River Li and her bumps.......

Arrived in Guilin, which has been completely rebuilt since the second world war, as it was flattened by the Japanese. So not historically interesting. We stay at the Shangri-La hotel, which is pretty big, but very nice. Staff wonderfully helpful. Then off on our water trip with our guide, Christine, who, to date, has probably the best English speaking accent. The trip is along the River Li, which is the best way to see the amazing limestone peaks. These peaks, some covered in vegetation, others bare rock, are quite stunning, with some fun to be had by imagining the formations to be some animal or human form. So, as we go along, we see an elephant, a horse with a rider, goats horns, a lady with a baby, a longevity man, 9 white horses and some bats. Also, we see the scene which forms the reverse of the 20 Yuan Renminbi note. The weather is not so good today, but it does make for better viewing (our guide said if it's too sunny, it is often difficult to view the scenery). We see a fisherman using a bird, called a cormorant, to catch fish. As the fisherman has tied a noose round the bird's neck, it can't swallow the fish so it allows the fisherman to extract it from its beak. Then off the cormorant goes again, to catch fish.

After about 3 hours, that included a quick bite for lunch of fried whitebait sort of fish and shrimps, we walk through Yangshuo where Diane buys a delighful embroidered glasses case (after a bit of bartering!). Back to our lovely hotel where we enjoy the evening with a glass (or two) of wine and some great noodles in their comfy lounge.