CHINA - Yangshao

Yangshao is in the south of China and is set against a backdrop of beautiful karst hills. The Li River passes nearby meandering through and around the Mountains and caves which at some point the water helped to create. We were particularly in that our trip leader was from Yangshao and could therefore give us an excellent incite to the place as well as feeding us in her excellent cafe in the centre, Lucy's Place. Yangshao is completely geered up to tourists, infact so much so that almost every shop must be either a tourist shop, bar or restaurant.

While in Yangshao there was much i wanted to see, unfortunately we could not fit everything in but i know that it is a place that i would like to return to. One day the whole group went on a bike ride around the area taking in the excellent weather, halfway we climbed Moon Mountain and had some food which some of the group had prepared during a cooking lesson, luckily i had not died of food poisoning and was able to cycle back.

We also took a boat trip down the Li River in order to watch the sunset, it was beautifully quiet and still. Most evenings we ate in Lucy's place and one night i was able to help in the kitchen for a short time where i think Karl and i prevented Lucy from chopping off her fingers off. Another evening we made dumplings which made for a tasty supper. Still with lots to see we had to leave the next day, never mind, will have to see the rest next time.

Onward to Hong Kong!