon went to school and played rugby with and they had a quick 10 minutes chat and catch up. He told us he has been living in Yangshuo for 9 months teaching English. It seems to be a popular occupation for Brits here. It’s strange to see people you know but not entirely unexpected I suppose.

We catch the bus back to Guilin which takes around an hour an a half, not a very comfortable ride but cheap. Luckily it drops us right outside the train station and we find the waiting area for train T40 to Guangzhou. This is fairly close to the border of Hong Kong and we plan to then catch another train across the border in the morning. The journey should take 10 hours and our train is scheduled to leave at 10pm.

We soon realise that the train actually goes right to the border town of Shenzhen and once we get on the train Simon alters our tickets and pays the extra so we can go all the way. We settle down for the night, the couple we are sharing our hard sleeper compartment are quiet and friendly and soon its lights out for everyone.

We have our breakfast, it’s so good to have a few more western choices and they have Vegemite. (Not quite as good as Marmite but it does the job). We walk up the road to the bike hire place and select 4 bikes. They actually are all really crap with broken gears and chains and we take ages trying to pick 4 decent ones. Once we get slightly out of town it becomes quite quiet and we don’t want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. Also we have heard of other travellers accused of returning the bikes broken and being unable to get their deposits back.

In the end I’m the only one who ends up with a mountain bike and we set off along the road. Cycling is definitely one of the best ways to get around Yangshuo, it’s very flat and it gives us the opportunity to look at our surroundings. The paddy fields stretch for miles and framing Yangshuo are the amazing tree covered limestone peaks. It is said by the Chinese people that Yangshuo is the most beautiful place in the world. The world of course being China!

We cycle for an hour or so eventually reaching a small village. It’s interesting seeing the market stalls and we stop and buy some water and a large fruit that looks like a giant pear but tastes like a grapefruit. We carry on for a while and Simon stops and takes some photographs of Water buffalo lying in the river with just their heads out. It’s really hot now and the kids are exhausted, cycling on their ancient bikes is very hard work and I swap bikes with Ali. As we reach the village again we decide to get a “van taxi” back and pile in with the bikes for the most uncomfortable, jolting ride home ever.

We have a shower and spend the afternoon doing some maths with the kids. Ali restrings his guitar and we sort out some laundry. In the evening we go out for food and see a restaurant advertising fajitas. As we haven’t had any Mexican food for ages we decide to go for that. Big mistake! The strips of chicken and beef came accompanied with sweet pancakes, Thousand Island dressing and squirty cream. Horrible and at 20 quid also very expensive. What a waste of money, none of us ate much.

I have enjoyed it here but can’t wait to get to Hong Kong now. There are loads of mosquito’s here and we have been bitten a lot. We stopped taking our malaria tablets a week ago which is good but have had to buy some extra repellent. The weather has also been very unpredictable which has made it hard when packing our rucksacks.

Off to bed now, we are thinking of catching a local bus to Xingping tomorrow, a local beauty spot where the mountain scenery is described as breathtaking. Will see what the weathers doing first though. Really can’t face getting soaked again.

We get up fairly early and taking advantage of a few dry hours repack quickly and head off in a taxi for nearby Yangshuo .As we arrive (of course) it starts to rain but by now our expectations of the weather in southern China are so low that we take it on the chin and gamely plod along the road to our guesthouse. The Water Buffalo Guesthouse and Bar is a good choice and we’re so pleased to see an excellent menu.

We have some food and then head off out for a walk. We are staying on West Street and it reminds me of Th Khao San Road in Bangkok. Full of tourist shops selling all sorts of souvenirs from wooden carvings, to stamps proclaiming to “make your name more Chinese”. There are also loads of bars and restaurants and we soon get settled in a fantastic spot over looking the lake and the stunning limestone scenery that is all around. It’s like being in a film and we have a lovely afternoon sat drinking Tsingtao beer and chatting to the kids. There is a man on a raft on the lake using cormorants to fish with. Simon said it was a tourist gimmick but it looked cool anyway!

It’s very easy to while the afternoon away here as there is so much to see and by 8pm we’re feeling hungry and order dinner. As in other restaurants in the south of China we find the menu is quite exotic with choices of braised turtle, roasted dog and bamboo rat. We’re a bit scared to try any of those though and have duck, twice roasted pork and lemon chicken with fried mixed vegetables.

On the way back we telephone the kids Grandfather Blobby Bob and wish him a Happy Birthday for yesterday. Maisie has a good chat but Ali is busy in the bar next door half way up the climbing wall. The Chinese fella’s all have their shirts off, showing of their muscles. Grrrrrr! one of the most interesting sights in China!

Off to bed now we are going to hire bikes tomorrow and do some cycling.

We were going to move on today to the nearby backpacker village of Yangshuo but have decided to stay put as it is still raining constantly. This hostel is comfortable, with friendly and helpful staff and a reasonable collection of film to slob out in front of.

Computer and internet access has been a real pain in China, the connections are unbelievably slow and every hostel we have stayed in only has a few terminals. Added to this is the fact that our laptop remains critically if not terminally sick. The result being that uploading photographs to the website is a painstaking process that I would never have the patience to complete. After investigating this Simon thinks there is a small problem with the hard drive (This means nothing to me) and is going to try and sort it out with Dell. He admits that Dell are notoriously crap at customer service but then they have never come up against him before and he is the most persistent person I have ever met!

Its midday now and we have done nothing more than eat breakfast, we decide to go for a walk and amble aimlessly around in the wet for an hour before heading to the sushi bar for lunch. We buy the kids a DVD each and some new schoolbooks and pens. When we get back they spend over an hour writing a story of their choice. Not surprisingly they both choose an action theme but the stories are quite good. I worry that Ali’s handwriting is actually worse now than before we left and Maisie’s spelling certainly hasn’t improved but it isn’t through lack of trying on our part. We have found teaching them both satisfying and at times infuriatingly difficult and I hope their natural ability will be enough to ensure they maintain their high levels of achievement that we saw before the trip. If not private tuition here they come.

Its nearly 10pm now and we skipped dinner as we ate sushi late and spent the afternoon watching DVD’s and eating ice cream, chocolate, macadamia nuts and sweets. Simon and the kids have just come up to the room complaining of hunger. The only option open now is KFC so Simon and Ali go off to get that. Another healthy option meal.

Guilin in the south central province of Guangxi is reputed to be one of the most beautiful places in the whole of China. Today we are heading slightly further north to the town of Longsheng to see the rice terraces and to visit the minority village of the Red Yao people.

The day starts ok and we are up by 7. We get on a tour bus at 8 and things unfortunately deteriorate slightly from that point, as first I then Simon both bang our heads really hard on the roof of the bus. We have a row and it starts to rain in a big way.

Two hours later, tensions have improved slightly and we arrive at The Red Yao minority village. I have read that in this mountainous province of China there used to be more tribes but eventually they have been integrated into the majority Chinese Han society. The Red Yao are also known as the Long Hair Yao and we learn that the women do not cut their hair. We watch them perform some singing and dancing and taste their tea. It’s a bit like weak gravy with rice crispies floating in it.

Their voices are very high and sweet and they are dressed in black and pink traditional dress. The guide explains that their hair is tied in different ways dependent on whether they are married. have children etc. They also stretch their ears with weights which is quite a sight to see!

Back on the bus, we journey for around another hour and eventually reach the base of the mountains where the rice terraces start. This is what we have really come to see. The Longji Terraces were first cultivated in the 13th century Yuan dynasty. The tribes of mountain people who have lived here for many generations ask the mountains for food and have created the terraces over hundreds of years in almost every available spot.

I spend some time reading some local information and although it takes a while to decipher the “Chinglish” there are some wonderful descriptions in there of the terraces in all seasons – At the start of spring the terraces are full of water, reflecting the skylight as layers of silver ribbons folded together. Then greasy green seedlings, the breeze rolls green waves. Summer, the colour is spilled, golden stairs and golden storeys. In deep winter silver and plain clothing implants terraces and villages into a fairy world of ice and jade statues.

How beautiful, I don’t think anything I can write can do the terraces justice and as we start to climb up the steps the glimpses that we get behind the rolling mists are nothing short of spectacular. We climb and climb and get steadily more and more soaked! In retrospect we must have been mad to even attempt to get to the top but despite the now torrential rain we figure we have paid our money and we’re here now so might as well get on with it! We buy 4 umbrellas and long rain macs. My transition into a Chinese tourist is almost complete as we gamely follow “Nick” our guide up and up with the rest of our tour group.

At last we are there and by this point the mist is so thick we can hardly see each other let alone the rice terraces. We dance around in the rain a bit, get a woman to take a few photos of us and start the long swim back down. (We actually did see a fish on the path!) In reality it is like making our way back down through a fast flowing stream as the water pours down the mountains and over the paths.

Finally we arrive safely at the bottom and back onto the bus, 3 hours later and we are dropped outside the hostel. I’m convinced I have trenchfoot by this point and can’t wait for a shower and some coffee. Despite the rain, lack of photo opportunities, head injuries and arguments we’ve had a good day and I’m glad we went. So glad we’re not going tomorrow though, there is something to be said for lazing in bed until late, doing jack shit all day and warmth and dryness. Bring it on.

Oh no, I can’t believe it; we wake up to the sound of torrential rain. What a nightmare. It seems like crappy weather is following us around China. We have breakfast in bed and spend the morning checking a few emails and generally catching up on stuff on the internet. By midday the rain has stopped and we set off along the Li River for Xiangbi Shan Park. (Elephant Trunk Hill Park) It’s lovely in there, with lots of cute and picturesque bridges over the river and some gorgeous flowers in the gardens.

As expected the kids aren’t too impressed, but that all changes when we reach the giant water bubbles. Perfect, we didn’t have a go in Happy Valley in Beijing due to the combination of cost and long queues but there isn’t anyone waiting and its only Y20 each. What a laugh, this has to be one of the more bizarre things we have seen in China and the kids love it. Scarily though when they are pulled in from the water they both said they were starting to have trouble breathing in their bubbles. I guess the health and safety law in England wouldn’t allow these! Probably for good reason!

We walk all along the river, I see a sign saying the river is called The Peach Blossom River which is really pretty but actually although fairly scenic it’s not as wonderful as all that. There are some great little floating restaurants though, the crabsticks here are whole small crabs speared onto skewers and barbequed rather than the pink and white rubbery things we get in England.

We have seen and experienced some strange and interesting sights whilst in China. One thing we have noticed is that babies don’t seem to wear nappies. Instead their trousers are split from bum to crutch with all their bits on display and ready to pee wherever the mood takes them! So strange! Next is the Chinese obsession with photography, many of the Chinese people we have met have asked us if they can take our photograph. On occasion we have felt like tourist attractions ourselves and it is a bit hard to understand why they are so interested in us when after all, wherever we have been in China we have seen quite a few other Westerners. (We’re not that rare!)

It seems that the prostitution rates are high here. Simon has been approached by pimps touting for business much more frequently in China than in the other Asian countries we have visited. It also turns out that the “wrong number” telephone calls we have received in our hotel rooms are in fact sex workers and this is very common here.

We climbed Elephant Trunk Hill and had our photo taken in the curve of the trunk. In the afternoon we did some science revision with the kids. We have almost covered the entire science curriculum for the year now which is good.

In the evening we go out for dinner and have some great food. The food in the south has undoubtedly been more to our tastes than in the Northern provinces. Much less greasy and more vegetables available. The kids are so good and will more or less give anything a go although they draw the line at duck heads on sticks.
Off to bed now, we are going on a trip tomorrow joining a Chinese tour group. God help us.

We all slept well and waking up naturally at 7.45 was definitely preferable to the alarm. By the time we have had a wash and Simon, Ali and Maisie have had their noodles for breakfast we only have another hour or so to go. It has actually been a restful enough way to travel and I feel quite refreshed and ready to see Guilin. The train arrives just ahead of time at 11.50 and we get a taxi to The Backstreet Hostel. It turns out to be a really good choice. Fairly quiet and in a great location close to the river and lots of shops, bars and restaurants.

The kids are busy checking out the DVD collection and we get talking to an English girl called Tracey. Her parents were both born in Hong Kong and she explains that she has been on a trip around China. Despite her Chinese heritage she has found China very difficult to travel through and has cut her time in China short to spend more time in Australia. She gives us some good advice on places to visit and the area in which to stay whilst in Hong Kong.

Its 7pm and I’m sat on the bed writing this. The kids wanted to watch a film but I felt that they have spent too much time recently watching DVD’s and so Ali is practising his guitar instead and Maisie is writing a story. We spent an hour doing maths this afternoon. Maisie and I concentrated on rounding up numbers and how to use a calculator. I’m not sure what Simon and Ali did but it seemed to end in the usual row anyway. We went out for some food and despite the surly service the duck, fried broad beans and rice was very good. On the way back we saw a sushi bar. I’m sure we’ll try that over the next few days.

The main reason for visiting Guilin is for the awesome scenery. We have seen lots of pictures of the huge karst limestone cliffs and they look amazing. After our week of racing through China I feel like we need a bit of relaxation time before we head off to Hong Kong in a weeks time.

10pm -just got in from sushi bar. It was excellent and very cheap our bill came to Y120
(8 quid). We stopped off on the way back at a shop and bought some beer and a bottle of red wine. The lady in the shop was explaining China’s one child policy to us. In the countryside it is ok to have 2 kids providing the first is a girl. Although many people have more they don’t register them which means they don’t get an education. In the cities if you have more than one child you have to pay the government for the privilege. She explained the cost to her family for her second child is the equivalent of 20,000 pounds.

It is completely different again here in Guilin. We are staying very close to the market area and the pedestrianised road makes a welcome change from the huge highways that run through the centres of most Chinese cities. The streets are lined with trees and Guilin certainly is a prettier place than the northern cities we visited.

Sat in bed drinking wine, we want to make some plans for the next few days but not rushing anything, feeling tired after travelling and looking forward to spending a night in a bed. We put the aircon on; we’ve gone from air con to electric blanket and back to aircon in 3 days. I guess that just emphasises the huge diversity that is China and I hardly feel we have scratched the surface.

As planned we caught the sleeper bus last night at 6pm to Kunming. These buses are unlike any others we have travelled on elsewhere and an experience I’m not in a hurry to repeat. The first impression of the bus was quite good. Brand new and clean and tidy I guess our expectations for the journey were quite high.

The beds were low down and so so narrow. Luckily we were on the bottom all next to one another. Although we have got used to close proximity living in Asia and feel perfectly comfortable with it, the fact that many Chinese men in particular, smoke constantly and think nothing of spitting on the floor made me glad to be in between Simon and the window.

The endless films and karaoke also are a problem for some travellers we have spoken to but I like it and the noise didn’t bother me. In the end the night, although pretty uncomfortable passed uneventfully and we arrived at 4.30am but stayed on the bus until around 6am. We stopped off a hotel and grabbed a coffee, whilst Simon went to the train station to get our tickets to Guilin. At 100 quid for 4 soft sleeper tickets they aren’t cheap but as we will be leaving at 5.30 this afternoon for our longest journey yet of 22 hours we decided the extra expense was worth it.

We checked into Cloudland Hostel and basically crashed out for the day. I spent most of it asleep and Simon and the kids watch a few films. We send a few emails and update the website. (Our daily jobs) Our warm clothes are all fairly grubby and stink of cigarette smoke. For 2 previous nicotine lovers we have become a bit intolerant of fags in China but I think this is because so many people smoke and everywhere.

It’s now 8pm and we have been on the train for just over 2 hours. We have passed some of the most amazing scenery on the way. The most interesting thing we see are the so called “Stone forests” of Shilin. As far as the eye can see, the land is covered with stone “stalagmites”, a massive collection of grey limestone pillars eroded by the wind and rain. It is very green with red sandstone earth, miles of flat rice paddy fields and imposing mountain ranges. Really so beautiful, in a dramatic, wild and windswept way.

We have a long talk on the way and discuss our trip so far. Between the four of us we remember everywhere we have stayed and have a great time remembering the highlights. Simon says his favourite place was Khao Sok National Park in Thailand. The kids agree on the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia and I’m torn between Varanasi in India and Siem Reap in Cambodia. We all loved Langkawi and will treasure the memory of our time spent there.

Well we have had a few beers now, we started on Tsingtao but then found giant Budweisers for Y8. (Around 50 pence) hehe! Gotta find some way of passing the 22 hour journey and a few Buds seems as a good as any

When we woke up this morning we thought our laptop had completely snuffed it as it wouldn’t even turn on. It has been playing up a bit recently and the dreaded blue screen of death has been appearing fairly regularly. Anyway Simon decided it might just be too cold and although I laughed at this idea after half an hour warming in the bed with the electric blanket and a few sweet nothings whispered in its ear it worked like a charm! Hurray!

We decided to get up and go and find a hearty breakfast to warm us up and like a miracle just as we finished eating the relentless rain of the past two days stopped. We take advantage and head off for Black Dragon Lake Pool. It is a lovely park and has some really gorgeous walks through it. We are most interested in trying to see the snow capped mountains and march enthusiastically to the key photography point. Anyway when we get there they are completely hidden from sight by clouds and the fantastic image we have seen of the lake, with a bridge across it and the Snow Mountains in the background is completely out of the question.

Still it’s a beautiful spot and we get some great shots anyway. The walk around the lake takes us past Taoist pagodas and there are some pretty trees and plants to look at. Despite the cold we all enjoyed the walk and the fresh air as we have been cooped up for a few days. We manage to spend a couple of hours wandering around before its starts to drizzle again and decide to head back to the old town for hot chocolates and homemade cakes. We want to buy a few souvenirs and settle for a wooden pig (It’s the year of the pig in China), a silk pashmina, some Yunnan coffee, green tea and a Tibetan cushion cover. We will add this small collection of stuff to the terracotta warrior we already have in our rucksack. I wanted to get a furry yak as well, but Simon said no.

We do some school work and it goes well, definitely an improvement on yesterday. We revise what we have already learnt about China’s ancient history and tackle the huge subject of Chairman Mao and The Cultural Revolution. I will try and explain what we learnt as best as I can. It is very complicated and I apologise to our new Chinese friends if I have made any mistakes.

Following the end of the last Imperial dynasty, by 1930 China was laden with social problems including child slave labour, domestic slavery, prostitution and starvation. The communist party led by Mao Zedong advocated rural based revolt against the government. Years of instability followed for China. They were invaded by the Japanese who carried out one of the most brutal occupations of the 20th century with a policy of “burn all, loot all, kill all”. But by the end of WWII the Japanese had been defeated and thrown out and the communists were in power.

Due to this, The Peoples Republic of China (1949) began its life as a bankrupt nation. Drastic measures were needed and Mao decided to “weed out” right wing intellectuals for a start. They were sent to labour camps for re education and thought reform. The road and rail networks were in a massive state of disrepair and every household was told to build blast furnaces in their backyards to increase steel production. This was called “The Great Leap Forward”. Farm tools, pots and pans and door knobs were all melted down. In Mao’s view, any obstacle could be overcome providing everyone worked together. The upshot of this actually being that with so many farmers involved in the steel production project an estimated 30-60 million Chinese people died from starvation through a lack of grain.

The enormous failure of The Great Leap Forward led to Mao resigning as head of state but he remained Chairman of the communist party. He was becoming increasingly isolated within the party and in order to regain some of his previous popularity many of his thoughts were compiled into what became known as the “little red book”. This was introduced into the general education system and was to become one of the symbols of the era.

In 1966 a play was released that criticised Mao. A huge purge of the arts followed. University students were issued with red arm bands and soon Mao was overseeing mass parades of students in Tiananmen Square, chanting and waving copies of the “little red book”. The Red Guards had been born. The Red Guards then went on a brutal rampage throughout the country. Schools were closed; academics, writers and artists were killed or sent to labour camps. Any cultural publications were destroyed and temples and monasteries were disbanded.

Physical reminders of China’s” feudal, exploitative and capitalist” past were destroyed and the four olds were banned. (Old customs, old thinking, old habits and old culture.) Family relationships were split up and sex and romance frowned upon. The people wore the blue Mao suit.

In September 1976 Mao died following a long illness and the communist grip on China has been slowly released over the past 3 decades. Mao remains at present pickled and on display in Tiananmen Square. Whether he will remain there as China heads towards 2008 and the Olympics remains to be seen. In China he is remembered as 70% right and 30% wrong in his leadership of the country. Having learnt about the history of places like Cambodia, for us it is obvious there are comparisons to be drawn but I think some of the Chinese people would probably disagree with that and the feeling we have got is that Mao is fondly remembered here.

A massive topic and full marks to the kids for sitting and taking it all in. They have learnt stuff on our trip that I never even dreamed existed when I was younger.

Its 6pm now and we are off out for some food. We are leaving Lijiang at 8pm on the sleeper bus (8 hours) and then hope to get straight on a train for the 22 hour journey to Guilin. Certainly need to be tough for travel in China.

I woke up at 7am to the sound of the rain, a relentless drip drip drip. Not good as we came here with the plan of hiking through “Tiger Leaping Gorge” for a day or so. The gorge is very dangerous in the wet season but even a bit of rain can make it almost impossible to negotiate the steep paths and we’re hardly prepared for wet weather trekking.

If we have to change our plans though that’s ok as there are other things to do here and we want to see some of the Tibetan monasteries in the area. Providing the rain slows a bit we also want to photograph some of the “out of this world” scenery that we have already seen here. The Black Dragon Pool Lake, offers the most stunning views with snow capped mountains in the background. Wow!

Its 4pm and we have spent the day fairly quietly, it is pissing down and very cold and has been all day. I have had a sharp reminder of why I hate the wintry weather so much. We bought woolly gloves and hats today and really tried to wrap up. The old town of Lijiang where we are staying is great, the streets are very narrow and cobbled and the houses all traditional one story “Naxi” style wooden constructions with sloped tiling roofs. Most of the houses are open at the front and sell many traditional Tibetan goods such as fur clothing, brightly patterned cloth, wooden and horn decorative items, yak meat and Chinese tea. Some of the women dress in brightly coloured clothing with lots of large ornamental hair combs and pieces.

The cafes here are very nice, internet is available but very hit and miss but the hot chocolates and English muffins made up for that. We spent a few hours doing some schoolwork with the kids. My good friend Nicky pointed out that we haven’t mentioned it much recently but it still continues painful though it is at times! We have been doing the properties of metals today and again it went ok. Slightly more effort on Maisie’s part than Ali’s but we got there in the end!

We rang my mum it’s her birthday today and had a long chat. Happy Birthday Mum! I’ll have a nice Corona for you tonight if it warms up if not maybe a Jack Daniels and coffee. Cheers!! Or as they say in China gan bei (The only thing I have learnt to say other than hello, thank you and toilet in Mandarin)

Tonight we are going to see the Naxi Orchestra, it’s quite expensive and something we may have given a miss but as the weather is so bad we haven’t got too many plans for outdoor stuff and don’t worry about the cost. We spend an hour huddled around a few barbeque coals swapping travellers tales with a couple from Holland and a Japanese guy. On his RTW trip he is taking in England, Spain, France and Italy. Not heard of too often from the other travellers we have met.

Went for dinner and had some fantastic food I think I enjoyed it more than any other meal I have eaten in China. I think we were quite adventurous with our choice of deep fried yak, roasted pork strips, green cabbage and ham rice and spicy beef dishes and it paid off, the food was delicious. As we were leaving a fella came in with a guitar and asked if we wanted to hear a traditional Naxi song. Ali did, so we paid up and were subjected to5 minutes of the worst singing and guitar playing I have ever heard. Ali’s face was a picture and I couldn’t look at the fella for giggling. In the end we were glad to escape and declined when he asked if wanted to hear another one!

Just got back after an hour of Naxi orchestra, during the Cultural Revolution musical instruments were banned and destroyed. Fortunately some of the very old instruments were saved by the Naxi people who buried them, it also helped that Lijiang is very isolated and therefore the destruction of the music wasn’t as strictly enforced as in other provinces of China. The music was beautiful and hearing the Naxi women sing was lovely. Their high pitched sweet voices are very distinctive and evoked images of rural China that I have seen on the TV in the past.

Despite this though we left early, it is so cold here the temperature seems to have dropped dramatically this evening and we froze our arses off in the drafty building until none of us could stand it any longer. I am sat in bed now, fully dressed with my woolly hat, 2 quilts, 2 thick blankets and the electric blanket on and I’m still shaking with cold. We checked the five day forecast earlier and have decided to move on to Kunming. Slightly further south and at a lower elevation we’re hoping it will be warmer and dry.