August 30, 2008

Flew from Guangzhou (Canton) to Guilin where we arrived and found neither tour guide nor luggage. The luggage arrived later that evening and our tour guide about one hour after we arrived in Guilin. We were taken to a hill that provided an extraordinary view of the city and the surrounding area. Four porters carried me up the 500 foot hill in shifts of two. The trip cost $30.00 which was paid to the head man who was not involved in hauling me up the hill. After he left I gave a further tip of $14.00 to the four men who had hauled me up the hill. We then went to a cave which contained some of the most beautiful stalactites (going up) and stalagmites (coming down) in the world. Unfortunately the cave had been commercialized with a light show, music and steam. We were then taken to a restaurant which served authentic Chinese food according to Macy our guide. The restaurant was noisy and crowded and served food which was unrecognizable. We returned to the hotel where we freshened up, having been on the go since 6 AM. The next stop was a boat rig up the Li River, where we saw trained cormorants with ropes tied around their necks diving in the water and bring fish back to their master in a bamboo boat, where he disgorged the fish into a basket. It got a little boring after the 15th dive and was only relieved by young people swimming in the river late at night. Our tour guide said she drank from the river when she was a little girl.