Day 4: Guilin Part I

Wake up call was at 7am. On the 47th floor, I parted the curtains to this sprawling city view. 

Guang Zhou is also one of the bigger cities in China. I'm sure there is tons of interesting history about this place too...but I zoned out the entire time our guide talked during our ride here (Her chinglish was so melodic.) I will say, having 2 tour guides taking us through China is the BEST. They have set up everything from our meals to the top hotels. We don't have to worry about checking in, buying tickets/fares, they just guide us like happy little sheep with iPhones glued to our faces. The 3 most asked questions this trip: Are we there yet? When are we eating? and What's the wifi code?

Our mode transportation today is a 3 hr high speed rail from Guang Zhou through the rural countryside of China and into Guilin. In China, Guilin is considered the most beautiful landscape under the heavens.

The cities we've been to here are so advanced it makes me scoff at our own cities in America. These state-of-the-art trains have a top speed of over 200mph, better service inside than most American Airliners and one of the smoothest rides I've experienced. The comparison to our trains is laughable. We have Amtrak, which is slower than LA traffic...and Bart that's so loud and screechy you can't hear yourself read. 

The crew is ready to ride.

Speeding through the majestic views of the countryside. The Guilin mountains are made up of limestone and one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

From the train station we bused another 45min to this small town for lunch before we headed to Shangri-la.

Waiting for our boat ride in Shangri-la. Making up competitions with the next gen of cousins. 

Us on boat #2 about to go through the cave.

It's just unreal. The scenery continued to blow me away, I couldn't take enough pictures to give it justice.

Seriously though.

Just the 3 of us.

My immediate fam and our spouses. Just missing Jeremiah and the 2 boys :(

The trip to Guilin and boat tour was the main outing for the day. We'll be checking into this hotel, The Green Lotus, for the next 2 nights.

This city might possibly be the most beautiful place I've ever visited, I am SO excited for the day's activities tomorrow. 

Side note: Yaelle has officially adopted the new name 'Yelly' today. She's begun this new sort of communication to where she screams, for everything. If she's happy, excited, playing, mad, hungry, tired...you can expect an ear piercing yell. That girl has some pipes! Granted, she's surrounded by 20+ loud people the majority of the day and shuffled around constantly. Considering the circumstances, this little infant is holding her own.