Five Star Seven Star Park

The Camel, in the Seven Star Park, Guilin
















It is considered very bad luck to drop one's chopsticks; how bad can it be if you break one?

September 13, 2008, Guilin, Saturday

This morning we booked a cruise on the River Li (for tomorrow) and a removal to Yangshou, down-river, less hustle/bustle, hotel there for two nights, the river sound and light show, etc. Today we will walk Guilin, the 7 Star Park, some of the hills. Hopefully, somewhere in the next three days, I will find time to edit and incorporate some pix.

The Star Park was very nice. A little bit of everything among the small karsts in the city. We saw a cave, the zoo (panda!), the stone forest, the river, the stone museum, and the stone store, where we bought a few items (gifts). We are now rampantly violating the "take only pix" rule, but at least they're small and light-weight things. Tonight, dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and work on the pix and gadgets. And some rest. It is very warm here, 92 degrees, and muggy. But very nice and ever interesting. The lady who sold us the stone objects treated us to tea in the store and a long conversation about China and America. Later, a couple of teenage girls accosted us, obviously wanting to practice their English. This occurs often, and we try to oblige. It's pretty easy to tell the ones who are students versus the ones who have quit school and are devoted to their MSN texting while doing menial jobs. Not unlike home, I guess. A little English goes a long way here, unlike the foreign language situation in America.

Random observations: the fusion restaurant here in the hotel--Peking duck quesadillas! And, electric motor scooters...very quiet! About half the scooters in Guilin are electric, and even the internal combustion cycles are relatively quiet.