We had a group of 18 pax for this maiden trip to the back roads of China. On several occassions, we used the public buses and train to get to our destinations. At other times, we had our own hired vehicles. We had a local guide with us for the duration of the trip and he is a backpacker/traveler. As such, he brought us to many off-the-beaten-track experiences. These include visiting working villages and treks through a river gorge and beautiful rice terraces.
Day 1 Fri Macau: The group assembled at KLIA for the night flight to Macau on Air Asia.
Day 2 Macau to Zhangjiajie: We had a whole morning to visit ruins of St Paul's Catheral and Menado Square, all within walking distance of our hotel. After lunch, a bus took us to the Guangzhou Airport 2.5hrs for our short flight to Zhangjiajie. We arrived at 9pm, had local dinner and retired early.
Day 3 ZJJ National Park: UNESCO listed Wulingyuan Scenic Area is an area of spectacular landscape of craggy peaks and huge rock columns rising out of the luxuriant subtropical forest. We spent the full day hiking and climbing this enormous park. All standard tours to ZJJ will involve long tiring walks. Fortunately sedan chairs are available for those pysically challenged.
Day 4 Mengdong He & Zuolong Gorge: We bussed to Mengdong River 2hrs, the start of the Zuolong Gorge trek. A short 2hrs trek turned out to be a 3hrs affair, as we were talking our time enjoying the walk and beautiful scenery. At the end, we had lunch of mostly vegetables in a farmer's house. In the afternoon, we continue on to Fenghuang, a small town of some 1300 years of history.
Day 5 Fenghuang: Our local guide took the group for an early morning stroll to view the mist-covered river that flowed through the town. The rest of the day, we wandered about Old Fenghuang with its well preserved old buildings and alleys. The town was full of Art students from all over China, practicing their craft. Late evening, we bussed to Jishou to catch the 930pm local train to Sanjiang 323km 7hrs away. As we were only able to purchase "open-tickets" from Jishou, the group had problems getting seats on the crowded train. After a period of frustration, we managed to upgrade to sleepers.
Day 6 Chengyang: We arrived in Sanjiang at 330am and took local vans to Chengyang 22kms. We had a late morning because the group was tired out after the last few days of physical exhertions and lack of sleep on the train. We had a free day today visiting the nearby village and the famed Wind & Rain Bridge. It was a relaxing stay as Chengyang is a small village with a small population of Dong minorities. Pretty fields of growing rice fronted the hotel. In the evening we opted for a Dong song and dance performance in the village ground.
Day 7 Chengyang: We spent the morning walking on the hilly paths to some other Dong Villages. Some of these are a small collection of wooden houses. We also managed a visit to a local morning market. The rest of the day was spend lazing about the hotel and village.
Day 8 Longsheng then Pingan: In the morning we bade farewell to our gracious hostess and a rented bus took us directly to Longsheng 66km 2hrs, the home of the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. From the bus stop, it was another 40mins walk up a steep incline to Pingan Village, our night's accomodation. It was another 20mins walk to get the viewpoint but the scenery was marred by rather thick clouds. The minority here are the Yao and are famous for their meter-long hair women, pink embroidery and heavy silver earings.
Day 9 Up Dazhai: The scenic and undulating trail to Dazhai Village took up most of the day, as we moved along the rice terraces and hills. It was a beautiful walk as we got to see the real China. Almost everyone in the group opted for porterage service that cost a mere Rm30 for the day's trek. Our hotel overlooks the entire hills of rice terraces and mountains. Simply breathtaking!
Day 10 Yangshuo: The pleasant walk to the bus station took us an hour. We bussed back to Longsheng and caught the express bus to Guilin 70km 2.5hrs. Here we changed to a Yangshuo bus 70km 1hrs. Yangshuo is a very popular backpacker destination and set amid gorgeous limestone pinnacles and a wonderful laid-back place. It has a vibrant night market with numerous Western style eateries.
Day 11 Yangshuo: Bicyle rentals were only Rm5 per day and the whole group cycled to the Moon Hill. A short climb lead us to a point where we could see allof Yangshuo below us. Unfortunately it was misty. A while later, the rain came and most returned to the hotel. The local guide and I opted to explore the other side of Moon Hill and we promptly got lost. After some hours of hard cycling and carrying bicycles over some hills, we arrived back at the hotel, dead tired. We dragged ourselves to the River Li for a standard evening cruise. In the evening two of our group members were pickpocketed in different places. Seems that the warning in Lonely Planet about pickpockets in Yangshou is well warranted.
Day 12 Guilin: The morning was free and easy. I hired another bicycle and went back to the countryside with one group member. It was a fine day and I enjoyed photographing the villagers and their rice fields, amidst high karst limestone hills. After lunch we proceed to Guilin 70km 1hr and the night was spend wandering along the well patronised night market.
Day 13 Guilin: Our guide took us on the local bus to the Reed Flute Cave. This touristic caves with multi-coloured lighting is not my cup-of-tea but local tourists seem to enjoy it. We also went on the City double decker buses for a short ride throgh town. A cheap City tour? We had a free rest of the day.
Day 14 Guangzhou Macau: In the late morning we flew to Guangzhou. A bus took us to Macau Airport for our midnight flight home.
Day 15 Home: We arrived KLIA at 430am.
Zuolong Gorge / Old Fenghuang
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