Up about 5:00 am -- breakfast is what we've become accustomed to -- I'm eating way too much -- my digestive system will feel deprived once I get home. The plan for today is a cruise on the Li River to see, up close, the Guilin Mountains -- and a stop in a village to see a bit of rural life in China. We have a 4:15 flight to Hong Kong on Dragon Air -- flight time is just over an hour.
On the bus by 8:05 am -- Guilin is a resort area for the wealthy Chinese --- a round of golf is $250 -- homes are mansion-like
and completely finished. Chen explains that the Guilin Mountains are actually limestone and their beauty is in their unusual formations. However -- high rises are being built impairing the view -- what are they thinking?
Our one hour+ cruise on the Li River (ZhuJiang Wharf to YangDi) is very nice -- our group has the entire top floor. Tea is served -- and available for purchase is snake wine -- one of the men in our group takes a shot --- he appears to survive. The river is busy -- lots of small boats made from several lengths of PVC pipe tied together with small motors on the back. One bold vendor attaches his PVC vehicle to the side of our boat and proceeds to offer his wares to passengers on the first floor.
On our way to lunch -- we stop in a very primitive village with chickens walking around. It is eye-opening. Seeing this village gives me pause to wonder how the older Chinese generation is coping when uprooted from this simple lifestyle and moved to a high rise building in the middle of a brand new city.
Lunch is served in a downtown Guilin hotel -- no western bathrooms -- but I had to use what was available -- no choice. I'll be glad to get to Hong Kong where this is not an issue.
At the airport by 2:00 pm -- short flight --- long bus ride from airport to city. Traffic is the worst we've seen. Alex, our local guide, takes this opportunity tell us about his beloved city. Alex was born and brought up in Hong Kong -- he has never been to mainland China.
The British ruled Hong Kong from circa 1843 until 1997 as part of the treaty ending the first Opium War. Passports are required to enter Hong Kong from mainland China. The currency is the Hong Kong dollar -- everything is in Chinese and English --- and all the bathrooms are western. Chinese residents here speak Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin on the mainland. Apparently it is a very different dialect -- of course it all sounds the same to us.
In 1997 China deemed Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region (SAR) until 2046. There are three major
districts: Hong Kong Island --- Kowloon Peninsula (where we stay) -- New Territories --- all totaling 426 square miles. Population
is more than 7 million people -- 6.9% have cars. So -- where is all
this traffic coming from?
By 7:45 pm we have checked in to the Shangri-la --- all of us have been upgraded to harbor front rooms. Words cannot describe the view of Victoria Harbor -- I could sit in front of the window for the next two days and be happy.
Phil and I have dinner in the hotel --- okay but very expensive. We are now on our own for meals -- except breakfast which is included.
In bed by 10:00 pm --- glad to be in this city that does not disappoint.
Thanks for Reading!
Pat
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