i didn't have anything important planned for today other than to relax and prepare for my departure to guilin tomorrow morning. i woke up late for a change (i've been getting up around 7am just so i can get some good photography light) and was surprised to find myself the only person in the dorm room when i climbed down from my bunk bed. i showered then went out.

i made my way to the twin peaks cafe for some rice noodle breakfast (RMB$10) washed down with a can of sprite (RMB$10). i then visited a nearby internet cafe, before finding a place that sells those cheap plastic canvas bags (RMB$4). next i went to the bus station to buy my ticket (RMB$15) for tomorrow, and went to the xinhua bookstore to get some maps of guangxi province, materials for future trip preparations. returning to the hotel to drop off my stuff, i picked up some bubble ice tea and watched some chinese soap opera with a few hostel workers. i went back out to western street and bought a souvenir t-shirt, and walked down to the li river.

splashing cormorant

cormorant fisherman

li river tourists

yangshuo waterfall

bamboo raft trip

chinese raft tourists

unhappy western girls

i wanted to maybe climb one of several nearby karst mountains, but ended up taking a bamboo raft ride for a hour (RMB$50). my captain told me what he was doing was actually illegal and if he got caught, they'd confiscate his raft. coming back, he spotted some police on a speed boat and quickly pulled ashore on the opposite side of the li river, paying for my ferry ride back to town.

walking back to the hostel i bought a pair of green canvas shoes (RMB$12) i see a lot of farmers wearing ("farmer shoes"). since it'd been a while since i ate, i had a late lunch around 4pm at the mei you cafe, another lackluster pizza (RMB$18, cheaper than twin peaks cafe). i stayed for a bit, writing in my journal, watching the tourists walk by from the window of the first floor restuarant, before returning to this internet cafe, hopefully to post some photos.

though the security is light, they configured the network in such a way that i can't seem to mount my photo storage device (they guys who work here were surprisingly helpful), so looks like photos may have to wait.

mei you cafe lounge

i may walk around west street a little bit more before making it an early night. after today, i just have one more day in china before i fly to hong kong (actually to shenzen, then i take a shuttle into hong kong). i'm actually meeting my friend alex there (on vacation from tokyo), so it's going to be a good time, it's nice to have a hong kong native to show me around. i feel sad that my trip will soon draw to a close though! but like i've been telling a lot of people, my mind is already back at home, but my body is still here in china.