The express train to Guangzhou was uneventful - there were TV screens at the end of the carriage, so I spent most of the time watching a Chinese "Candid Camera" style program called "Show Me The Funny".
In Guangzhou, I had to run the gauntlet of tour operators offering hotel rooms, train tickets etc. "You want to go to Guilin? I can get you tickets, only Y300" cried one, who had followed me down the stairs. "No thanks, I'll just buy a ticket at [the main] Guangzhou station", I replied, knowing the real price was only half that much. "No, no!", he said, drawing out a much used newspaper cutout of the station square during a riot, with a crush of thousands of people waving banners and the like, "This is Guangzhou station, very crowded, you don't want to go there". I thanked him for his advice and said I would take my chances. Near the exit I considered stopping for a bite to eat, but the only restaurant was named, in enormous neon letters, "SMELL", a fair comment on the surrounding area. I kept going.
In Guilin, the main hostel on which I had pinned my hopes was covered in scaffolding - closed for renovations - so I trekked all across town searching for a reasonably priced hotel which would accept foreigners (for which they must have a special Foreign Guest Registry book - only 20% do). I pressed for a cheap single room, bargained the price down by 50%, only to find that I was sharing after all. Mr Rat was the worst kind of room mate - asleep during the day while I was out, but very noisy at night, when he tucked into the instant noodles in the Pay-As-You-Eat basket. Using a slipper, spare bootlaces and a trail of crushed dry noodles, I set a trap for him on the third night to catch him out on the capsule-like balcony, but to no avail - i think he was already full by the time he ate the food trail to the doorway and didn't bother going outside.
Some gorgeous scenery in Guilin, the whole city is interspersed with great limestone peaks, and while the modern architecture was no more inspired than anywhere else in China, at least these mountains meant there was less of it. Underneath these peaks were some interesting caves, although not many of my photos came out due to poor light. The tourism bureau had done their best to spook up these caves with eerie music and weak "glow stick" lighting which faded into different colours - the whole effect was very "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". Also, a very nice lake in the centre of the town.
