The journey to Yangshuo was all too familiar – the same uncomfortable hard-sleeper where they locked all the toilets at midnight, the same unwelcome 7am arrival in Guilin and the all-too-familiar bus to the town itself. Last time I did all these things I got pretty sick (with giardia, I think) and my body somehow decided the same circumstances called for the same symptoms to repeat themselves, though in a thankfully milder form. It was all I could do not to be sick all over the bus.
Still, I wasn’t anywhere near as ill as the last time, and the town looked as awe-inspiring as ever.

I spent the first day or so lying in bed, trying to get better. I was in Lisa’s hostel again, and possibly in the same room too, but this time things seemed to have slipped a bit. The sheets were damp and the room smelled mouldy. Other than that it was much the same as before, only a lot quieter. It was nice to see these two again, especially, even if Jackie tainted the reunion a little by presure-selling me some sunglasses.

After I got better there was some time to cycle out of the town and see the usual bits of dramatic scenery, particularly Moon Hill, a large karst mound with a thousand steps up the the stange circular hole at the top. It’s a stunning sight, but one I’d like to see in the summer when there’s a little less haze.

In the evenings I again repeated myself by hanging out in the Balcony Bar, who served me potato salad and onion soup, the only foods I seemed to be able to keep down. I also met a few people of course, though not nearly so many as last time as the town seemed to have surprisingly few travellers this time. The only people I spent any time with really were my room-mates Tabitha from the US and Lisa from Norway.
To be honest this particular visit wasn’t exactly the height of excitement, but that’s not really how Yangshuo is supposed to be anyway. Though I was sick it was still nice to be in a quieter place, with decent food, places to unwind and beautiful scenery to look at every now and again.