Guilin Day 2

On Thursday we went on the Li River Cruise. We tell people these are the mountains that inspired the mountains in Kung Fu Panda. It's the easiest thing to relate to. It was a pretty amazing ride. We spent a little over three hours on a boat ride down the river and ended in Yangshuo. We then walked a street called West Street where there are vendors and stores galore. We bought some woven blankets and few other trinkets. Then we had dinner by the little pond in the center of town while the sun set. It was a delicious dinner. My poor family thought they were going to get to China and starve to death. They brought lots of granola bars thinking they would loose weight and subsist on granola. Whoever told them the Chinese food was bad, had a bad experience. We ate amazing food the entire time. I even have some of the recipes. Love it. (Most of the time. Sometimes you just need a really yummy Mexican dish to put it all in perspective.)

Here is our day on the River:

 The Snake wine that was offered. We didn't choose to drink any for many reasons...

 This is called 9 horse rock. Supposedly there are 9 horses that can be traced out in the shading and colors. Points to anyone who can find them all and point them out to me. I could only get 5.

 My sister holding a rod with cormorants. The fisherman use these birds to fish. There is a loose string tied around their neck and the dive and catch fish then come back to the fisherman and his boat. Because of the string, they cannot swallow the fish. So the fisherman takes the fish and the birds go back for more. At the end of the day they are rewarded with a couple of fish to eat.

 Weaving a scarf. This is where we bought our little blankets. I bought for my dad last Christmas from Xiamen, and he loved it. He carried it around with him all over the house for the last few months. It is a very soft mix of cotton and silk.

 The color on those clouds was a brighter red, but I'm still working with and learning my camera in that kind of lighting.

 Three sisters during our dinner.

 The water and sunset during dinner.

 The busy street market.

It was a pretty good day.