Today we all took a tour bus to the Li River for a 4-hour boat cruise. "Cindy," was our tour guide for the bus ride through Guilin and rode with us on the boat, although I am not sure why. I would suggest for those traveling to Guilin not to pay for the boat cruise through the Sheraton, because the up-charges are ridiculous and unnecessary. But, Cindy was sweet and giggled quite frequently.
Most people take the tour from Guilin to Yangshou, and then bus back. I would suggest busing to Yangshou and cruise to Guilin because there will be less people and boats. That said, it really was not that bad the way we did it.
Each boat had a kitchen in the back where they prepared a traditional Chinese lunch. I pretended not to notice when they dipped a bucket into the river for the cooking water and when the cooks peed off the side of the boat and did not wash their hands.
The scenery was stunningly beautiful, and is the inspiration for many Chinese scroll paintings and poems. The 20 Yuan currency has the mountains of the Li River on the back. That was a big deal to the tour guides and they told us to keep a 20 Yuan to take back to the US.
As we cruised down the river, we saw the local people fishing on the river in bamboo boats. Some had motors, others used long poles to propel them down the river.
Along the way, we saw several water buffalo wading in the water. It was comforting to know that the water was not that deep in case there was an emergency, because the life jackets looked like they were older than me.
It was a very hot day and very humid and sticky. After 3 hours in the sun, Ralph and I retired to the cabin to play a game of Scrabble. He got a bingo on the first play and won the game. I was told that the Chinese people believe that mosquito bites bring you good luck, so Ralph must have been covered with welts.
This is the Guilin crew; Leslie, Maureen, Chuck, Dan, Sara, Nicole, Ralph and me. They were great travel companions, even though we all seemed to have control issues.
If you find yourself in Guilin or Yangshou, I would highly recommend a cruise on the Li River. Make sure to try the Osmanthus wine, it is sweet, but good. I would skip the snake wine, though, it tasted like ass.
Today we all took a tour bus to the Li River for a 4-hour boat cruise. "Cindy," was our tour guide for the bus ride through Guilin and rode with us on the boat, although I am not sure why. I would suggest for those traveling to Guilin not to pay for the boat cruise through the Sheraton, because the up-charges are ridiculous and unnecessary. But, Cindy was sweet and giggled quite frequently. 
Most people take the tour from Guilin to Yangshou, and then bus back. I would suggest busing to Yangshou and cruise to Guilin because there will be less people and boats. That said, it really was not that bad the way we did it.
Each boat had a kitchen in the back where they prepared a traditional Chinese lunch. I pretended not to notice when they dipped a bucket into the river for the cooking water and when the cooks peed off the side of the boat and did not wash their hands.
The scenery was stunningly beautiful, and is the inspiration for many Chinese scroll paintings and poems. The 20 Yuan currency has the mountains of the Li River on the back. That was a big deal to the tour guides and they told us to keep a 20 Yuan to take back to the US.
As we cruised down the river, we saw the local people fishing on the river in bamboo boats. Some had motors, others used long poles to propel them down the river. 
Along the way, we saw several water buffalo wading in the water. It was comforting to know that the water was not that deep in case there was an emergency, because the life jackets looked like they were older than me.
It was a very hot day and very humid and sticky. After 3 hours in the sun, Ralph and I retired to the cabin to play a game of Scrabble. He got a bingo on the first play and won the game. I was told that the Chinese people believe that mosquito bites bring you good luck, so Ralph must have been covered with welts.
This is the Guilin crew; Leslie, Maureen, Chuck, Dan, Sara, Nicole, Ralph and me. They were great travel companions, even though we all seemed to have control issues. 
If you find yourself in Guilin or Yangshou, I would highly recommend a cruise on the Li River. Make sure to try the Osmanthus wine, it is sweet, but good. I would skip the snake wine, though, it tasted like ass.
