Dragon River Retreat Adventure, Fishing Show and Impressions of Guilin

This morning we reluctantly departed the comforts of HOMA, bade farewell to Daisy and headed to Yangshou with Leo. Once in town we hopped onto a large golf cart and enjoyed a spin around a local farmer’s village where we met a very proud woman farmer and had a tour of her home/converted barn. A large portrait of Chairman Mao was hung on the wall of her living/dining/family room, and she expressed enthusiastic gratitude to the Chairman who had enabled her to now enjoy the profits of her tireless working of the land rather than just the hard work while the landlords take all the profits. The farmers in China are particularly fond of the Chairman and after seeing their new more prosperous living conditions, I can understand why.

Along the village tour we saw some women with their children placed in baskets and slung over their shoulders like cabbages, but this per Leo was simply a ploy to attract tourist dollars rather than a genuine type of local snuggly. Livvy was quite upset by the sight as she felt, “Those moms are kind of mean because their children can’t be very comfortable in those hard baskets.”

The scenery was beautiful however. After the tour we checked into our new hotel, the Dragon River Retreat, where the chipped paint, well smudged glass doors, harsh fluorescent lighting and worn lobby furniture was not lost on Livvy. She quickly asked me to confirm that we were only staying here for one night. Livvy noticed a sign above the check-in desk displaying the different kinds of rooms and their respective rates. The highest end room was called a Suite and cost the equivalent of $85 USD while the least expensive room was called an “O’Clock Room” and cost $17 USD. We were shown past the kitchen to the rear stairwell where a dozen clear garbage bags containing discarded aluminum cans were piled up, as if awaiting a garbage truck that refused to come.

We climbed the stairs to our 2nd floor room and with some trepidation opened the door with the single scotch tape covered key card we had been given. I had asked for a second key card for Livvy but this request was denied with some incredulity on the part of the manager who must have thought an extra key card was an obscene extravagance when the room had lasted on this one key card for over a decade. Once inside we found a small room that had been painted a dark plum color sometime in the late 80’s. There were 2 twin beds with a scratched night stand between them, a small desk with an old television, and a sliding door to a small balcony. There was also a small bathroom which had a sink and a toilet but no bathtub nor shower, at least none that I could detect. There was a “Toilet Disinfected For You” paper wrapper laying torn in the waste basket, and so I felt good knowing at least the hint of hygiene was present. The muddy footmarks on the bathroom floor were easily hidden away with the scratchy hand towel provided.

I called to Livvy, letting her know we wouldn’t be showering tonight because there was no shower. She came running into the bathroom, and after a quick scan said, “There is a shower Mom, look up.” Indeed just above the toilet and slightly to the right was a showerhead sticking out of the wall. Livvy continued laughing, “I guess you can go to the bathroom and get showered at the same time.” With that, I decided to take in the view of the river from our balcony, and ventured outside. There on the balcony I could see the stunning limestone mountains, the Li River, and several Speedo clad local men collecting river snails with diving masks. River snails would not be on our menu anytime soon. Livvy joined me on the balcony with her knapsack and sat down to begin her math homework, and in mid-Distributive Property Addition problem said without looking up, “I think they gave us an O’Clock Room.”


We had dinner at a local restaurant, and then went to see the Cormoran fishing show, which is quite a sight. The local fishermen tie a small string around the necks of these birds so that the birds can catch any fish they like as they swim through the water, but the birds can only manage to swallow the small fish and must hop onto the fisherman’s raft and get his help when they catch too large a fish, and the fisherman then frees the larger fish from the bird’s mouths and puts them into his fishing basket.

After the Cormoran show we went to see "Impressions of Guilin", the most amazing sound and light show created by the same man who created the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Leo assured me we could just buy ordinary level tickets but I insisted we purchase VIP seats for an extra $7 USD, and was delighted we did. The entire show is done on the river with over 600 performers and the limestone mountains form the dramatic backdrop, all lit up in vibrant color. Amazing. We returned to the Dragon River Retreat where we slept almost fully dressed to minimize contact with bed linens. We were up at dawn and ecstatic to depart for the Reed Flute caves in Guilin and the Pearl Museum.