Guilin and Yangshuo - The Heaven on Earth

“Guilin’s mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven.”

Traveling is an obsession. You were either born with it or not. And I luckily was. For me to explore the beauty of Mother Earth is the biggest and most beautiful adrenalin in my life. That's why I put Guilin to my Top 5 list of must visit places. I've been looking for flight tickets to the south since I came to China, but the high price has always made me change my mind. Three weeks ago, I was thinking about a trip to Korea, because the flight tickets were super cheap. And when I was browsing the ctrip website, I found a good deal on flight tickets to Guilin, so I just bought it. (Later I've found out that the flights are always cheap this time because of raining season :) )

Cestovanie je moja závislosť a objavovať nové miesta našej Zeme je ten najkrajší a najväčší adrenalín. Guilin bol preto medzi top 5 na mojom zozname miest, ktoré musím vidieť. Letenky som pozerala pravidelne, avšak vysoké ceny ma vždy odradili. Pred tromi týždňami sme uvažovali nad výletom do Južnej Kórei, pretože letenky boli celkom lacné. Avšak náhodou som na web stránke ctrip.com natrafila na výhodnú ponuku leteniek do Guilinu – a tým bolo rozhodnuté... Byebye Korea, Vitaj Guilin

At the airport waiting for out flight to Guilin

Unlike the flight tickets, picking the right hostel to stay in was definitely easier. Wada Hostel has around 2000 positive reviews on hosteworld.com and has been rewarded a few times as the best hostel in China. And it was super cheap! :)

Vybrať hostel bolo podstatne jednoduchšie. Wada hostel mal na hosteworld.com vyše 2000 pozitívnych hodnotení a bol niekoľkokrát ocenený ako najlepší hostel v Číne, navyše za rozumnú cenu.. 

In front of Wada Hostel

Our morning flight with Capital Airlines was quite ok, with a few – for me terrifying turbulences :D The airport shuttle bus drove us almost to our hostel for only 20 RMB. All the hostel reviews were talking about extremely kind and friendly staff. And they were right – Wada girls, as they call themselves, were nice, smiley, and very helpful. Our check-in was done in a few minutes, so was our room change (the bathroom door was kinda broken) – we got another room, I must say a better one, and about million apologies.

Ranný let s Capital Airlines bol, až na pár turbulencií, bezproblémový. Letiskový shuttlebus nás za 20 RMB vysadil takmer až pri našom hosteli, ktorý sme vďaka mape našli veľmi rýchlo. Recenzie nášho hostelu hovorili o veľmi priateľskom personáli, ktorý nás veľmi milo prekvapil. Check-in bol vybavený za pár minút a aj reklamácia našej izby (dvere na kúpeľni sa nedali zatvoriť) bola bez problémová – dostali sme druhú, krajšiu izbu a k nej aj tisíc ospravedlnení (vidí sa to ešte niekde?).

Our room in Wada Hostel

Bathroom

Not only does Wada Hostel have fluent English speaking, kind, nice, smiley and helpful staff, but also an amazing restaurant. They have two awesome cooks (this way I wanna thank them for the fabulous Lemon Chicken recipe), who make delicious western and Asian food. And so CHEAP! They even make home-made dumplings, which are the best I have ever eaten in China. (20 dumplings for 20 RMB!!!) On Mondays they offer a course of making these dumplings! (And then eating – YAAY!) Also every Friday is BBQ Friday which means ALL YOU CAN EAT until you are completely full – for 40 RMB! And I definitely cannot forget my absolutely favourite Lemon Chicken. We stayed in Wada for three nights, and we had Lemon Chicken for dinner every single night! :D Sean (my lovely man) tried Yellow Curry Chicken and I thought he will pass out :D It was spicy as hell. And they said it is just a little bit. So rule number one – if you don’t like spicy food, or you are not used to it, always say that you don’t want it spicy AT ALL! Because here in Guilin “a little” spicy might kill your taste buds. 

Wada hostel ma okrem plynule anglicky hovoriaceho, usmievavého a ochotného personálu aj výbornú reštauráciu. Vyber je veľký, čo sa týka jedál západného aj ázijského štýlu, za naozaj priaznivé ceny. Ponúkajú aj domáce, ručne robené, mäsom plnené taštičky, ktoré boli asi najlepšie aké som v Číne zatiaľ jedla. Dokonca každý pondelok ponúkajú kurz robenia a následného konzumovania týchto taštičiek. Taktiež každý piatok je akcia na „all you can eat“ (jedz pokiaľ vládzeš :D)  bbq za 40 RMB, na ktoré sa však treba vopred nahlásiť kvôli surovinám. Vrelo musím odporučiť aj Lemon Chicken a Thai Yellow Curry. Avšak, ak nemáte radi pálivé jedlo, treba to VŽDY a VŠADE nahlas hovoriť, že nechcete ŽIADNE korenie. Pretože tu, v provincii Guangxi, aj trošku pálivého jedla Vám môže zničiť chuťové bunky. 

Home-made dumplings

Lemon Chicken

The first day, when it stopped raining, we decided to explore the city a little bit. The transportation system in Guilin is very easy and simple. The bus drove us to Pedestrian Street where there are a lot of local shops and restaurants. From there we walked to Elephant Trunk Hill Park, which is one of the most famous tourist places in Guilin. The park is huge, with beautiful sceneries and for 75 RMB it is definitely worth it.

Prvý deň, keď na chvíľku prestalo pršať, sme sa rozhodli isť do centra mesta. Dopravný systém je veľmi jednoduchý, takže s tým nebol žiadny problém. Autobus nás vysadil pri pešej zóne, ktorou sme sa dostali až ku Elephant Trunk Hill parku. Park je obrovský, s krásnymi scenériami, a za 75 RMB na osobu to jednoznačné stojí za to. Napriek tomu, že nám trošku pršalo, to neubralo na príjemnej atmosfére.

Guilin

Swimming Elephants :)

In the evening, when we came back to our hostel, we booked a Bamboo Raft Trip on the Li River. Wada hostel has its own trips around Guilin, not only for good prices, but also very well organized. I don’t have very good experience with Chinese travel agencies (my very first trip in China – to Inner Mongolia was a big fail :D)

Večer, keď sme prišli naspäť na hostel, sme si objednali výlet na bambusových loďkách po rieke Li. Wada hostel ma vlastné výlety a zájazdy po okolí, ktoré sú nielen za dobré ceny, ale sú aj veľmi rozumne zorganizované. So zájazdmi organizovanými čínskymi cestovkami nemám veľmi dobrú skúsenosť. Raz som využila takúto možnosť na zájazd do Vnútorného Mongolska a to bolo celezle :D

Bamboo Raft on Li River

For 210 RMB per person we got picked up at 9 am right in front of our hostel. The bus drove us to the main pier from where we took the bamboo raft. I was scared as hell – I don’t like boats and open water, even when I swim in the sea, I don’t go too far. I walk till the water is up to my knees and I swim like that :D. But these bamboo rafts were not only comfy, but safe as well. And the nature all around us was just breathtaking. It was even better than I have ever imagined. After almost two hours we docked at the pier to see the scenic view that is featured on 20 RMB bank note. From there we took a bus to Yangshuo city. Local people say that Guilin is the most beautiful place in the world. And Yangshuo is the most beautiful place in Guilin. So that makes Yangshuo the most beautiful place in the whole universe. 

Za 210 RMB na osobu nás ráno o 9 vyzdvihol autobus priamo pred hostelom, a spolu s ďalšími cestujúcimi nás priviezol až do prístavu, odkiaľ sme sa mali plaviť po rieke Li. Ja osobne som sa toho celkom obávala, pretože mam strach z lodí a otvorenej vody, ale tieto loďky boli fajn. Boli robené pre štyroch pasažierov plus "kapitán" :D Rieka bola pokojná a scenéria, ktorou sme sa plavili počas takmer dvoch hodín, bola úžasná. Zakotvili sme až pri mieste, ktoré je odfotografované na papierovej 20 RMB bankovke. Odtiaľ nás autobus odviezol až do mestečka Yangshuo, ktoré je jedno z najznámejších v Číne. Miestni ľudia hovoria, že Guilin je najkrajšie miesto na svete, a Yangshuo je najkrajšie miesto v Guiline, čo ho robí najkrajším mestečkom v celom vesmíre :)))

For the second day we booked a trip to Longji Rice Terrace Fields. A minivan picked us up at 8.15 in the morning and we got to Longji after 3 hours of driving. I was a little bit worried of the weather because the forecast said it’s gonna be stormy and rainy. But as locals later told me, NEVER trust the weather forecast in Guilin and surrounding areas.

Na druhý deň ráno sme si objednali výlet na ryžové polia do Longji. Minivan nás a ďalších 5 odvážlivcov :D vyzdvihol ráno o 8.15. Cesta do Longji trvala asi 3 hodiny. Trošku som sa bála počasia, pretože hlásali dážď a búrky na celý deň, ale opäť sme mali šťastie. Keď sme dorazili na miesto, bolo krásne a slnečné počasie.

I remember seeing a photo of rice terrace fields, a long time ago. And I was stunned. I told myself, if I get to China, I MUST see these rice terraces! My expectations were obviously very high, but the reality was even better! Clean air, beautiful nature, nice and kind people and the peaceful feeling all around. If there is heaven, I hope it looks like this.

Odkedy som videla fotky ryžových polí a teraz v knihách a na internete, bol to môj sen zažiť to na vlastné oči. Mala som vysoké očakávania od tohto miesta, ale naživo to bolo ešte krajšie. Čistý vzduch, nádherná príroda, milí a priateľskí ľudia a ten pokoj. Ak nebo a raj naozaj existujú, tak dúfam, že vyzerajú presne takto isto. 

After a loooong day of hiking we got back to the small village where we started our day. We were trying to find a restaurant, where we can have a coffee. But then we saw a cute old lady, sitting behind the table, writing Chinese characters. The moment she saw us, she started smiling and waving and asked if we wanna drink a tea. I told her we would like coffee instead, but she sadly said they don’t have any coffee. But then she smiled again, told us to wait for her and that she will find the coffee for us. And then, this cute old lady started to run around the village asking everyone if she can borrow coffee. I have been to many countries, but this has never happened to me before. After few minutes, she came with the coffee, in nice fancy glasses. The whole time we were drinking, she was staring at us, making sure we like it and we have enough sugar. She was asking if we like Guilin and Longji, and how is life in Beijing. Yes, a lot of Chinese people never get the chance to visit Beijing. Before we left, I told her that it would be a pleasure to have a photo with her, to have a nice memory. And she was so surprised and happy at the same time, that I thought she might start dancingJ. But the craziest part was when I asked her how much we owe her for the coffee and she said it is for free. Usually people in China and all around the world are trying to make as much money as possible from tourists. So when this beautiful old lady, who definitely has almost no money, told us it is for free, I almost cried. There is still hope – there are still good people in the world.

Po náročnom celodennej výstupe sme sa vrátili do malej dedinky odkiaľ sme začali náš vystúp. Hľadali sme reštauráciu kde by sme si mohli dať kávu, ale zaujala nás jedna veľmi milá staršia babička, ktorá sedela za stolom a písala čínske znaky. Hneď ako nás zbadala, že ju pozorujeme, začala na nás mávať a kričať, aby sme si ku nej sadli a dali si čaj. Tak som sa jej spýtala, či nemajú kávu, na čo mi odvetila, že kávu síce nemajú, ale mám chvíľku počkať a ona nejakú zoženie :) A tá milá drobná babička začala vysmiata behať po celej dedinke, že či jej nemá niekto požičať kávu :) Už som precestovala veľa krajín, ale nič podobné som ešte nezažila. Kávu nakoniec zohnala a priniesla nám ju v krásnych pohároch. Cely čas nás pozorovala, či nám káva chutí a uisťovala sa, že mame dostatok cukru. :) Stále sa s nami snažila komunikovať, pýtala sa odkiaľ pochádzame, ako sa nám páči v provincii Guanxi, a aký je život v Pekingu. Áno, veľa Číňanov sa za svoj život nedostanú ani len do Pekingu. Na konci som jej povedala, že by bola pre mňa česť sa s ňou odfotiť a mat na ňu pamiatku. Neverila vlastný ušiam, že práve s ňou sa chcem odfotiť, a veľmi sa z toho tešila. A najviac má dojalo, keď som sa jej spýtala, že koľko sme jej dlžní za kávu, a ona povedala, že to je od nej zadarmo. Väčšinou, či už v Číne alebo kdekoľvek inde na svete, sa ľudia snažia na turistoch zarobiť. Preto keď táto úžasná milá babička, ktorá má určite veľmi hlboko do vrecka, povedala, že je to od nej zadarmo, mala som slzy na krajíčku. Svet má stále nádej - dobrí ľudia stále existujú. (Len pre informáciu, za kávu sme jej nejaké peniaze nechali.)

The village where we started our hiking trip

The cute old lady and I

The old cute lady writing Chinese characters

I am writing this article on a bus full of Chinese people, and I am listening to Pharell´s Happy, and I feel like dancing and clapping, because I know what happiness means to me. J It is travelling! A week ago I had my personal crisis with Beijing and its people, but sometimes, the only thing you need to do, is pack a few things and go somewhere else for a few days. And to see that there is still so many good people, which makes me realize that Beijing will always be the place I love very much.

Práve ako píšem tento článok, sedím v autobuse plnom čínskych ľudí, do rytmu mi hrá Pharellova Happy a mám chuť začať tancovať a tlieskať :D ešte pred týždňom som mala osobnú krízu s Pekingom a jeho ľuďmi, ale niekedy stačí len na chvíľku vypadnúť do iného kúta Zeme alebo krajiny, presvedčiť sa, že dobrých ľudí je stále veľa, a potom aj Peking je opäť krásne miesto ktoré milujem!