I’m waiting for breakfast, sitting in a “French” style cafe. It’s decorated with French-ish stuff, like pictures of the Eiffel Tower, and a hacked up version of Van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace at Night. I chose this place because they advertise wireless Internet, but oddly enough, it’s not turned on. I’m connected to the wireless belonging to the hotel behind the cafe. They’re playing relaxing cafe music here though, which is nice.

I got up really early this morning in an attempt to watch the sun rise above the Li River on the eastern side of town. Unfortunately, the sun rises so meekly in China, generally tinting the smog a very faint pink, before fading in weakly, well above the horizon. The sky went from dark grey to light grey, and now it’s white, with a tint of blue. I could feel the smog in my lungs this morning too. I was a bit short of breath walking down to the river. It’s disappointing that this is how it is, several hundred kilometres from the big city.

I got to watch the morning routine of the town though. People were down at the river, washing clothes, stretching and doing calisthenics. Even the pudgy western tourists were getting into the act. A few young girls were studying for an exam, reading out loud in English from workbooks. I guess Friday is exam day in Yangshuo.

And a couple of leftover pics from my bike ride two days ago.

I just had some “connectivity” problems, which I managed to resolve. Now I’m headed back to the hostel to pack, shower, and check out. I’m leaving for Guangzhou tonight on a hard sleeper train, but that doesn’t leave for another 12 hours or so. I need to kill a day here.