Monday, March 12, 2018

A Trip to Guilin, China + Weekly Wrap

I went on another China adventure to the land of karst mountains and had so much fun! We hiked, we rafted, we explored, we ate and we laughed.


My membership with the American Women's Association offers me the opportunity to do many things including take trips around Asia. I've been to KaipingHarbin, and now Guilin where the famous karst mountains are located.

The morning that we took the bamboo raft ride was rainy and overcast, but it didn't dampen the fun at all. Our rafts were authentic bamboo with the driver using a bamboo pole to push us down the river (we would later see larger rafts with motorboat engines attached and be grateful that we had a genuine experience).


The views from our bamboo raft were absolutely stunning! The karst mountain peaks loomed all around us and the countryside was so peaceful.


We did have a few exciting moments as the rafts dropped over terraces. The first one was a little scary but then after that it was just fun.



We pushed our hiking trip to the next day and it was worth the wait. The hike began with a moderate climb to Xianggongshan where we had amazing views of the Li River and the karst mountains.


The rest of the trail took us through beautiful countryside including right through mandarin plantations. The employees were very friendly as we passed by and our guide gave us each a mandarin orange.


At the bottom of the mountainside our hike continued along the Lijang River to Xingping old town. 


The shore was lined with cormorant fishing boats. The cormorants are tied to the rafts and sent into the water to retrieve fish. We didn't see actual fishing, but the locals were more than ready to pose for photos, for a small fee. (I found this photo on Trip Advisor)


I signed up for this trip because I wanted to see the karst mountains and because we would hiking and bamboo rating down the Yulong River. I like sightseeing, but I like adventure sightseeing even more. It was exactly what I hoped.

And now I'm catching up on blogging. Here's the rest of my workouts for the week:

Monday - Trip prep - lots of walking!

Tuesday - travel to Guilin

Wednesday - Bamboo rafting and sightseeing

Thursday - 7.3km hike and travel back to Hong Kong 

Friday - REST

Saturday - 3 mile run

Sunday - Walk around the neighborhood

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!


7 comments:

  1. How fabulous and exotic! That is some gorgeous scenery!

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  2. That looks like an amazing trip! The views are stunning!

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  3. This is so cool! I'm so glad you're sharing these adventures with us. Wow!

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  4. You really took some gorgeous photos on your trip! I would love to try bamboo rafting one day.

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  5. What an awesome experience! Those views of the Karst Mountains are spectacular! I love a good hike!

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  6. I'm envious of all the sights you're getting to see first-hand!What an amazing adventure you've been on...has it been a couple years already?

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  7. This sounds right up my alley! How cool to float down the river on a bamboo raft. I need to add to my bucket list. The scenery looks beautiful. Sounds like a great group to be a member of. Thanks for linking.

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