Cormorant Fishing in Guilin and Yangshuo

We woke up at 7am and did some last minute packing. But before we could enjoy another nice weekend trip, we had to work through 4 hours of Chinese lessons... We hurried to the airport and took a 1-hour flight to Guilin.

Guilin is surrounded by thousands of unique-shaped limestone hills and peaks and bordered on on side by the Li River.

Guilin and Yangshuo are the perfect place to take a break from the city. We stayed in a beautiful hotel in Yangshuo directly at the Yulong River.

Evelyn in action... unfortunately, the weather was not the best for photography.

One of the highlights was definitely a tour on the Yulong River. We were sitting on narrow bamboo rafts and enjoyed the beautiful Chinese mountain scenery as we were gliding through the river...

The ride takes about 2 hours and it was freezing so we covered ourselves in a warm blanket... and yes, this is Bastian (you can see the long nose!).

For the evening we booked tickets for the Impression Liu Sanjie Lightshow, set to the music from the movie of the same name and produced by the same person that did the Beijing Olympic games opening ceremony.

Getting ready for day two in Yangshuo...

When it was getting dark, we joined one of the local cormorant fishermen on his tour. The Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to fish in rivers.

There are only a few cormorant fishermen left and ours was one of the oldest and most experienced. It was fascinating to watch the man and the birds in action.

To control the birds, the fishermen tie a snare near the base of the bird's throat. This prevents the birds from swallowing larger fish, which are held in their throat, but the birds can swallow smaller fish.

When a cormorant has caught a fish in its throat, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat and has the bird spit the fish up. This one was too small...

But here is a big one, although it was not caught by the birds, but provided by the fisherman as reward for entertaining the two of us.

Cormorant fishing once was a successful industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry.

Back in Kunming: Time for a change!

When we came back from our trip to rural China with the family, we were happy, but also exhausted from all the local flavors and conditions that we experienced. We were determined to make a change and decided to leave our apartment in Kunming for a clean place that could offer warm water, heating, internet and most importantly: a western toilet!

Old Apartment: The 'hole' and shower on top. I still haven't figured out how to use them properly...

The view outside of our room's window. Shushu's underwear was a true eye-catcher!

New Apartment: Located near the downtown area of Kunming. In my excitement, I only took a picture of the living room (not the Western toilet).
From our window of the 18th floor, the view was amazing! This place was exactly what we needed.

Day 5: Erhai Lake

We started the day at 9am with a tour to Erhai Hu, a 250 sq km freshwater lake at 1973m above sea level.

We took a ferry from Caicun, a small village east of Dali to Jinsu Island, a canoe shaped rock.
We enjoyed walking around the island and taking pictures of the local fish market.
Local vendors are selling all sorts of things on a stick, we saw fish on a stick...

... chick on a stick...
as well as fresh larva on a stick... Yami yami ;-)
Instead of eating, we decided to walk around the island.
Fishing is the major source of income for the people on the island.

We could take a glimpse into the life of the local people.

We were getting hungry and decided to head back to Dali by Ferry.

We found a nice bakery which turned out to be run by an old German lady. Wow, after 5 days of local local food, this was irresistible and we enjoyed a Chocolate cake with Cappuccino...

After this treat, we headed to Zhonghe Temple, a long hike up Zhonghe Chan (mountain). Instead of walking, we took the chairlift all the way up.

It's a peaceful and relaxing ride in contrast to the crowded old town of Dali and the flora and fauna is really magnificent.

We hiked up to the peak at about 2,600m altitude. Our legs were already tired, but on top we were enjoying a breathtaking view of Dali and Erhai Lake.

Back in Dali, we used our favorite way of transportation in China: sanlun motuoche (aka 'Tuck Tuck').

We headed to the three pagodas, one of the oldest standing structures in South-Western China and the symbol of Dali. We were running out of cash and admission was very expensive (USD 15,- per person) so we sneak peaked the Pagodas from a wall on the parking area.

Back in Dali, Bastian bought his first souvenir: The famous red book of communism 'Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung'

We passed by a shop that sold a huge variety of holes... Evelyn was already looking forward to our hole back in Kunming.

It was actually our last evening, before retuning to the family in Kunming. To be perfectly honest, both of us had mixed feelings about going back...

Day 4: Dali

Like the day before, Shushu picked us up precisely at 8:30am in the morning and we drove to Weishan Old Town for breakfast. Bastian was already looking forward to the fresh noodle soup from the day before. But instead, we went to a dark alley with a few stalls selling food from the street.

Shushu stopped and pointed to a slimy soup with pieces of fried bread... Yami! Bastian said: Its warm and fried, so nothing to worry about!

Bastian's face expression says it all!

Evelyn with a 'fake' smile... We were already wondering what will be on the menu for the next days!

After breakfast, we arrived at the familiy's place and - to our relief - Ayi and Shushu told that Didi will drive us to Dali for two days of sightseeing. Dali is one of the most popular tourist spots in Southwestern China and a perfect place to relax...

Dali Old Town's houses are well preserved, one of the oldest sublime architectures in South China. Old Town is pretty laid back with a stunning Cang Shan Mountain (4500m) back drop.

Although slightly touristy (especially during Chinese New Year), it is great to stroll the pedestrian streets... souvenir shopping was on top of Evelyn's priority list ;-)

Dali Old Town is surrounded by fortified walls with impressive gates.

Evelyn was still buying souvenirs from the local Bai people...

... while Bastian had time to relax with 'Xuebi' (Sprite) and Yunnan Coffee!

In the evening, thousands of lights and lanterns create a wonderful atmosphere in Dali Old Town.

Bastian ended the day with a local specialty: Yak Steak and French Fries!