So after we arrive at Kuala Lumpur airport at about 1:30am, we have 3 hours until we need to check in for our next flight. Even though we were tempted to check-in again at our super posh hotel and beat our record of the shortest hotel stay ever, we decided against it, and hunkered down for the night on the floor of the airport. It was kind of like playing camping as a child, we laid out our beach mats, blankets and pillows and then formed a wall with our luggage. It was quite cozy minus the cold, hard cement underneath us. We thought we had been quite clever because we had found a section of hallway that was a bit dimmer than other areas, but another man had the same idea.... So there we are, all cuddled up trying to sleep, blankets over our heads, when this god-awful snoring completely disrupts us (well actually just Susanne and I, Chelsea slept through it). After trying to ignore it for a while, I decide I can't take it anymore and pull the blanket from over my head. I had originally thought it was Chelsea snoring and I was going to wallop her but then I saw Susanne's face and burst out laughing. She looked like she was about to lose it!!! She had her ipod in and it was evident she hadn't come near to dozing off. Unfortunately she was only about a foot away from snoring guy and even with using her suitcase as a wall, blanket over her head and ipod in full blast she could not escape or ignore the snoring. I take a look at the guy and he's out cold, lying on his side even, snoring his face off. Anyways, Susanne moved to the other side of Chelsea and we all eventually were able to grab a little sleep.
We arrive at Guilin pretty tired and take a cab for an hour and a half with the friendliest driver I have ever met (as in not friendly at all, he barely waited while Susanne ran to the washroom and never said anything to us or cracked a smile the entire drive). So it was not a good first impression of Guilin but then we start driving through these beautiful mountains and when we finally arrive in Yang Shuo we are greeted by our very friendly and accomodating hostel owners. We decide to take a quick nap before heading out to explore. So in this little mountain city, it is very common for tourists to rent bikes and bike around for the day. Our hostel owners rented out bikes for cheap so we decide to take a look at our options. We could have an old-school banana seat bike complete with basket on the front, something that resembled a moutain bike but without gears and finally a pretty decent mountain bike. We opted for the most expensive mountain bike, which was still only about $3 for the day, and headed out at about 2pm. We are headed to a tourist attraction known as Moon Hill which you get to by biking through the countryside. We had been given a map by our hostel owner but it was not a very detailed map and it was all in Chinese, which made it a little difficult to find our way. We are winding through the countryside, surrounded by these gorgeous mountains, rice fields and little houses and the occasional river or pond. It was a beautiful sight but we definitely took some wrong turns. Luckily for us everyone was extremely friendly and we'd have these little old ladies biking alongside us pointing us in the right direction.
After biking for a while (probably 40 minutes) we decided to take a break since we are starving (we hadn't eaten since our McDonald's breakfast at 5am) and we are completely drenched in sweat and parched! We all realize that we are maybe not in as good of shape as we thought as little old ladies are flying by us on their bikes, not even breaking a sweat and we're struggling along behind them. In our defence, none of us has been on a bike in years and the temperature is a cool 37 degress plus humidity that makes it feel about 1000 degrees! We stop at a cute little place called The Giggling Tree, which is an old farmhouse that has been converted into a hotel, restaurant and courtyard to grab a bite to eat and some much needed water for the rest of the trip. We ask for directions and are told that it will take us approximately another 45 minutes on bike to get to Moon Hill......this news makes us really happy since we thought we were just going for a quick little drive through the countryside on our pedalbikes not a marathon!
We did eventually make it to Moon Hill only to find out....... that you actually climbed the mountain! Of course we're going to do it, we just biked for an hour and a half, maybe longer due to our little detours down the wrong country roads, so we start up. Susanne and I are really prepared for our day of activity, both wearing flip flops while Chelsea of course was all geared up in sneakers. I think she secretly knew that we'd be doing a marathon bike expedition and then climbing a mountain but decided not to tell us so she could laugh while Susanne and I slipped all over the mountain in our flip flops! Anyways, this cute little Chinese lady accompanied us along our travels to the top. We encountered many of these women at the bottom of the hill, all carrying coolers and fans hoping to make a couple bucks off tourists. Anyways our little lady was very friendly and informative. She informed us as we began that the Chinese believe that the number 8 is lucky and that to get to the top of Moon Hill you had to walk up 888 very narrow, steep stairs. She laughed the whole way as we had to take numerous breaks and chug back the water in order to be able to make it to the top. She on the other hand did not break a sweat, did not have any water and fanned US the whole way up. She talked about farming, her family and taught us some common phrases in Chinese. She even invited us to her house for dinner afterwards! She was also great motivation saying things like only 8 mintues to top, only 2 mintues to top, etc. then she became our photographer. The view from the top of Moon Hill was breathtaking. You looked out over the entire countryside and could see the farms, towns, and other mountains for miles. Moon hill was given its name because there is a hole through the top of the mountain in the shape of a circle, so when you're at the top you stand under this huge rock arch. It was definitely worth the climb and the vibrating legs we had on the way down.
We thanked our lady then headed for home on our bikes. I can honestly say I have never had a leg workout like that in a long time! The bike ride back was not as bad as I had been dreading and we got to see the sun set over the mountains. When finally reached the hostel at about 7pm, the hostel owner asked if we would like to keep the bikes for later but the general consesus was "I don't want to ever see that bike again!" We were all very sore, especially our backsides! We showered up then headed out on the town for dinner. This town is beautiful at night with all the mountains lit up and framing the city streets!
This morning we had a much needed sleep-in, then went to a little cafe for breakfast, western style, and coffee which was more expensive than our meal! We hung out there for a while killing some time before taking a cab to the airport. We are now patiently waiting for our flight to Xi'an.
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