Guilin to Chongqing
Leaving Guilin and on to our Yangtze Cruise
07.01.2008 - 07.01.2008
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China 2008
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We began our second day in Guilin with a visit to Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of the city. The hill itself does look like an elephant's trunk, and in the distance you can see a smaller hill with a similar formation, which they call the baby's trunk. Other than viewing the elephant trunk formation, it's a nice park in the city. We saw part of a small animal show there that they called the Small Animal Olympics--monkeys and birds peforming tricks.
After that, we were driven to the Reed Flute Cave. This cave was discovered by farmers in the area. We enjoyed the colored lights that were focused on the different stalagtites and stalagmites. Other caves that we've visited have focused more on maintaining the natural aspects of the cave.
On our way back to the city of Guilin we also visited a South Sea Pearl shop where we learned a little bit more about pearls and their culture. Afterwards, we went back to Guilin where our guide, Yan, arranged an excellent lunch in a local restaurant. We had beef with peppers and onions that was cooked on a hot cast iron plate that was set on our table, along with a steamed vegetable dish, a green bean dish (with garlic and some other spice), and lightly fried rice and eggs. This was the best Chinese food we've had so far. Without Yan, we wouldn't have had as good a meal, because she set it all up after asking us what we wanted. Click on the link below to view photos of our day.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9Aas2TVk2Zsyk
Since we had more time before our next flight, we took a boat tour of the four lakes in Guilin city. It was a pleasant way to pass an hour. We shared our tour with a family that consisted of a father who was German and Indian, his Mongolian wife, and their three small children (6, 4, and 2). The children were adorable and reminded us of our three kids at those ages. Believe it or not, those children either understood or spoke English, Mongolian, and German (because their father was German/Indian and they had lived in Germany).
After that boat tour, we went to the airport for our flight to Chongqing, where we were met by another guide and then transported to the docks for the river cruise. Chongqing is a hilly city of 32 million residents. Our guide recommended a stop at a convenience store for beer and wine before we set off, to save money. Then we had to take a cable car down to the docks to get to our boat, the America Victoria Anna, the newest ship in their river fleet.
We checked into our cabin and went through the orientation, and soon we'll be departing for our Yangtze Cruise. Since we have a slow Internet access here on the ship (near the bar, not in our room), I won't be able to upload any more photos or video until we reach Beijing in a few days.
Photos from the airport and Chongqing: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9Aas2TVk2ZszC
Posted by catmujer 07.01.2008 06:41 Archived in China Tagged tourist_sites
