A Fragrant Sweet Holiday

My travel bug has taken me to Guilin, China recently.  Guilin, by the way, means "forest of sweet osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees located in the region.  We were a jolly party of 16, mostly middle aged couples, my aunt being the oldest (she's in her eighties).  Though initially we started our tour with some light drizzles, the weather improved as we went along and we were able to cover a number of sights, with or without our raincoats!  

It would be too long to write a full account of our trip and there are too many pictures to post.  I shall sum up by saying that we enjoyed the cultural sights and performances not forgetting a cruise along the river, cable car rides, thrilling walks through caves with stunning rock formations, a lovely ride through the rural countryside, a visit to the osmanthus shop. We were happy with our accommodation and meals and our tour leader and local tour guide were both very pleasant and helpful.  A few videos and pictures below.

Group photo at Elephant Trunk Hill, so named because the outcrop
at the back of the photo resembles an elephant,
though some people say they do not see the similarity!

Sun and Moon Pagodas

Cruise along the Li River with its karst landscape.  

Cable car ride to view the Buni flower terraces

Rolling through the countryside on electric bikes and sidecars

It was an awesome trip which left me breathless at some moments.  I survived a treacherous walk through a cave - and two cable car rides.  I say this because it has always been a nightmare for me to hop onto a moving cable car and jump off at the end of the journey!  In fact, I would have fallen on one occasion if the alert station guard had not caught me and saved me from a fall!  I shall be forever grateful to him!

Thanks to all concerned for a memorable holiday!

(Photo and video credits to our tour leader and our fellow travellers)