Li River Cruise to Yangshuo

Travelling from Guilin to Yangshuo for tourists is by a river cruise and it seems that is what everyone does because you end up as part of a camel train snaking down the river, each boat full of tourists (and Spaniards who fell upon the lunch table as if they hadn't been fed for days).

The river cruised down past the multiple rock formations for which Guilin is famous, past fishing villages and grazing water buffalo (oddly enough in the water)

Yangshuo is one of those towns that 10 years ago was probably quiet and surrounded by mountainous beauty and as such has become a travellers hangout complete with main street packed with stalls of cheap products to bargain over to the point where it is hard to make one's way down the mainstreet at night. And if one is not careful you can find yourself arguing with commitment for a discount of 20 cents.

But if you wander away from the mainstreet and walk the paths there are secluded spots of old temples dating back to the 13th century. And you can see what attracted travellers in the first place. Not to mention an evening sound and light show that looks like an Olympic opening ceremony with a cast of hundreds.