Hanoi yesterday night Continue reading Hanoi (II) By Night / Museums
Tag Archives: Imported
Kunming Stone Forest / Last Day in China
KunMing (昆明)
…all I remember from my Lonely Planet about it is something to the line of “there’s nothing to see in KunMing proper”. Well, I sent my LP home already in the package from YangShuo, so I don’t have it anyway. And all I wanted to do in KunMing was to see the Stone Forest, which got quite some praise from various people, last from Rita and James. Continue reading Kunming Stone Forest / Last Day in China
YangShuo (III) Moon Hill
Alone again…I bid farewell to Rita and James this morning after breakfast as they are heading back to Canada by way of their Chinese ‘home’ and Shanghai. I’ll miss their company: Riding the bicycle alone through the YangShuo scenery might be faster, but also more quiet. Yesterday, we had spent a relaxing day ‘hanging out’ at YangShuo, not doing anything. Rita was still a bit handicapped, and so we stayed for 3 hours at the breakfast cafe, separated for a few hours (they shopping, me organizing a parcel back to German and a fax to the US), and staying from 5pm til midnight in another cafe, emptying various coffees and no less than 13 bottles of beer (for James and me) on the occasion. Life can be so simple and wonderful… Continue reading YangShuo (III) Moon Hill
YangShuo (II) Bamboo Rafting on YuLong River
Oh…YangShuo is so great a place to just hang out… I had always wanted to spend a day on the bamboo rafts crossing up and down the rivers. As Rita was a bit handicapped anyway and the weather was great again it was the perfect day to get driven out to YuLong River, hop onto the bamboo rafts, and get slowly moved down-river through stunning scenery. Views are comparable to Li River, if not even better. And no annoying loudspeaker announcement or engine sounds around. Just silence. Or water fights… 😉 Continue reading YangShuo (II) Bamboo Rafting on YuLong River
GuiLin (III) Li River
Li River (漓江)
Despite the money it costs and the bad weather forcast I had opted for accompanying Rita and James on the Li River cruise once again. A great decision! The weather forecast proved completely wrong and it was a nice sunny day with very good views on all the limestone hills along the river. Not that we could identify much more of the rocks named by the Chinese, but just the scenery as such, without names, was great enough. Compare these pics with my first tour here in February! (Organization was similar this time, but the bus not full, and I had an iPod to block out the unavoidable guide’s talking 😉 Most surprising: No bamboo rafts selling souvenirs on the river!)
GuiLin (II) LongJi Rice Terraces
You likely have seen cool pictures of the LongJi Rice Terraces, like in the rising morning sun, or in moon light, or even covered by snow. Well…we weren’t there at a time you could shoot any of such pictures. Maybe that is why the expectation was higher than what we eventually saw.
GuiLin (I) Arrived
Nothing interesting happened today. And there is likely not anything interesting to be happening tomorrow. Let me just give a brief note that I am still alive and well. I spent a lot of time waiting at airports today. Continue reading GuiLin (I) Arrived
LiJiang (II) By Night
I just had a quick walk around LiJiang’s Old Town by night. From my new location, the Ancient Town Youth Hostel, that is basically just a step over the door step. Continue reading LiJiang (II) By Night
Tiger Leaping Gorge – gorgeous!
Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡)
One of the deepest gorges of the world with its up to 3000m tall walls, Tiger Leaping Gorge attracts many, mostly foreign treckers for some fantastic views. The trek became quite popular over the years, so that transportation and also food and loging on the way is no issue at all any longer, small backpack sufficient. But the views stay the same. And the trail is still just a beaten path. No stairs nowhere. Hiking pure in an exciting surrounding!
LiJiang (I) A-Maze-ing
LiJiang (丽江)
LiJiang is a charming little town in Yunnan, of which especially the old town is amazing in its litteral meaning: It’s a maze of cobble-stone alleys and paths and you will get lost for sure. Don’t worry…you aren’t the first one and you won’t be the last one either. It’s just fun to dive into the alleys, get lost, emerge somewhere, find something seen before, and after 2 or 3 days even find short-cuts. Continue reading LiJiang (I) A-Maze-ing