Time to Crush It
Okay, I'm a few days behind. As I type this, it's 12:35a in Yangshuo and I'm blogging in a 24Hr KFC in China. Never thought I'd say that. I was hungry and been curious to see how the China KFC is different from back home. To the uninformed, KFC is the most successful American food chain in all of China, by far outnumbering McDonalds. First of all, the menu's different.
There's no Colonel eleven herb & spices or double crispy to speak of. Well, maybe there is, but nothing in a personal size, and I'm not ordering a whole bucket to find out. Actually, the only single serving fried chicken available is in the form of wings. Chicken sandwiches also seem to be the norm here. The wings tasted pretty spot on. In contrast, the fries weren't the usual U.S. seasoned wedges. Instead, they're regular fries similar to McDonald fries except not as good. Lastly, I ordered a chicken sandwich. Inside it looked to be a grilled chicken thigh in a sauce that's a cross between McRibs and sloppy joes. The sandwich was alright at best. Tonight might be all the KFC I can handle.
Back to Wednesday... We start the morning driving from Guilin to Yangshuo. After a couple of hours, we arrive at a town nestled in the nearby karst mountain formations. Love this city. Per Doug, this city was a hidden gem for rock climbers due to the world-class limestone. Only in the past decade has this area attracted Chinese tourists. The city's small radius is easily walkable with shops and restaurants lining its main streets. After lunch at a dumpling house, we departed for our activity of the day: rock climbing!
Turns out Yangshuo has world-class rock climbing. There are several climbing shops in the city, but we worked with Terratribes Expeditions. After getting sized for shoes, we made the short drive to Low Mountain. J (short for Jonathon I think), one of our instructors (and from Denver), showed us how to put on our harness and some beginner tips. I was up first. I haven't rock climbed since I was a Boy Scout (gym climbing walls don't count). While the first few moments were admittedly scary, I sucked it up and made it to the top. I attempted a more difficult second climbing setup but got stuck about two-thirds of the way. Everyone in our group who tried the easier path was able to make it to the top. In contrast, all three guys were unable to finish the more difficult path.
Cindia crushing it.
After a couple of hours I (and more specifically my arms) were spent. I was loving Yangshuo. Our instructors, J and Joe, were living the climbers lifestyle. Climb during the day. Cheap good food and drink in the evening. Pretty awesome way to live. Over the course of the afternoon, we met a few other climbers at Low Mountain: a European couple and a Canadian guy and his buddy. Everyone's really friendly sharing a common love for climbing. We wrapped up the afternoon watching Joe, one of the best climbers in China, absolutely crush Low Mountain. He scaled that thing like he had suction cups for hands & feet and managed to do so while wearing Crocs!
The rest of the evening was strolling through the city and its bustling West Street as the sun started to set. The group grabbed dinner together and beer fish was the local delicacy on the menu. Ended the night getting a beer with Doug's friend Sun (also from Terratribes) and getting fruit shakes at a Terratribe hangout.
