I have so many travel diaries
to still put up on Yang Shuo, to save you travellers time - with great tips. All in all, I spent almost two months there,
and some of the best info I came upon was just at the end!
Go to see William, the manager of the Seventh Heaven
on West Street, and say Arielle of Canada sent you.
He will give young backpackers and others tips
on possible film extra work for CCTV - they pass by now and then looking for Western-looking extras - and also knows of an
exquisitely beautiful home stay right on the nearby river - Shelley's Home Stay With A Real Chinese Family.
Shelley is a middle-aged Chinese woman - very attractive,
happily married - and a local businesswoman. She is a personal friend of mine - I was so lucky to meet her my first
week in China.
You should stay at her place for at least a few
days, on the river, as you will see water buffalo and the famed mountains from a modernized and attractive terrace, sipping
tea and catching up on tranquillity.
There are small open motor cars that can take you
to the village every day, so you can still see lots of other sites, while resting up.
So - eat great meals at William's, rest at Shelley's,
and maybe, just maybe, get a chance to work in an exciting Chinese movie!
So why am I recommending Jacko as well?
Because Jacko can get you cars to go to the famous
rice terrace folk people villages, and the pictures I have taken there are some of the finest of my photography career.
The food is great at his restaurant, and he too
has a wonderfully friendly and helpful personality.
The card beneath his is for Manuel, a guide who
will travel with you to these folk villages - useful for daring travellers who may want to sleep in real folk village houses.
Manuel is a relative of Jacko's, and they are part of the same travel group.
Warning: these mountainous roads to the folk villages
are full of hairpin curves, and sometimes thick with fog!
If you are a rich tourist, I would pay the
driver to go very slowly!
