Nanning and Guilin

Peter and I have got as far as Guilin, on the way up to Beijing.

We stopped in Nanning for a couple of days, being shown round by Ar Ping, a local girl we met on the way up from the Vietnamese border. Went out to Guangxi medical herb park, which I suspect my brother (an acupuncturist and chinese herbalist) as visited on one of his many trips to China

China so far doesn't at all give the impression of a 'third world' country. 'Developing' is more accurate, as everywhere you look there is frantic construction and modernisation going on. The cities seem clean and well-organised and light on traffic (for now!). The countryside appears less prosperous, but still unlittered and tidy. Quite unlike India, for example.

We've been looking round the caves and limestone karsts of Guilin today. These are the very tall dome-like rocks you see in the classical Chinese paintings - all very beautiful. The hotels (so far) are cheap, but everything else in China is pretty expensive - verging on European prices.

Very little English is spoken here, so the primary challenge in the travelling is just being able to communicate one's needs! (eg getting an edible meal)

Bye bye,

Gareth