A very Yangshuo Birthday!

I woke up this morning to Braeden wishing me a happy birthday! What a nice brother! Even better yet, I woke up in Yangshuo! It is beautiful here. We’ve decided that it is the Banff of China- full of tourists and surrounded by mountains; except the mountains are tropical and green. It feels like I am living in a movie… what a way to start my 24th year!

We hit the streets in search of a birthday breakfast and found the Backstreet Café. It had a half Chinese half western menu. Since dumplings are the only breakfast food we have had for the past three weeks we decided to order a taste of home. I opted for porridge (don’t act surprised friends), fresh fruit, and banana pancakes. Well I think these pancakes just may be my favourite food of the trip so far! It is kind of like a crepe with slices of banana baked on top. I already know what I am having breakfast tomorrow!


Our afternoon took us to Fuli- a fifteen minute bus ride from Yangshuo. We were scanning a copy of Lonely Planet in our hostel and I read that people make traditional fans in this small village. When we got off the bus it was a little bigger than we expected… so we just started walking towards the mountains hoping the river was that way. It was so nice to be out of big cities. We actually got to observe simplistic living: animals roaming free on the streets, clothes hanging in windows to dry, and people watching tv just inside open doorways. As Braeden was taking pictures of some roosters a lady walked up to me and said: “Hello, Bamboo,” and pulled out a picture of a bamboo raft. We had probably been asked 20 times already in Yangshou to take a raft and said no 20 times. This time we said yes and followed this stranger deeper and deeper into the village.

Along our walk we found the handmade fan shops. The unpainted fans had just been glued together and were drying by the side of the road. Inside the shops people were painting beautiful mountain scenes and bamboo on the dried product. We chose to go into a shop that said “Family Run” on the sigh. The lady took us around showing which member of her family painted which fan. Each and every one was so beautiful I wanted to buy one of every size. I limited myself to only two: a Yangshuo landscape for myself and bamboo with flowers for my mom.


After shopping the “Hello, Bamboo” lady lead us into the forest and up a mountain. Braeden kept saying: “That’s it, we’re getting mugged.” We didn’t. Instead, she led us up to a spectacular view of the river winding through the mountains. And there on the river was our bamboo raft as promised! A private ride down the Li River! Definitely a must do activity on a hot day. Along the way back to Yangshuo we saw oxen bathing in the river, cormorant fisherman, and riverside restaurants. And mountains, can’t forget the mountains!

Bamboo rafting down the Li River

Cormorant Fisherman

The rest of our day consisted of: having an afternoon beer on a roof top patio, eating wood fired pizza for dinner, an ice cream sundae and pineapple beer for desert, and night market shopping! Braeden treated me as my present! And to top it all off… he bought me an owl change purse! That’s right an owl! What a great way to end my birthday!