Lost in China

Today we had a "wee" sleep-in, which might seem strange considering it was going to be the only full-day we were going to spend in this amazing place, but there we were, waking up at 10.23. Feeling a littel bit ashamed (but very well rested) we rushed through a very nice breakfast. Now nine hours later, sitting in a very cool bar with a cold Tsing Tao beer in our hands after going on a 3 hour tour on the river and biking 25 km I think we still managed to get the most out of the day and I almost regret rushing this morning! 

Most memorable today was definitely the bikeride. Since we started out a little bit late at 16.30 we could se the sun starting to go down and we knew there was a small chance that we would get caught in the dark. Up for the race we headed towards moon-hill  wich was supposedly is a must see here. Following crowds of bicycles, mopeds, pull-along carts and even water buffalo, we sped on to Moon Hill (a mountain with a hole in it).

Passing The Butterfly Caves and The Big Banyan Tree we got there and it was really worth the ride, although the views along the way were the real high point.

So, now we had a choice. The sun was setting and we had little time to get the bikes back. Do we take the easy road that we have just cycled along or the dirt track to our left

? Easy choice, the dirt track it is.

So off we went, passing beautiful rafts, local villages, chickens and even getting stopped by a teenager demanding a tourists "lost in China" tax. It was only 26 krona (2 pounds) so we went with it.

Before long, we were lost, with boys playing in the river openly laughing at us as we carried our bikes up a steep hill onto the road. It turned out the road was still being built so it was quite nice to have it all to ourselves.

Eventually, with more twists and turns, we got back to Yangshou and as we settle the bill here in the wi-fi providing Havana Cafe Bar, it's on to Nanning and then Hanoi.