And so we arrive at the promised destination. Early, in fact. You see, I had been excited to visit a place named for the legen-(wait for it)-dary Shangri-La. Some of you younger folk may not know this name, but, in short, Shangri-La is a mythical utopia located somewhere in East Asia. It is supposed to be a place where no one ever leaves, all are happy as can be, and drinks are always free. Anyway, we had planned to go see this small town near Yangshuo, but we put that trip off until the next day and decided on a biking trip for the guys. This led us to the real gem tucked away in the pocket of the Orient.
So, the seven of us lads exited Yangshuo on rented bicycles and began our voyage into the countryside. Only twenty minutes in, we realized what an awesome decision we’d made. We biked off the road and onto single file trails, seeing cultivated fields of vegetables, vast valleys, and towering hills/mountains (the same as you saw in the pictures of the Li River). Those things are monstrous when you’re standing at the foot of them. Some of the ride was pretty rough. At some points, we had to work our way over rocks bigger than a fist. True story. We took our time, stopping here and there to snap pictures and take it all in. We stopped outside one village and bought bottled water from a family. We stayed and chatted for a while, using our incredibly limited Mandarin and speaking English with one of the daughters (?). Apparently, this village we chose to stop at was over/around 900 years old. After having one of them take our picture (below) and playing with the little ones for a few minutes, we pressed on
. Our choice of trails took us through a few more small villages where children and old folk greeted us excitedly. We biked out of the farms and villages back to the main road and headed over to a spot called Dragon Bridge. It was kind of a letdown. Such is life. After the bridge, four of us (including me) decided it was time to head back to Yangshuo, which was still twelve kilometers from the bridge. The other three wanted to see Seven Star Hill, which was nine kilometers in the wrong direction. We parted, and the four of us who left made it back without incident.
The others, though, weren’t quite so lucky. Stewart, who was with them, cramped up on the ride back and had to start walking. He told the other two to go ahead, and that he’d make it. The other two made it back, met up with us, and then borrowed the renter’s moped to go pick Stewart up. They made it back, intact and relatively unharmed. The total distance was a little over ~33 kilometers for my group, and ~38 for the others (they quit on the way to Seven Star Hill, realizing that their legs might not be up for it). The day was done, our rumps were sore, and we had had one fantastic day.Wishing everyone a belated Thanksgiving,
Topher
P.S. The area we biked through is actually fairly famous, although pretty anonymously so. It was featured in the George Lucas film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It was the planet Kashyyyk, home of the Wookies (Chewbacca’s race). I found that out after I got back, and it made the day that much better.
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