Guilin and Yangsho- the cities

Now that you all know how I got back from my trip, I figure I should tell you a bit about it. Let me start by saying the New York Times was correct- this is one of the most amazing places that nobody has ever heard of.
Aaron and I had the entire first day to explore Guilin on our own, since Chris and Kelsey were not arriving until the evening. Upon making our sleeping arrangements at the Flowers Youth Hostel, Aaron and I rented bikes and took to the city. Guilin is located right on the Li River, with mountains emerging from the ground everywhere. It is hard for me to describe these mountains to you. They are sharp and independent, sticking out of the ground like spears pushed through the earth's surface. Very cool stuff. Pictures will be up soon- and they are each worth a thousand words.
For lunch, we sat down at a place that came recommended by the NYTimes for adventurous people. It was a local Guilin rice noodle shop that was described in the article simply by it's location. The local food was incredible, and we spent the rest of the trip seeking the rice noodles out. Every other house seemed to offer the stuff and I never paid more than 2 yuen (25 cents) for it.
The afternoon was spent in Seven Star Park, where we explored the limestone caves. In addition to some amazing pictures, I got a great understanding of the stalagmites and stalagtites from Aaron, who is a geology major (among other things). Also in Seven Star Park, we saw Camel Hill (a series of mountains that looked like a camel), a zoo (where animals were cruelly mistreated and no picture was free), and a swarm of loose monkeys eating all around where we sat. Our time watching the monkeys was rudely interupted when Aaron showed signs of trepidation. The monkeys, who caught wind of his shaken confidence, took over and nearly attacked us. We eventually got away, but not without losing our lunch, and our self respect.

The next morning, we woke up at six AM to take a boat tour down the Li River to Yangsho. The trip was gorgeous, and we met a South African named John who was exploring Mainland on his own. John is a great contact, and he helped me learn some new tricks on my camera. We had a lot of fun with him, and may be meeting him in Shanghai next weekend.
The boat trip ended abruptly, and we were escorted to the shore of the river. We were pointed down a path to get to our bus, and we were on our way. The path apparantly brought us onto a thirty-minute trek into some remote town, where no bus was clearly identified to us. After a great struggle, and a lot of communication barriers, we made our way onto a bus to downtown Yangsho. Interestingly enough, the boat trip was arranged by the same guy that organized my bus home- and we all know how that story goes.
As we got off the bus in city center, we were greeted by a guy named Bin Bin, who seemed like a helpful guy. He brought us to an International Youth Hostel, where he arranged our stay and tried to take advantage of us. We were saved by another group of HKUST students who exposed him before he could collect our money. I did not appreciate trying to be ripped off.
After lunch, we rented bikes again and set off to see Moon Hill. This was supposed to be one of the most amazing places around, and we were excited to see it. There were two routes to Moon Hill- by highway or on the country roads. We decided to take the country roads, which came highly acclaimed for their beauty.
The next five hours were spent on the mountain bikes, pedeling through the backwoods of Yangsho on a dirt path for construction vehicles. In fact, it appeared that local workers were in the process of building a multi-laned highway. In any case, no road had been laid, and the journey was unforgettable. We must have rode for over 30 miles, with tourists continuously telling us to turn back because the route was not passable, and locals waving and screaming "Ni hau" like they had never seen white people before. Our decision to keep going was a classic example of "escalation of commitment" error, where humans are inclined to stick to a decision even when evidence suggests that it is a bad one. The adventure through the country roads was incredible, and I don't want to focus on anything but the possitives. So I won't mention our time stuck in the mud or Aaron's rear axle coming off. Needless to say, we never made it up Moon Hill that day.
Instead, we biked directly into town and made the mistake of having Kelsey choose a dinner location. Already a picky eater, Kelsey was not turned on by the dogmeat, a local delicacy. We finally settled over by West St., a backpackers paradise filled with bars and restaraunts. We were all starving and exhausted, but we weren't patient enough to let the waitress take our orders before sending her for our beer. That was the top priority.
As dinner came to a close, I got asked by a local girl who wandered into the restaurant if I could take a picture with her. One picture suddenly turned into a photo-shoot, with different local girls taking turns with me. This was one of the funniest things I had ever witnessed. I was a genuine celebrity- just for being white. What a feeling.
Finally, the lights were turned off and the set was broken down: the photo shoot was over. It was time to start bargaining. I was on a monster roll negotiating prices. I ended up buying three items- two jade pieces, and a Chinese scroll painting. The prices for them were 490, 450, and 320 RMB, respectively. After some hard lining, I paid 100, 60, and 35. I spent a solid 5 minutes refusing to pay a dime more than 35, when the woman was offering it for 38. I outlasted her and it felt great. Then, I realized I was arguing over 40 cents.
The next day, we hung out around the city in some pretty crappy weather. We were all exhausted from the ride before, and struggled to get out of bed. My rockstar image was confirmed, as I was asked to pose for a bunch more pictures. If i ever get depressed, or am having self-esteem issues, I'm going to Yangsho, where I can get my fifteen minutes of fame.