All rise and shine for breakfast that was as bad as the day before since i was still at the 万丽花园酒店 (Elite Garden Hotel). That tumbler at the side held my 3-in-1 coffee; the essence that gave me the energy to start the day.
For a non-Chinese character reader, this notice might be confusing. What it attempted to translate was that you can put your washed clothes in the bathroom or at the balcony on the 8th floor.
Leaving the hotel to our next stop; the city of Guilin! Our tour guide had forewarned us; the signature Guilin scenery has been undermined by its developments and Yangshuo is actually preferred for its pristine beauty.
Baskets of live chicken due for the wet market! This was a common sight in my childhood when i used to live in the village and it was often a gruesome sight for the kids.
Thought the weirdly shaped umbrella would benefit the bikers in Singapore given our rainy weather; however, the occasional strong wind and the very high likelihood of lightning might not bode well for the riders.
In China - when the roads are lined with stalls selling the same thing, it means you are near a place that produces that product. That differs from Singapore; you can see durians at certain seasons but the little red dot definitely doesn't have the space for THAT many durians.
Still within the vicinity of Yangshuo.
It's not even 9am and we were set for the first item on our itinerary for the day; a visit to an AAAA-rated attraction. The Out of the World Paradise (桂林阳朔世外桃源); to read more, click here.
The rain started pelting on us when we entered the man-made "paradise" and continued to keep us company throughout the journey to Guilin.
With the slippery road, the risk of accidents would be heightened; the fortunate thing was that no one seemed to be injured.
90 minutes later and we had arrived at our first stop in Guilin City - i was way more interested in the activity though; lunch, specifically the Wangfu feast (directly translated as the prince feast).
No doubt it was an incredibly satisfying meal fit for a prince!
Special credit to the two dishes above; the braised pork belly which was tough yet discharged the fragrance of flowers when you chew through and the osmanthus tang yuan soup; a dessert welcomed by everyone as the temperature had dipped quite a bit that morning and it's so soothing to have the hot liquid trickling down the throat.
I am known to eat fast and i am actually faster whenever i am overseas i love to check out the surroundings; why waste time on slowly eating your food when time is so limited?! Like the above, i would have never known that the Guilin Art Gallery (桂林美术馆) was the restaurant's next door neighbour.
Furthermore, i chanced upon this pretty place with loads of passenger boats; maybe due to the rain, many laid idle at the pier.
The people of Guilin really enjoyed fishing, even in the rain! I was expecting to see cormorants on their side although i didn't see any; there's a possibility that the birds dislike the rain! Well, i am just guessing!
His first time to Guilin with both his feet planted firmly on the ground - throughout this trip, i can see that Dad was mostly beaming from ear to ear! Another trip should be planned for year end!
I brought him to the spot i found out earlier!
Following lunch was a short expedition to the icon of Guilin; the elephant trunk hill! To read more about the short walk we had, please click here. After which was another short visit to the Rong lake vicinity which you can read more here.
Driving into the city centre along this San Francisco golden gate bridge lookalike. Even though our hotel for the next two nights was quite near, the driver didn't stop and proceed to our third item!
Visitation to Village Lu was memorable with the intake of fried beancurd and silky beancurd but i was bored out by another cruise; this time along Taohua River,
Two things caught my attention though; the fishing by cormorants once again and the use of sluice gates to balance the water level along the same river.
Gathering point for my tour mates; many of whom needed to use the washroom! Please be assured that it's not the "big" business just in case you assume there's something wrong with the food for Wangfu feast.
I wish that NUS would implement bicycle sharing / rental within the campus; with i being car-less now, the frustration of waiting for the shuttle buses has intensified and it's common for me to get ready a series of vulgarities whenever i miss / couldn't board the bus.
Finally a place to take a short rest - our accommodation for the next two days and the most luxurious in our trip; the five-star Sheraton Guilin!
Bubble lifts - when i was a kid, this was a big thing and almost every boy would desire to get on to the lift and look down as it slowly shot up!
Loving the soft, comfortable and inviting bed - pity we were only given 30 minutes to dump our luggage, rest our feet and get ready to meet at the lobby.
View outside our hotel room; i didn't realise until night time that the lanes surrounding the temple like building were for the food street beside Zhengyang Pedestrian Street.
Coming back to the hotel room; yet again another hotel with bathroom that has a see-through concept! Bloody, hotel managements must understand that many people travel with family and friends!
Okay, here's me taking a selfie as i was too bored. In that short period of time before we were to meet up with our tour mates, my dad managed to doze off!
Caught another show; Mirage Guilin! This was part of the compulsory tour and i honestly feel that my time can be spent somewhere else.
This was the entrance leading to Zhengyang Pedestrian Street and it's less than 50 meters from our hotel; that's super convenient and i actually spent both nights at the street.
Dinner was at Cathay Chinese Restaurant within Sheraton Guilin.
Alright meal with nothing that particularly caught my fancy. I was looking forward to Osmanthus tangyuan again since Guilin is the city of osmanthus but it was not to be. :(
Time to shed off the calories - checking out Zhengyang Pedestrian Street!
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Check out the posting for the summarised itinerary of Chan Brother's tour package (guaranteed no shopping stops) to Guilin; it would give you a better overview of my trip. :)