Li River Cruise

Many cruise ships lined up at the landing station. So today it was good to have a flag for panda group. Well the today tour I did with a larger group mixed from different countries. I was at a reserved table inside the ship together with a Chinese family and two French people. To the Chinese I could not talk but I learned from them how to eat snails.
It was good to have a table reserved, since after a while it started to rain all the way till Yangshou. On top we could seek some shelter underneath a roof but it did not really protect from rain. Pictures from sunny Li River are not as pretty as the mystical ones with rain and some fog. That was our comfort. Never the less it was fantastic. After 4 hours we arrived in Yangshou and I saw Mo already looking for me.
After check in in Paradise hotel, Mo showed me to the farmers market. There I saw for the first time how they prepared cats and dogs. They burnt the skin with a big bunsenbrenner and chopped the animals into small pieces. Inside the meat was still raw.
Since it rained we postponed the bicycle tour to the halfmoon hill till tomorrow morning. For the evening Mo organized a ticked to the lightshow on the riverstage. It was just fantastic with an audiance of 2800. Even today they had to do the show twice although it was raining up to the beginning of the show. Mr. Jheng, the choreogragher of the opening show of the Olympics in Beijing did this show with elements from the olympics, just fantastic. The theme of the show was a wedding of a minority girl, where I am expert by now. I just made a mistake in the jesterday report, my bride was a Jao girl, excuse to her.
One picture i remember from the olymics: many long sheets of silk which actors in between moving them up and down like waves. Today fisherman on small boats did that with red silk. 600 actors participate in this show.

After the skow we enjoyed catfish and beer. Mo went into the kitchen to make sure that they use enough garlic since he knows that I like it.

Now I feel completely relaxed after a whole body massage in my hotel.

Fazit 1

Joi eating bamboo rice

Back to yesterday:

I forgot to telI you that Joi likes to play soccer and admires German soccer. From Werder he knows Diego, Frings and Wiese. He thinks Wiese is the best goalgetter in Germany. and that Diego will transfer to Turin for 20 Million Euro.

Up in the mountains he just checked the internet with his handy and told me that the German team won versus the Liechtenstein 4:1, I think to remember. Well Sebastian already corrected me that we won 4:0.

Fazit 1:

Guilin has about the amount of inhabitants of Bremen. With the cosy walks along the river and lakes I don’t feel there are only people, people and people surrounding you like I had last time.

China has deep contradictions in its society.

I ask myself what keeps it together?

There is the different way of living city versus countryside. Farmers still live the old way and in the cities there is “modern” live and booming economy. People are well dressed in western style, move independently with self confidence.

In the countryside the old structures still exist with a few modern buildings in between.

Young generation doesn’t care much about the paty and political issues, pursues its own life what ever this is, is styled very modern fashioned and behaves with confidence looking for a fulfilling life on their own in western life style. Old Generation has difficulties to cope with the economical development.

You don’t see police in the streets, but the party controls the politics and major decisions. Young people just let them do their thing.

Handy everywhere, well I have a Chinese Mobile SIM card, too.

Traveling in China is well organized, easy and comfortable since you have plenty of people in all kind of services. First of all one thing is unusual for us. If you want to buy something in a shop, there are several employees around you, talking and help you find what you want. Service everywhere, mostly young ladies, at least one head smaller than you. If you ask for something, it´s done in a minute.

I can call my tour consultant Foring (almost) anytime for help.

It is only a pity, that with almost all the people I meet, I cannot talk to.

Sonntag, 29. März 2009 Longji dragons backbone terrasse rice fields tour

You see
Longji dragons backbone terrasse rice fields just below the Zhuang village Ping an. We are in the land of several minorities.
They live in wooden houses and live of tourism and their agricultural production.
This day´s tour I did with Joi who is one of Chinas young generation. (see further down) Joi and me we were the Panda Group with a Panda on a white flag. After showing it on the way up to the Zhuang village to distinguish us from the green group, Joi put it back into his backpack. Well there was no use for it. Joi was my personal tour guide for the whole day.
But first we had a two hours bus ride and the bus driver passed all the cars, motorcycles and buses without caring about curves impossible to see upcoming traffic.
Better do not use buses in China to visit the countryside!!!!
Joi was a perfect guide and we talked a lot about all kind of questions. He agreed my experience I made so far that young people do not care about politics, the do their thing.
We drove up a steep and narrow valley. So the villages we visited seem to be in a hidden valley.

Me with two old Zhuang ladies in front of their house.

We walked up the steep hill with many other tourists along many
houses where the minority people sold handmade things. I could not resist to by a colorful blanket for a small table. I think Joi rolled
his eyes.
On the way up we had a stop around noon for lunch. Bamboo rice
and bamboo chicken we ordered. The rice as well the chopped chicken are stuffed into the bamboo with small pieces of vegetable and the chicken in addition with slices of ginger and dried hot pepper.
Then the bamboo is grilled as you can see.
The rice was a little sweet from the bamboo, the best rice I ever had. The chicken was juicy with an overwhelming taste. I still can feel it in my mouth.

After descending we visited a show where girls from the Zhuang minority in traditional cloth

showed traditional dances. Then they were looking for volunteer men. Of course I volunteered and was married to a minority girl. They demonstrated a traditional wedding, where I for example had to sing, dance, beat cooked rice until it was like clue (for wedding balls with nuts in it as a special dish).
Well I sang "Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städele hinaus...." of course in the German version and not the Elvis one.
Besides I had to lift the curtain from my "brides" head, drink rice wine and carry her on my back around the hall and back to the stage. It was fun especially for the audiance.
Now i am back in my room in Guilin, midnight again and tomorrow I have to check out and leave by 8:15. Then my next guide will show up for the highlight:
4 hour boat ride to Yangshou on Li River though the most picturesque landscape in China and the light show at Li River in Yangshou done by the choreographer of the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing.
Hey and tomorrow afternoon I finally ride the bike up the Moon Hill from Yangshou. After seeing the chaotic trafic again in Guilin, I rather walked in Guilin. Distances are as short as in downtown Bremen.

Photos from Saturday

me holding a crispy stick with crab in front of Elephant Trunk Hill
inside the Buddha shrine at Fubo Shan
view from top of Fubo Shan

Samstag, 28. März 2009

Today the Guillin tour starts at 9:30. Mo, tourist guide is humorous, relaxed and speaks English quite well. We talk about everyday subjects besides informations about the spots we visited. Just political questions he just did not hear.
Our driver brought us to the flute cave. I have never seen a cave like this with so many different shapes created by the steady water drops within million of years. Just see the pictures above.
After climbing Elephant Trunk Hill we had lunch at Fubo Hotel. There is a nice story about the Elephant Trunk Hill: Surrounding Guilin there are many rice fields. At a terrible drought gog just sent an elefant to Guilin to spray the water of the Li River to the fields with his trunk. Well and he is still there. After lunch we visited the Fubo Shan Hill (sieging the waves). Time by time the waves of the river created caves into the front of the hill. Some of them used to host "1000" buddhas. From top of Fubo Shan we had an impressing and wonderful view to the skyline of the peaks arround Guilin.
In the evening I went with Mo to the rivercruise through the iluminated Guilin, an absolute highlight. There was only one seat vacant in the ship. So Mo just left me with the Chinese guide. Luckily a lady from Taipeh translated some of the information the chinese guide gave without any interruption. Well I always get along somehow. Well almost all the people I met in Guilin only spoke the Chinese language.
Before the boattrip Mo took me to a restaurant where they had fish, turtles, snakes and other animals just alive. A fish was taken out of the basin with a net and smashed on the ground and the weight of duck was measured. There it was......the bamboo rat in a cave. It looks like a grey ball of fir. I rather ordered chicken Szechuan style, which means hot sauce with lots of red pepper in it. Sidedishes were vegetables, soup and tofu. The chicken was chopped into small pieces together with bones including one claw and the fried head. I tried averything and Mo certified that I will have no problem with traveling in China after eating this meal. He had to get some medicine for his stomach.
I forgot to mention, for Leni I got an oldfashioned dress at the flute cave after bargaining it down to 150 Yuan. ...you say a prize, you say a prize.....

Now I got my 600mL bottle of local beer out of the freezer of my bar.

Tomorrow, well it is already today, I will do the one day Longji Dragon´s Baqckbone Rice Terraces Tour, starting 8:15.

Park Hotel in Guilin, Friday March 27

View from my room.
I forgot to mention:
It rains here a lot, but it is warm rain and it rains only softly, like the Irish say. Then it stops again, so you really do not get wet.
It is warm, in the (high?) 80ies.
I picked the rainy time of the year. Beginning April, the farmers start to plant the rice fields and in July the second plant starts.

This morning I strolled around in Guilin. Two worlds confront each other. The elegant one with well dressed young people, the shopping malls, main street Zhongshan Rd. and wonderful parks along the lakes and the Li River. Just next to the mall is the market for the farmers with life chicken, dugs (one for 15 Yuan I found out) and fish. Vegetables, spices, meat and food prepared and raw. I took some nice pictures and videos. I will try to add some next time, but it takes awfully long time to load them up. I need help from my computer specialists. Outside the market there are all kind of shops, looking dirty and old. Places we know from our last tour to China in 2001.
After a rest in the afternoon I met Foring, my tour consultant in the lobby of my hotel to go out for dinner.
She chose a huge restaurant famous for goose. So we enjoyed the goose in two different styles, crispy baked the way we know from Christmas and chopped into small pieces fried with delicious sauce. The first part of the goose was cut into handy pieces with bones, which you eat with chopsticks without fingers. The other one we wrapped into a sort of small Tortilla together with thin sticks of onion, cucumber and pepper. This was my favorite. Of course the waitresses brought delicious soup and vegetables besides. I had a local beer and Foring coconut juice and together we drank some tea with white flowers. Foring, I hope I did not forget any essential part.
The smile in her face was natural, although I asked her to say Niko Niko (the name of the shopping mall) which means smile smile. She smiled all the time and it was wonderful to talk with her. She smiled all the time only partly due to me, she still is in honeymoon just married since two months. Besides political issues in China and informations about Europe we talked about the question if it is better to have one or two children. Well she actually is allowed to get two children, since she and her husband come from a single child family. So the question is not purely academic and she tends towards two children. Foring, thanks for the time you spent with me. I really can recomend her as tour consultant if you plan visit China. She is very professional in her job.
Good night, after the computerwork I´ll go to bed. My guide for the Guillin tour will pick me up at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

26.3.2009 1.Tag in China

First day in China
for my English speaking friends. My German friends all can read the text in English language. So it is fair to write in English.

Now it is Thursday 22:00 and I am not tired yet.
I like my room in Guilin Park Hotel with access to internet. I just came home with taxi because I got lost and it is less than 10 Yuan (1 EURO equals about 9 Yuan)to take a taxi within downtown Guilin.

Let´s start in the beginning. Yesterday Inge brought me to the Bremen Airport and I started to Amsterdam at 11:25. I booked a place to the aisle for all the 3 flights. Inge alway says that I need more than one place and she never has enough place for her arms whenever she sits next to me. Well on the flight to Amsterdam I was sitting next to a mother from Africa with her 2 year old boy on one seat. The airplane to Amsterdam has only 2 rows with 2 seats each. So I was lucky to sit next to the aisle since this queued boy didn`t want to be fastened with the seatbelt, an extension of his mother´s. He tried to crawl under the seat and so on. We both, his mother and me stayed cool in all this chaos. Well during landing procedure Emanel felt asleep and his mother tied him on her back with a towel.

In Amsterdam airport I had to wait for 5 hours for my flight to Peking. I was not really successful playing Suddocu while waiting. The flight with the Jumbo was ok, but 9 hours and I only sort of slept for 2 hours. I didn´t sleep since then.
In Peijing I transfered to the domestic flight to Guilin, one longnose together with all these Chinese. No problem to get along. All announcements were in Chinese and English. And I met a Chinese businessman living in Australia with business branch in Guilin. We talked a lot.
At Guilin airport In was picked up by a German speaking (fluently) tourist manager with her driver (what a luxury, just for me) to bring me to the Guilin Park Hotel through the heavy traffic where we arrived by 17:00. I ordered the transfer at Meiers Reisen, a German agency, in order to get the first day settled for sure.
By 14:30 I arrived at Guilin Airport with Southern China Airlines, 20 hours after leaving Bremen. You can imagine how much I enjoyed to take a shower and change cloth. I checked the hotel and saw that they have a studio in the basement for foot massage, 1 hour for 60 Yuan. I tell you the massage was great and the young Chinese lady did a good job. It turned out that besides the feet, she gave massage to my legs, back, neck and head. I was glad she didn´t massage my belly. She pressed hard and I didn´t know that massage can be so painful. But afterwards I felt like in heaven and I walked quite a bit.

Guilin is fantastic what I could see in dark. The Li river, bridges, lakes, hotels and parks along the water are illuminated.
I walked down the main street with all the shops. In 2001 Inge and me, we were in Peijing and Shanghai, but that is nothing compared to Guilin today. The Quality of cloth is high with modern fashion. February in Venice Inge and me, we admired the well dressed young ladies. Now I know where the cloth, shoes etc come from.
I went into a gigantic department store for cloth, jewelry, electronics and all kind of high quality you can imagine. All written in Chinese, just the name of the labels I could read.
Inge what size does Leni have? For example I found "Lackschuhe" in Leni´s size f0r 68 Yuan.
Nevin, I almost bought shoes for me.
I couldn´t find the name of the departmentstore, all written in Chinese. At the side entrance I finally found "Niko Niko Do Plaza".
In the upper flor, there is a restaurant, very convenient for tourists. All kind of dishes are displayed. From the waitress you get a receipt and then you ask the cooks behind the many displays to stamp the number into the receipt. Then the waitress gets the food for you. I chose duck with rise. Tee was served in addition. I payed 18 Yuan for the delicious food.

The saying "living like God in France" should be changed to "living like God in China".

I wonder where Foring, my tour consultant from Guilin will take me to dinner tomorrow with her collegue. I read in the tourist guide, that bamboo rats or snake soup are specialities of Guilin.

Well now I will drink a cold Tsingtao beer from the minibar of my room and then go to bed.

My tour to China so far

Meine Route: - Guilin - Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Zhongdian – Kunming organized with Sinowaytravel

Kunming - Jinghong - Yuanyang – Kunming organized by myself together with Süli, one of my former students. He studies economics in Kunming

Day 1 Mit 25-März-09 Flug mit KLM von Bremen über Amsterdam und Peking nach Guilin.

Day 2 Don 26-März-09 15:20 Ankunft in Guilin und Transfer zum Park Hotel in Guillin

Day 3 Frei 27-März-09 in Eigenregie mit dem Fahrrad Guilin erkunden.

Day 4 Sat 28-Mar-09

Guilin

Program: Wave Subduing Hill, Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill, Evening cruise on Li River and surrounding lakes,

Meet our guide in your hotel's lobby in the morning.

Wave Subduing Hill (fubo hill): has the Xinxi Marquis Temple built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The title of Xinxi Marquis was given to Fubo General Ma Yuan, so the name of the hill. Half of the graceful peak is in the river and the other half on land. During flood season turbulent currents lash the hill rocks. On top of the hill one will see an exquisite scenery like a traditional Chinese painting.

Reed Flute Cave: the cave is one of the largest known examples of what each tropical karst cone conceals within it.This cave was called "The Art Gallery of Mother Nature". Colored fluorescent lights which cast shadows and illuminate shapes of imaginary animals, fruits and vegetables complete the unworldly effect.

Elephant Trunk Hill:Located at the conjunction of the Li River & the Peach Blossom River, the whole hill looks very much like a giant elephant with a long trunk, it is the symbol of Guilin city.

You will enjoy the evening cruise through Li River, Fir lake, Banyan Lake and Peach River, which was part of the ancient moat surrounding Guilin.

Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel(Own arrangement)

Day 5 Sun 29-Mar-09

Guilin

SIC tour (Seat-in-Coach Tours) today

One Day Longji Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces Tour.

Route: Pick up at the lobby of your hotel in early morning (our tour guide will call you one evening in advance, to tell you the exact pick up time) → drive for 2 hours to Longji, walk up to the top of the moutain to visit the Longji Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces → Chinese Lunch in local restaurant on the mountain, later transferred back to Guilin to your hotel.

Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel(Own arrangement)

Day 6 Mon 30-Mar-09

Guilin

Program: Cycle in Yangshuo, Moon Hill, Big Banyan Tree,

SIC tour (Seat-in-Coach Tours)

One Day Li River Cruise Tour

Tour Itinerary: Pick up at the lobby of your hotel in the early morning (our tour guide will call you one evening in advance, to tell you the exact pick up time) → drive for 40 minutes to the Zhujiang Dock, take the Li River Cruise to Yangshuo with lunch aboard (boat departs at 09h00 or 09h30) → Yangshuo, stroll around West Street to withness the daily activities of local society. Stay night at Yangshuo.

The total cuirse journey is about 30 km and takes 4-4.5 hours. On the way you'll see the most beautiful landscapes and pass throw the local villages. Tips: The cruise lunch may not be as good as your expectation, please be sure you are well fed this morning at the hotel.

private tour in this afternoon.

Biking in Beautiful Yangshuo: When you escape onto the country roads, lanes and tracks of the distinctive and beautiful Yangshou countryside, you would see rice paddies, farm house, green limestone hills. Biking through the paddy field and orchards that surround the famous mountains will give a fascinating insight into life in rural China. Centuries old farming methods sit side by side with mobile phones and satellite dishes.

Moon Hill: Moon Hill has a natural round cave at the peak and from a distance, the cave (a hole in the peak) resembles the moon, hence the name. The fantastic view from the top of the Moon Hill has made this hill one of Yangshuo's best attractions!

Accommodations: Yangshuo Paradise Hotel, Guilin (4 star)

Tel:8822109, Fax:8828550

http://www.sinowaytravel.com/hotels/hotel-overview.aspx?ID=175

Day 7 Tue 31-Mar-09

Guilin / Kunming

Transfer via: by overnight train for soft sleeper K393(1653-1120+1)

Program: Transfer to train station for your train to Kunming.

Accommodations: On the train

Day 8 Wed 1-Apr-09

Kunming trainstation at 11:20+1

Program: Free time for a whole day,

Accommodations: Own arrangement

Day 9 Thu 2-Apr-09

Day 10 Fri 3-Apr-09

Day 11 Sat 4-Apr-09

Kunming

Accommodations: Own arrangement with Süli

In Kunming wohne ich bei meinem ehemaligen Schüler Süli, der in Kunming Wirtschaft studiert und kann hoffentlich möglichst viel über das Alltagsleben in Kunming mitbekommen. Die Sehenswürdigkeiten in und um Kunming will mir Süli zeigen.

Day 12 Sun 5-Apr-09

Kunming / Dali

Transfer via: by air morning flight CZ3481(10:35/11:10)

Program: Transfer to airport for your flight to Dali. Upon arrival at the airport, pickup by our English speaking tour guide and drive to hotel, Three Pagodas, Dali Ancient Town, The Ancient Wall and South Gate,

Meet our guide at your hotel's lobber in the morning (noch zu klären, da ich von Sülis Wohnung starte)
Three Pagodas: are located northwest of Dali at the foot Cangshan Mountains. With Qianxun Pagoda, completed in 876 during the Tang dynasty (618-907AD).

The ancient Dali town:built in 1382 and is one the 24 most famous historical and cultural cities in China.

Accommodations: Landscape Hotel, Dali (4 star)

Tel:86-872-2666188, Fax:

http://www.sinowaytravel.com/hotels/hotel-overview.aspx?ID=59

Day 13 Mon 6-Apr-09

Dali / Lijiang

Transfer via: by van

Program: Xizhou House, Enjoy the tea ceremony of Bai Ethnic, Dayan Ancient Town, Lion Hill (Wangulou), escorted tour to Square Street,

Xizhou House: live Bai minority people. You will see the their typical traditions, dresses there.

Since the Ming Dynasty, it has been common practice for Bai ethnic group people to receive and show hospitality to guests by serving three cups of their unique Bai tea (Sandaocha), which literally means "treating guests with three cups of tea".

Lijiang Dayan Ancient Town: has a history of over 800 years. It is one of the few places in China with well-preserved old style folk buildings.

Lion Hill: Both the hill and the wooden structure called Wangulou provide good views of the Old Town and the surrounding countryside. You may enjoy the beautiful sunset (if the weather is permit), overlooking the old town and the great Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is in the distance.

Accommodations: Jiannanchun Hotel, Lijiang (4 star)

Tel:086-0888-5102222, Fax:

http://www.sinowaytravel.com/hotels/hotel-overview.aspx?ID=62

Day 14 Tue 7-Apr-09

Lijiang

Program: The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Taking cable car up to Yulong Snow Mountain at Yak Meadow, Yuhu village, the old house of Joseph Rock,

The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: The mountain has 13 peaks of which the highest is 18000 feet above sea level. It is a treasure of wild plants and rare animals.

Yak Meadow: It got its name because the local people like to pasture their Yak here.

The landscape rises and falls on the meadow. In spring and summer, Yaks with black and white skin wander in grass and all kinds of flowers. In autumn and winter, the mild edge of th meadow becoms a sharp contrast with the peaks of the snow mountain.

Yuhu Village: a village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where Mr. Joseph Rock, a famous Russian Scientist lived for 27 years from 1922 to 1949, enjoy hundreds of photos and articles of the culture in this area.

Joseph Rock: lived in a village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain for 27 years from 1922 to 1949, left us thousands of photoes and articles of the culture in this area.

Accommodations: Jiannanchun Hotel, Lijiang (4 star)

Day 15 Wed 8-Apr-09

Lijiang / Zhongdian

Transfer via: by van

Program: First Bend of Yangtse River in Shigu, Lijiang, The tiger Leaping Gorge,

The Tiger Leaping Gorge: one of the world's four great gorges - is located in Hutiaoxia Town in Zhongdian County,is honored as one of the deepest and most marvelous gorges on the globe.

Accommodations: Holypalace Hotel, Zhongdian (4 star)

Tel:86-887-8229788, Fax:

http://www.sinowaytravel.com/hotels/hotel-overview.aspx?ID=204

Day 16 Thu 9-Apr-09

Zhongdian

Program: Puda tso national park, Tibetan Family visit, Songzanlin Monastery,

Puda tso national park include Shudu Lake and Bita Lake.

Songzanlin Monastery, or 'Little Potala' as it is affectionately known, is a spiritual place that invites you to discover the mystery and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 5th Dalai Lama chose the site through divination in 1679, the monastery has grown into the most important community of its kind in Yunnan. If lucky, you might see the Lama having their evening lesson.

Accommodations: Holypalace Hotel, Zhongdian (4 star)

Day 17 Fri 10-Apr-09

Zhongdian / Kunming

Transfer via: by air MU5934(08:50-09:50)

Program: Transfer to airport for your flight to Kunming.

Service Ends;

Weitere Planung mit Süli von Kunming aus.

Day 18 Sam 11-Apr-09 Kunming bei Süli

Day 19 Son 12-Apr-09 Flug nach Jinghong in der Provinz Xishuangbanna

Day 20 Mon 13-Apr-09 .Sanchahe Naturschutzgebiet mit Bannas Tal der Wildelefanten (tropischer Urwald) Übernachtung im Naturschutzgebiet

Day 21 Die 14-Apr-09 weiterer Tag im Sanchahe Naturschutzgebiet

Day 22 Mit 15-Apr-09 Busfahrt nach Yuannyang mit seinen Reisterassen

Day 23 Don 16-Apr-09 Busfahrt nach Kunming

Day 24 Frei 17-Apr-09 Kunming

Day 25 Sam 18-Apr-09 Abflug von Kunming um 08:25 über Peking und Amsterdam nach Bremen, Ankunft um 21:25