Guilin, China

Guilin is where a lot of Chinese tourists vacation. It is a dream destination of sorts of the Chinese because of its beauty. Consider this: there are 30 five-star hotels and 100 four-star hotels in a city with a population of about 1.34 million. Chicago (population 2.85 million), has 4 five-star hotels and 49 four-star hotels (according to Expedia). There are a ton of Chinese tourists here.

With tourists come pickpocketers, of which, I became a victim. My ipod is no longer with me and it will be missed. I am still undecided if I am going to replace it, though in time I am sure I will.

While Guilin is the end-destination for many Chinese tourists it is a stepping stone for most foreign backpackers, including myself, to Yangshuo, which is described as a backpackers mecca. Guilin itself is an OK city. Well, "OK" is a stretch. The sites are OK, really not that great at all, and the city itself is pretty awful.

The chief attractions in Guilin are Reed Flute Cave, Solitary Beauty Peak, and the Li River. Reed Flute Cave is pretty cool and would be even better if there was not colorful, artificial light everywhere. Yes, it needs to be lit so that it can be viewed, but it does not need to be green, blue, red, or green. Just plain white light would be much better.

Solitary Beauty Peak was skipped because of the 70RMB (more than 10USD) entrance fee. This does not seem like a lot, but that is a huge sum of money here. My hostel in Guilin cost 15RMB per night. 70RMB is more than some parts of the Great Wall. It is an outragous amount.

After a longer-than-expected stay in Guilin because of some stomach problems, I am off to Yangshuo, where, if the place hits me the right way, I will be staying staying for a month making it the first of the handful of cities in my travels I will living in for that length of time.