We rented bikes for the day and were going on a tour of the area, with Leon leading the way. What a stupid thing to do in this heat and humidity. We had mountain bikes but the standard of maintenance was questioned when Eva found she could only select 5 out of 15 gears which would change on their own without warning and after 2 miles my rear brake fell apart completely. Somehow Dominics bike was more or less ok. With our continued spirit of adventure we carried on regardless.
After about 45 minutes of cycling through beautiful countryside of rice fields (the air was filled with the smell of rice) and lotus flower ponds with the dramatic mountain backdrop, we arrived at the banks of the Li river where we could get bamboo rafts to drift down the river for about 10 miles while our bikes went by truck. The rafts were guided down the river by men using long bamboo poles similar to punting.
We 'rented' water squirters to defend ourselves in raft to raft water fights. The first 20 minutes were taken up with water fights as anyone on the river was fair game. We got soaked, Dominic swam and it was all just so refreshing on a hot sunny day.
The rest of the time was a much more relaxed gentle drift with only the occasional water skirmish. It was so calm and relaxed that we were even befriended by a Dragonfly. We were going down river towards Moon Hill, an unusual mountain that rises 400m out of the ground with a huge semi-circular hole near the top.
Leon and our bikes were waiting for us when we got off and 10 minutes more pedalling brought us to a small outdoor restaurant at the foot of Moon Hill where we had lunch, with a stick insect for company.
The heat of the day must have got to us because we then decided to climb the 800 steps up the 400m to the top of Moon Hill.
As we set off towards the first set of steps we each gained an attachment, A kind of sherpa type woman each equipped with a fan and a polystyrene coolbox full of cold drinks. These ladies walk by your side all of the way up the hill, fanning you constantly and then provide cold liquid refreshment when you drag yourself, gasping and sweating, to the summit, and all of this personal service costs just £3.
It was so funny to see Dominic with his lady, she was 80 years old and still does this job 1 day each week. She didn't even break a sweat, unlike us.
The views from the top were incredible. The quietness and natural beauty were visible all around, even with the heat haze. I can't wait to upload some pictures. There was even a climber traversing the inside of the moon hole like spiderman.
Walking down the hill was quicker and less exhausting but definitely no easier on the knees. Not good as we then faced a long bike ride back to Yangshuo. We had no choice but to saddle up and get pedalling. My rear end swore at me when I sat back on the saddle! We made it back in about 1.5 hours, which left us with an hour to recover before going a few miles down the road to see famous Impressions show (no, not someone doing impersonations).
Impressions is a theatrical performance created by Sanjie Liu with a cast of 600. It is a complex combination of music, singing, fire and light performed on a vast lake with 19 of the surrounding mountains illuminated as a dramatic backdrop. The lights used to light up the mountains are so powerful they must consume the same amount of electricity as a small village.
The show, which has been running 7 days a week since 2004, was fantastic. A great end to a great day.
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