From Nov 10th to the 17th we had our second week-long vacation and this time Alysa, Leah, Shayne and I decided to spend the first half down South in the beautiful city of Yangshuo. To get there we left Friday evening and took a 29 hour train ride. Luckily this time we had beds so we could spend all that time sleeping, reading, and watching movies. We arrived late Saturday night in Guilin where we stayed at a hostel and then we took a bus out to Yangshuo Sunday morning. We spent Sunday planning the week’s activities, exploring our hostel and the area around it, and then we rented mopeds for an eventful ride through the mountains. The whole time in Yangshuo, we just couldn’t help but be absolutely amazed at what we were seeing and how beautiful everything was.
The train ride. Half way there Alysa and I decided to make a blanket fort from our blankets on our beds and we had an Avatar: The Last Airbender marathon.
Our hostel (some of these pictures were taken on different days).
I don’t know what is it about hostels, but every single one we visited had a dog—and they are always the cutest things ever.
Exploring the area around the hostel.
We found some mopeds for rent so we decided to rent two and ride through the local neighborhoods and mountains. Alysa and I were on one bike and Leah and Shayne were on the other one.
After riding our mopeds for about an hour, Alysa’s and mine started dying. To save power we decided it shouldn’t have two people on it—thus I was bumped to the other bike with Shayne and Leah. At first we tried fitting me on the seat, but Shayne had trouble driving so instead I kneeled in front of her and held on tight! It was starting to get dark and we had to ride like this for over a mile or two through the crazy city. It was so funny and uncomfortable!
We got so many weird looks as we drove through the city. Finally this girl called over to us and offered to let me ride on the back of her moped (yay!). So I get on and she takes off. Meanwhile the moped that Alysa is on completely dies and they are stranded with no idea where I went. After a while the girl and I realize my friends aren’t following us so we drive back and find them. At this point we were really distressed because we had a broken moped which had to be back at 7 and we had no idea what to do. We were so lucky to have our new Chinese friend with us because she called the owners, told them what happened, and arranged for them to come pick up the bike. They were so nice about what happened and even took us back to our hostel (in the sketchiest vehicle ever—see picture below). I’m so grateful for the people God sends us to help us when we get in difficult situations!
