The rain sets in...

Guilin was wet, the first day i was there was a write off and anyway i was knackered from my train trip so i just recouped in the hostel common room reading my book and watching CCTV9 the english language chinese telly channel. I ventured out in the evening for my dinner, yet to get my courage up regarding street food so i headed for a restaurant recommended by Helen and the lonely planet. It was ace 2 dishes rice and beer for 40 yuan. To be honest i ordered too much food, i keep thinking because stuff is so cheep that you need to order a couple of plates else there wont be enough, half an enormous bowl of green beans and a fair chunk of szechuan pork later i discovered i was wrong!
I had all Guilin's landmarks pencilled in for the next day and after a solid nights sleep i head out into the city, its overcast but fresh. I found my first destination "solitary beauty peak" an old princes place and gardens with a hill at the back of it from which you could get great views of the city.
I paid my 50 yuan and the heavens opened.

The main Palace, thats the hill in the fog behind!

I ventured on looking in the little museum which promisingly had an english introduction but as soon as you entered became a solely chinese affair,, its fair enough i suppose its just nice to know what your looking at.

The steps down

I wondered to the peak and up the steep steps the view at the top was non existent as the rain had wiped out any scenery behind a dense grey blob.

The not so good view down from the top. Straight ahead was grey!

There was a smattering of Chinese tourist around all sensibly armed with brollies and as i headed out the park the rain got heavier and the streets cleared. I was going to go to the main park which contained 7 more similar peaks but i sacked it off a trudged back to the hostel.
The afternoon followed that pattern of the previous as i read some more of my book whilst keeping an eye on the ridiculously clipped tones of the chinese news presenters.
Next morning I jumped on the bus to Yuangshou a village about 80 km south that apparently contains some of Chinas most dramatic scenery, hopefully i will be able to see it!

The rain sets in...

Guilin, China