In the land of rats

Another post from dimly lighted internet cafe - this time in Yangshuo. This, together with the fact that posts are written after whole day activity usually at 11.00pm, might affect quality of spelling (especially Chinese names) - as some of you kindly pointed out* :) Still continuing my exploration of the karst country in Guangxi province I entered expats heaven. Although Lonely Planet calls Yangshuo backpackers paradise I think more appropriate would be the name mentioned above. Density of plain people trashes even Shanghai. You can find European style cafe's, hotels, hostels, restaurants etc. wherever you go.

On last day in Guilin weather forecast showed true and visibility improved markedly. On the other hand temperature drop of c. 17 degrees within 24 hours was aggressively resembling those I run away from in Shanghai. Besides almost freezing in 3 degrees extremely windy weather, I saw my first panda. Of course only in captivity but still, these big fat fluffy eating machines are not that common to see. Note for all the animal lovers; if possible avoid Chinese zoo's as much as you can. Conditions of animals living there are terrible (this is coming from person who does not care) - imagine 30 deers crammed in the 10mx30m yard or black bears locked in 3mx4m cages - they literally cried for help or else...

Last night in Backstreet Hostel in Guilin was the TICiest night so far on my trip. Allow me to tell you a story - it is not a fairy tale, rather typical Chinese legend. First, there was shower. This shower required 25 minutes of solid water clearing flow till the warm water started trickling down the tubes. Truly to it's land of origin it was leaking all over the hose. Upon discovery of this fact by hostel staff it was promptly changed with an assistance of Slovak plumber (we go east while Poles go west). To get actually hot water flowing out of the shower, the sink tap had to be turned on on maximum. Exactly how this was possible (usually is simultaneous flow reducing the amount of hot water in the shower) remains mystery to this day.

Second, there was a Chinese monk (not sure whether it was monk but let's call him that). This monk shared the room with five other people from all over the world (Canada, Germany, Norway and Slovakia). According to the account of those poor souls the monk make Guantanamo sound like five star hotel. He terrorized them with cacophony of sounds you would never imagine homo sapiens can make. Only solace his roommates could find was in wagering whether he is actually choking or snoring and in documenting his sounds on their cellphones (proof will be provided later). End of story.

Upon successful transfer and establishing of my presence in Yangshuo I decided to explore the city and take a small (10miles / 16km) hike to Moon Hill. Views are magnificent and river banks are exactly as they describe them (both word of mouth and internet) - awesome. Unfortunately, I visit the place in it's dry season - spring is allegedly the best time for visit - and thus colors are little sad. Furthermore, I'm in some strange kind of sense used to the beauty of the place. This means that although I am not blown away I still enjoy scenery very much.

Tomorrow I will undertake main attraction in the area - hike along Li river. This c. 27 miles (44km) hike would be hopefully concluded by Christmas Eve dinner of local specials (dried fried rat, dried fried squirrel and beer fish).

As tomorrow is Christmas Eve, let me wish you all MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Especially to my mom, dad and little brother as this will be the first Christmas we do not celebrate together.

Note on Chinese culture / soul (will be elaborated on later - I hope)
As an accountant (unfortunately I am) I was always told that substance is more important than the form. This is not true in China. Form is all over substance. Everything is done in order to impress and to show you in better light. But if you dig deeper and look under the cover you see that it is all one big mess. For example; people care about their hair and you can see hair studios on each street (sometimes every fifty meters) but if you read the book in the train or in the subway they look at you as you are mental case. Physical appearance is important but your mental health and development not at all. People were suits but they do not hesitate to sleep on the floor in them. Potemkin villages are not built - they are walking the streets :)

Note: * as a budget traveller and more importantly extremely lazy person I am refusing to read the text and correct the spelling mistakes :)