Guilin – Camera & Carry On

Solving Rainy Day Dilemmas with Junk Food

Shannon — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:25:33 +0000

There's no controlling fickle mother nature and a rainy day can put a real damper (pun intended) on things, particularly when it comes to figuring out how to occupy your precious travel time. Funny how the stuff worth seeing is always on the other side of the hotel room door. For the times when torrential downpours quash any plans for outdoor escapades, it helps to get creative. On a dreary afternoon in Guilin, we dashed over to the closest indoor mall for entertainment. To our delight, we discovered a junk foodie's dream: a basement level grocery store filled to the brim colorfully packaged snacks and ready-to-eats. A brief analysis of the artificial options sparked the idea for a taste test (genius!), the subject of which would be the all too familiar Oreo cookie. It seems China is way ahead of the US in the flavor game with mango/orange, ice cream, and blueberry/rapsberry to name a few, and we were up for a challenge. If you've tried an Oreo in your life (and I can only assume you have otherwise you are most likely not of this planet and/or are a zombie from birth, and do not know the sweet, crack-like goodness of the American classic) you are well aware of the addictive properties of Oreos. They are amazing in an oh-so-bad-for-you kind of way, and I wish you wouldn't judge me for eating an entire sleeve in one sitting, thank you. Long story short, here in 'Merica, we don't seem to stray from the vanilla cream center, other than the occasional chocolate on chocolate variety, or most recently the addition of Pumpkin to the Kraft cookie's repertoire. Alas, the Chinese have moved beyond the basics into a new dimension I like to call "Flavors that Taste Like the Real Thing, but not Really," (SPOILER: strawberry doesn't taste like actual strawberry, but more akin to strawberry scented chapstick blended with filling). And now to the fun part. Eating. Though, after 3 bold, new flavors of the sandwiched cookie, I can assure you the test becomes a little less fun and slightly more nauseating. But we rose to the occasion and ate every last one of those puppies, because really... it wasn't that hard to do. Cookies. Yay! The clear winner here was the birthday cake flavor, almost identical in taste to the classic we know and love. The takeaway? Maybe there are better things to do when you can't exploring nature's scenic wonders. But for us, this suited just fine.

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60 Second Recap: China

Michael — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:17:22 +0000

Beijing

Extremely polluted; now I understand all those photos I've seen of people wearing medical masks around China.
The Forbidden City was really huge and super clean, with like a zillion Chinese tourists.
Anywhere not touristy is filthy (i.e. 95% of the city).
The Great Wall was amazing and a hike. Lots of steps, all of them seemingly different heights and widths.
It was easier than we expected to get away from the crowds at the Great Wall and see the vastness of it.
I now know why people say you can't get traditional Chinese food in America, because it's awful. We rarely knew what we were eating, but it was always meaty, greasy, and/or gelatinous.
There were very few Westerners around.
If you're blonde, locals may try to get a photo with you... like a character at Disney World.
Virtually all the locals acted like we were some kind of outcasts.
They pushed us out of their way, got in our way, talked and laughed about us in Chinese (which was extremely obvious), and never said please/thank you/excuse me.
Peking duck is amazing! The cheaper ducks can be a real disappointment, but even the best, most expensive duck is only about $20/person.

[See image gallery at www.cameraandcarryon.com]

Guilin

Better than Beijing, but still kind of just busy and dirty.
We took a ride down the Li River in a small raft; that was awesome! It goes through these great looking mountains and is quite peaceful.
I feel like outside of the big cities there is still a good sense of tranquility. Note to self: next time, skip every major city in China.
At the end of the river is the view that is illustrated on the back of the 20¥ note; it's quite a site.
The food here was equally bad.
We did find one place that made these peach/strawberry/ice/milk shake things... those were really good.
There's a great view from the top of Diecai Hill.
Everyone was always trying to rip us off, especially the taxi drivers.
The people here were not much nicer than in Beijing.
Reed Flute Cave seemed super cheesy and over priced, then we went there and found it surprisingly intriguing.

[See image gallery at www.cameraandcarryon.com] Clearly these cities in China were not our favorite, but I'll tell you, being at the Great Wall and going down the Li River made it all worth going. Feel free to comment below, check out our other articles on China here, and stay tuned for the next 60 Second Recap on the Philippines!

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“Bamboo” Boating Down the Li River

Michael — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 17:47:27 +0000

The ride down the Li River in China is truly an amazing site. The most popular stretch of the river is from the metropolitan Guilin to backpacker friendly Yangshuo, with the most extraordinary bits of scenery being between Yangdi and Xingping. There are a few larger boats that tourists can enjoy the splendor on, or you can hire a private "bamboo" boat to slowly move you (and possibly your sweetheart) through the feats of nature. [See image gallery at www.cameraandcarryon.com] If you're planning ahead, you'll probably only find two tour options; one ferry-like boat that holds approx 60 passengers, and one that holds approx 40 passengers. These will run you about 350¥ - 450¥ per person ($60 -$75), and consist of a ferry boat and bus transfer. Like most tours we found in China, it's not the price, but the tour itself that we didn't like. The traditional way to get down the river is by bamboo raft. I'm sure you noticed the quote marks I put around bamboo above. Well... that's because today the boats are actually made of PVC, then painted to look like bamboo, and are always referred to as such. For whatever reason I refuse to not use quotes (or air quotes). Anyway, Shannon and I wanted to take the small raft, and I would certainly recommend it. We found it extremely difficult to figure out how to do this. In Guilin you'll only find the ferry boat options, and all the articles we found online were years old and really not helpful. We read that you simply can't take a raft down, or that it's possible but illegal. One writer even mentioned having to pay the "Chinese mafia" for passage. The whole thing was a bit of a process, but actually quite simple if you eliminate the guess work. Ta Da! It's guess work elimination time! The trip takes a full day, so make sure you have the time. Starting in Guilin, boating from Yangdi to Xingping, spending some time in Yangshuo, and then back to Guilin:

Take a taxi or local bus to the Yangdi port - Starting in Guilin, we took a taxi for 160¥ flat rate (the driver started at 300¥, but we're negotiating masters). The bus is much cheaper, maybe 10¥ - 15¥/person, but took a lot longer, and we just weren't up for it.
Get a "bamboo" boat at the port - You can get a ticket from the tourist office for 216¥/person, or there are a number of locals trying to buy it for you. Locals are entitled to a massive discount on the tickets, so they'll buy the same ticket, resell it to you, and pocket a profit. This involves trusting that your new friend won't just run off with your money. Since I'm not that trusting, I only gave her half upfront, and the rest when she came back with the tickets. I don't know how much she paid, but after a TON of haggling, we ended up spending 300¥ for the two of us.
Get on your personal raft and enjoy! - It's a 1.5 to 2 hour journey to Xingping. I think the first half has the best views, so be ready!
Get off the raft in Xingping - At the dock is where you'll find the stunning view illustrated on the back of the 20¥ note, so make sure to bring one along for reference.
Get on a bus in Xingping - Xingping is a great little village, but there's not a ton there. You can take a taxi to the bus station for 15¥, or walk for 40 minutes. It's a little confusing where the bus station is. If I had to do it again, I'd probably take the taxi.
Get off the bus in Yangshuo - The bus costs 7¥/person and takes another 45 minutes.
Explore Yangshou - I have to say, I thought Yangshuo was going to be a bit more... quaint? Guides say this is a backpacker haven. Never the less, get some food, and spend a few hours wandering around.
Get back to Guilin - Take the express bus from Yangshuo for 22¥/person. It's a straight shot on an air conditioned bus, with no additional stops.
That's it, you made it! - Woohoo!!!

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