On our second full day in Yangshuo, Joey and rented some bikes from our hostel (pink bikes haha) and found our way to many different adventure spots! We initially rented bikes so that we could bike to an advertised mud bath and hot spring in a cave called "Moon Water Cave." We got a bit lost on the ride over, but it was an absolutely gorgeous bike ride and day. Once at the cave ticket booth, we parked and locked our bikes, and then a van picked us up. We drove 10 more minutes to this really remote are (no one was there!) We changed into our swim suits, and put on hard hats that we were handed. Joey and I both laughed at the hard hats, because it didn't seem like it was going to be intense spelunking. Later we both hit our heads countless times and were very grateful to have our hard hats! First we were led into a little rickety boat that took us through shallow water to the entrance of the cave (really cool in itself). There was no one else there- just Joey, me, and our personal guide! A lot of the lights were broken, so our guide had a flashlight and that was it. Joey and I both thought the experience was way cooler and more intense than we'd thought it'd be! We were very happy. The cave was drippy and windy and damp. After some spelunking, we were brought to a pitch black area. Our guide flashed her flashlight on the ground to reveal the "mud bath." It looked terrifying in the darkness of the cave. Joey went in first, and then I followed. The muddy water was icy cold, but what an adventure! We then quickly got out, and followed our guide and her little flashlight to a HOT SPRING!
In the first pool we got in, we were instructed to rinse off. Then we climbed into a deeper crater that was actually very hot! I felt like I was in a hot tub in the middle of a sweet cave in China, with a personal cave guide! It was a really good day :)
On our van ride back from Moon Water Cave, we asked the driver if he would stop for a few minutes so that we could take a picture with a famous, beautiful limestone formation called "Moon Hill." He did :) We then had a long delicious lunch of Chinese food (haha...it's all Chinese food here!) and started our bike ride back. On our ride back we stopped at a beautiful garden called "The Big Banyan Tree." Joey initially didn't want to pay the $4 to go see a tree, but when he found out it was 1000 years old he went with me haha. It was beautiful and looked so old and stately! Think of everything that tree has lived through...
We finally went to a super touristy cave called "Butterfly Spring" on the bike ride back. After our amazing cave experience in the morning, we weren't very impressed. However, I'm glad that I checked it out, and there was a really cool swing-y bridge!
Every night at 9pm our hostel showed movies. At first Joey and I said that we weren't going to watch, but we watched every night: Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Die Hard, and The Hangover. It actually felt really nice, and kind of strange (in a really good way), to be watching American Hollywood films again.
This little girl makes me feel insecure about my chopstick abilities.
Street meat!
It was the woman in the middle's birthday. I bought her
a little lamb cake! She was touched and wanted a picture with me :)
Our hostel was clean and fantastic! (Joey and I are
laughing now though as our dirty clothes and shoes
probably left a stench in the room even after we left ha!)
We rented bikes from the hostel.
They were old hot pink cruisers.
For anyone who knows Joey, this is hilarious.
Butterfly Spring
(We passed this on our bike ride to Moon Water Cave
and had no idea what it was hehe)
Beautiful view of Yangshuo from a bridge we crossed
This is a really nice picture!
Hard hat on. We prepare to enter the cave on a little
wooden boat through a tiny opening.
Watch your head!
The MUD BATH! So icy cold!!!
It was also very, very dark in there (my camera had a flash)
All mudded up!
(Reminded me of the Dead Sea in Israel :))
Then we rinsed off and relaxed in this hot spring!
Our guide pointed the hot spring out to us with her flashlight
...there were no lights! I love this picture :)
Just chilling in a hot spring in a cave in China :)
Leaving the cave...
Moon Hill!
The worst, funniest broken English sign I have seen to date.
I don't understand a single rule.
Joey and I with the 1000 year old Banyan Tree!
Joey let me walk around all day like an idiot
with a giant thing of mud on my forehead hahaha
Joey laughing that he didn't know when to tell me that
I had a giant thing of mud on my forehead.
I have no shame being the Asian (Thai) that I am!
There were not one, but two fences around the tree.
The bike ride was beyond exotically beautiful
90's kids, do you remember the movie "The Amazing Panda
Adventure"?! I think I found the bridge from the movie :)!
SO COOL!
Adorable Chinese babies.
SHOCKING (and few things shock me after my year in Thailand):
All little Chinese babies have slits in their pants instead of diapers.
Yes, I felt a little bit like a pervert taking this picture, but I was just
so shocked! They literally shit on the street whenever they need to go.
There is human poop on the streets of China.
The cave goofily lit up at Butterfly Spring
This piece of the cave looked like a butterfly figure!
On the bridge!
Joey didn't want to stop because there was a
"Don't Stop" sign. But he did.
Beautiful green view
Lookout point
There's that cool bridge again!
Chinese performance, with an entirely Chinese audience.
Chinese take as many pictures of farang as Thais, but they do
it a little bit more discreetly. At least 5 or 6 times now I've noticed
someone discreetly taking a picture of me on my computer, with
my backpacker's backpack, or just simply standing. Yangshuo doesn't
get many farang tourists. It will be interesting to see what Beijing is like!
This ice cream came wrapped in a plastic cone (plastic is bad,
but it looked really good). It did not taste good!!!
Rock climbing! Joey wanted to go,
but also didn't want to die.
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