adventures in china

I had been warned from guidebooks that Guilin, the tourist capitol of China, would be a swarm of sales pitches, pickpockets, and scams, but the photographs I had seen of the landscape and promise of a free bed (Isabella’s cousin’s friend lives here) drew us to it. Two days in and I have nothing but good things to say about this city. The limestone mountains that seem to erupt randomly throughout town are surreal, and the caves within them are carved with ancient (some 1000 years old) sculptures and calligraphy that make up for the cheesy Las Vegas-style lighting setup inside them at night. Yes, Guilin is touristy, with many of it’s incredible sites smothered in artificial trees and painting as if it were Disney Land, but if you can see past it (or laugh a little), it is incredible.