Spring Festival 2013 Destination: Guilin!

[NickF]

Dress for cold weather. The humidity there penetrates you to the bone. A 50 degree day can feel like 30. Many place do not have heat in them. I can recall going to a restaraunt and shivering between bites. We went to my wife's parents home and for heat they had a small bucket with charcoal in it. We all ate with our coats on. This was in Nanning, China.

 

Been there, done that in Nanning. Fortunately when we went to Guilin and Yangshuo we lucked out with the weather. While we were in Yangshuo it was sunny and in the low 70's and we rented a couple of bikes, found a local guide, and spent a couple of days touring the countryside. In Yangshuo most of the interesting places are either withing walking distance of West Street or within easy biking distance.

 

We took the bus back to Guilin and spent another day there, with temps again in the low 70's. In early February! Our hotel was about 2 blocks from Elephant Hill Park in one direction, and the twin pagodas in the other direction. And a decent noodle shop in the alley across the street, where we ate breakfast every day. Keep in mind that if you go to Rlephant Hill Park there is a staircase with about 11,000 steps to the top of the hill. When you're in your 60's it's a bot of challenge. The day we left to take the train to Nanning the temperature fell like a paralyzed falcon, and the next week in Nanning hovered in the upper 40's to low 50's, with constand overcast. And ChunMei's parents don't have heat in their apartment. So you never know what you're gonna get.

 

But if you go you'll probably take a million pictures; we did. The picture in our signature here was actually taken at Elephant Hill Park. Thankfully digital film is cheap.

Edited January 3, 2013 by NickF (see edit history)

[Fu Lai]

Thanks so much for all the feedback! Looks like we will head to Vietnam for 6 days after Guilin. Any suggestions there?

[NickF]

No suggestions on Vietnem at the moment. We took a day and drove down to Mon Cai from Nanning, but didn't cross the border into Vietnam. Stood on the river bank and looked at Vietnam, but didn't go. ChunMei and her father and brother didn't have the necessary paperwork.

 

I have a friend here at work who has been in Vietnam for the past month visiting her family. She should be back here next Monday and I can ask her for ideas.

[johnxiaoying]

You might look at going to Hanoi and Halong Bay, known as the Guilin of the sea. Probably still chilly there as it's not much farther south than Beihai. There are tourist boats that will take you around Halong bay for two or three night trips. There's a ferry that takes tourists to Halong Bay from Beihai overnight, unfortunately you must have either a China or Vietnam passport. No laowai allowed. You'd be forced to fly or take a bus, transferring buses at the border (last I read) and then possibly a taxi.

 

There are some nice resorts in Vietnam. I was in Vung Tau in 1971, beautiful beaches and water, similar to the Caribbean.

[Randy W]

You said earlier, "We'll be there Feb 13-20". Unless you're extending your trip a little, the extra travel time to/from Vietnam may make that a bit much to squeeze in. There's more than enough in Guilin to keep you occupied for the week. Your choice, of course. Pictures, please.

[Fu Lai]

Latest on this is... the wife's work trip to Guilin has been changed to this month so it has thrown our plans into a tizzy. Stay tuned

 

I am still getting used to the "winging it" of China plans so excuse me. Vietnam, Guilin, Thailand, Guangzhou and Shenzhen (friends are there) are all being discussed now. Whew. Me being a Capricorn and Pig astrological bent - we like making plans so I am trying to cope.

[NickF]

Lots to do in Shenzhen, too, One of my sisters-in-law lives there. And of course Hong Kong is just a 45 minute train ride south, too.

 

Guanzhou is OK, but ChunMei and I almost always fly through there, so it's not as interesting as it was at first.

[Zhou Zhou]

Does anyone know the latest on Taiwan visas? Lao po heard that the requirement for PRC citizens to get a visa to enter the ROC will be ended. Any updates?

[Fu Lai]

My girl is keen on Xiamen now... the beat goes on...

[Fu Lai]

My girl is back from her work trip to Guilin. They didn't see any tourist spots but she did manage to hit the Wa Yao International Tourist Merchandise Wholesale Market for some shopping. She bought four embroidery pieces for framing (soooo nice), a couple refrigerator magnets, some famous Guilin noodles, a Guilin-themed deck of cards, a Li River boat model, a pack of Guilin post cards and a couple new year's lanterns.

 

We plan on making the tourist visit at a later date.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Fu Lai (see edit history)

[Aussie in love]

My girl is back from her work trip to Guilin. They didn't see any tourist spots.

 

Sorry pal but I find this difficult to accept.

 

Good luck.