Remember when I won a trip to Guilin last year during one of our company trip? Well, I decided to use it last week and so I went to travel to Guilin with my travel buddies: Ate Carla and Ate Doris. We started our trip Wednesday evening, taking the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and staying in Century Plaza Hotel, a four star hotel 10 mins. walking distance from the train station.

The trip started Thursday morning, taking the earliest train from Shenzhen North Station (Shenzhen Bei) to Guilin. The train ride took 3 hrs. running around 300 kms. per hour. The first class seat is very comfortable with the seating arrangement 2 - 2. We got free snacks as well, some nuts and biscuits and orange juice. There's never a dull scenery, we passed by beautiful and peaceful fields and mountains along the way. Three hours just passed by. 

We then met our guide named Johnny and he brought us to this restaurant where we met the tour operator's owner, Christine. She was the one sponsoring the trip and then she treated us to this wonderful lunch, where they served the spicy local stuff. Oh we all love it!

After the heavy lunch, we drove for 2 hrs. to Longsheng, famous for its rice terraces and its ethnic group called Yao and Juang Tribe. After two hours drive, we stopped by first in the entrance where Johnny brought our tickets. We also need to repack our stuff because we will need to leave the things that are not needed. And boy, Johnny was so right. When we reached the parking area where we started walking up, I can't imagine bringing our big luggages here because it will be very tiring. Porters are available, however they are mostly women so you wouldn't want that. There are sedan chairs available too where two men will carry you to your accommodation. The hike will take 30 mins. and all uphill with lots of stairs. I was only bringing my bag for the night and I was exhausted.

One of the highlights with this trip is meeting the local tribes living in the area. We have encountered Yao women, who are known for their long hair (they never cut their hair, if they do, they will make a wig out of it and still put it in their head - imagine the heaviness!), and the reason they said is for longevity and love. They are also known for being aggressive in business, which I think is true because they will ask to have a picture with you, then you will need to pay them of RMB 20. Then they will start selling you stuff, not very expensive but really nice tribe stuff reasonably priced, oh how I love their scarves! I wish I brought more!

It was a fantastic trip, truly! I will soon write a part two which will be about our accommodation and other alternative. Stay tuned! :)