Yangshuo

Yangshuo was supposed to be my R&R before heading on to Hong Kong - my break from my break, if you will -  but it turned out rather differently. The town was set in stunning scenery and I met some lively folk, and before I knew it my time was done and I had had far less sleep than planned.

Oh, if you're nervous of stomach, please avoid the last picture.

View from the roof of 11 Hostel, Yangshuo

Dehang and Fenghuang...

Tucked away in central Hunan province are two of the most beautiful places I have ever been to: Dehang and Fegnhuang. They are only about 100km apart, and yet are attractive for entirely different reasons. Dehang is a peaceful, relatively unknown hamlet folded into a verdant valley beneath massive towering karst peaks. A handful of traditional inns give way to narrow rice paddies lining bubbling rivers leading into some of the most picturesque mountains in the world. Fenghuang, though also a traditional river town, is a heaving mass of tourists and multi-storey wooden buildings leaning over the river. At night the neon lights strung along the rebuilt city wall are reflected in the perfect river, illuminating the merrygoers happily tripping over the stepping stones.

It's best if you see for yourself:

The sun begins to set, the town starts to get in gear.