I Have No Reason to Jump: Slow Rafting Down the Yulong
The group started the day getting a Western breakfast around the corner from our hotel before an afternoon of biking and floating down a river. We rented mountain bikes from a shop in town. During our West Lake stop, Cindia struggled a bit when biking up inclines, so today Jason and Cindia opted for a tandem bike. Only catch: it's a single speed. We biked through the crazy streets of Yangshuo to a small town 45 minutes away. Nice ride with a nice mix of ascents, urban streets, and rural scenery. By now, we're experts at navigating China traffic. Basically there's no rules. Traffic lights are only suggestions and so long as people don't hit each other, it's all good. People also readily use their horns but rather than as an abrasive signal, people honk to make others aware of their presence.
We arrive at the small town where we, along with our bikes, will board bamboo rafts to lazily float down the Yulong river for a couple of hours before biking back to Yangshuo. In town, Doug, Carl, Jason, Tenille, and I take advantage of a bridge to jump into the Yulong. See video below. In the first jump, I'm seated farthest from the camera, and in the second jump, I'm standing farthest to the right.
The drop was a good 6-8 meters. After the initial fear, subsequent jumps were easier, but I did leave with body bruises after landing less than vertical a few times. The cool water was refreshing on a sweltering day. The locals thought we were crazy. Right before our first jump, a group of Chinese tourists swarmed around taking pictures and shrieking "They're committing suicide!" at us crazy foreigners. Haha. When asked if he had ever jumped off the bridge, a local raft driver replied in rejection "I have no reason to jump."
We boarded our respective rafts (2 to a raft) and drifted along the Yulong for a couple of hours soaking in the landscape. Carl switched places with his driver to take a shot at steering (much much harder than it looks), and I bought beer from an occasional floating vendor raft.
After getting to our destination port, we biked back to Yangshuo only 30 minutes or so away. The ride was pretty awesome because we biked through villages and less developed backroads. I even swerved to miss a crossing cow while I recorded video on my iPhone.
That afternoon, I finally got a chance to taste Guilin rice noodles at the same dumpling house from the day before. They were really good. Quite spicy and very reminiscent of Korean instant noodles. This was the first of many tastings!
In contrast, I tried corn juice which was pretty gross. It's not sweet and tastes like creamed corn with a more liquid texture. I was done after a few sips.
We ended the night going to an impression show. A little bit of theater, folklore, and visual entertainment, the show is a feast for the eyes and set against the backdrop of the karst mountains. There are several famous impression shows across China, but each focuses on the culture and geography of the local area so none of the shows are the same. Our particular show was co-directed by Zhang Yimou, of Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies fame. The show was good and the cultural experience was a nice contrast to our physical activities. Because impression shows are also popular among Chinese, the event was crowd chaos going nuclear. In short, Chinese don't have the best line etiquette. People, young and old, regularly cut in line regardless of the location. Getting through the impression show gates required pushing and some defensive elbowing yet shortly after getting through the gates, everyone ends up scattered in a big courtyard anyways. Why all these people don't chill out is beyond me.
Dinner is once again at the dumpling house. I've eaten at this place three times now, but it's okay because it's really good and cheap. Before hitting the sack, some of us hit the Terratribes fruit shake shack, and I finally try their infamous fried ice, a milk mixture that's made into near-ice cream consistency over a cold mixing bowl. I got the mango. Good stuff.
