China-Day 9: Guilin

We had to awaken at 5am this morning to ensure we were checked out and ready to meet Kevin in the lobby by 6:40. We packed up our many bags and checkout was a 30 second affair, then it was done. They allowed us to leave our bags by the front desk and we headed up to the second floor to try to squeeze in a very quick breakfast. Much to our dismay, breakfast did not begin till 6:30, potentially leaving us with a short 10 minute window, however, they took pity on us as we sat on the stairs and let us in 10 minutes early, doubling our time.
We ate to the cheesy western easy-listening music they insist on playing in every hotel; even China is not exempt.
Kevin was waiting for us in the lobby exactly at 6:40 and we met a smiling Mr. Lu outside. The drive to Xi'ans airport took about 45 minutes. Much to our dismay, our baggage was still too heavy and no amount of pleading on Kevin's part would get them to drop the penalty charge. We were 8 kilos over, and at 16 yuan a kilo it was worth it to us to remove some of the stuff from the only bag we had left (the other two had already gone through). Unfortunately, we could only reasonably remove 3 kilos from the bag, considering we still needed to carry this on the flight. This left us with an 82 yuan (£5.62/$10.41) fine. We quickly paid it and said our goodbyes to Kevin. We passed through security pretty quickly and arrived at gate 19 to await our flight to Guilin. At 8:30am, they boarded us onto a bus that took us to our plane, flight HU7879. The flight attendants had beautiful blue dresses with gold flowers embroidered down the front. Our personal attendant was named Li Li. We were quickly in the air and were suddenly greeted with the most amazing sight. The misty fog that had thwarted our view for most of our trip now filled each valley with only the mountain peaks showing - much photography ensued. One hour 30 minutes of flight saw us descending a little too rapidly toward the verdant hills of Guilin - our landing was less gentle than we'd hoped for - but we got down safely. We met our guide John after we were reunited with our luggage - he is a less confident fellow than our previous assistants - but amiable nonetheless. The drive from the airport was peppered with information on population, flora, fauna and so forth - but the narrative lacked a cohesive plot and the dialog was frankly unconvincing. We dropped our bags off at our hotel, the Guilin Bravo Hotel - an elegant 4 star affair on the banks of the lake. Our room was not yet ready so we walked in on the maid cleaning it. Despite being a non smoking room, we couldn't help but notice several cigarette butts in an ashtray beside the bed. Nevertheless, we were undoubtedly given the best room they have; spacious with a balcony overlooking the lake outside. Without pause we headed for another hotel for lunch - a curious but splendid buffet where most of the items were provided raw - and chefs were on hand to cook them immediately in front of us. Crab, shrimp, duck and tofu and a wide variety of locally grown vegetables made for a great lunch, followed by numerous fruits, cakes and delicacies. Suitably sated, we drove to Elephant Trunk Hill - an area by the river where natural erosion of the exposed limestone has carved two tubular tunnels in opposing hills - leaving the rocks looking like elephants drinking from the river. A brief walk around the adjoining park revealed a number of sculptures with numerous Chinese people being photographed amongst the 'romantic' statues. A van ride (our Guilin transportation, whilst not being a leather-upholstered sedan is a very clean and air-conditioned minibus) through the less salubrious side of town next took us to the Reed Flute Caves - a connected series of caverns with amazing natural stone sculptures imaginatively lit and named. The pressure from the gift-shop girls drove us back to the bus - at which point Kelly received her first real taste of something Christian had hitherto only described. We visited the 'South China Seas Pearl Exhibition' - a shameless 'factory tour' as experienced frequently on Christians' previous visit. So far on this trip - we've been shown various methods of production of tourist related goods - with the inevitable shop at the end. This time - we were given a 5 minute talk on how superior pearls were from this supplier to all others on the planet - and were then unceremoniously ushered into a vast shop - where the assistants outnumbered us 15 to 1. Fortunately - this time - the sales pressure was incredibly light - we got away unscathed. A little more pressure in the van from John to attend an 'Ethnic minority' show - which we resolutely resisted - as were were on our last legs energy-wise - and found ourselves back at the hotel mid afternoon for a well deserved sleep. All intentions of an evening meal, walk or sight-seeing excursion were cancelled, partly from fatigue and partly from John's parting warning to us - that security in this city is not very good - and that we shouldn't venture from the bright lights of the lakeside. We opted for an early night, a glass of Champagne and a movie. 'Troy' was a must-watch - if only to remind us that a big budget and good intentions do not a good movie make.