After spending the night in downtown Yangshuo, we got up early and went for a long bike ride outside of town. Today was the closest we got to the Chinese countryside, to the life of the Chinese peasant. At times, we got pretty freaking close.
We rode through small villages and down country lanes for an hour or so, before arriving at the raft push-off point.
The raft trip was scenic, peaceful and very, very slow. By the end, Ellen was crawling at the (metaphorical) walls to get off and do something.
There were a few "rapids"... Here's a video of us charging over one of them. Watch the whole video for a few seconds of our crazy-faced guide and a quick peek at a floating, battery-operated laminated rafting photo station.
I mean, clearly we needed a closer look at this floating tribute to Chinese capitalism, enterprise, technology and salesmanship. Turns out, there was one of the platforms cranking out the same laminated 8.5"x11"s after every "rapid." Outraged at the first platform's 30 RMB ($4.25) final offer, I stormed back to our raft. Ellen wasn't too pleased at having passed up the opportunity to buy a photo, but luckily there was a similar platform after every "rapid," and we were able to pick up photos for 15 RMB a pop downriver. The student becomes the teacher.
Also, our guide managed to hunker down and twist up a handrolled while we were haggling. Good for him.
This lady was selling water guns. Looks more like a bilge pump to me, but I still thought she deserved to be preserved forever on the interweb.
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