River Cruise: Welcome Part Of Any Tour Is A River Cruise.

Looking at photos of this river cruise brings back many happy memories ! A coach came to pick us up at the hotel to take us to the cruise boat, part of the journey being along a new toll road, still under construction. River cruises to Yangshuo are very popular, hence the new road, and almost all the work was being done manually. On the journey to join our river cruise boat we had the opportunity to see people at work, from a very good vantage point, without feeling intrusive.

There was hardly any evidence of heavy machinery in use on any part of the road. Four years later, on another visit to the Li River, I was in a minibus traveling on the same road, and it was as smooth a ride, as on any of the roads of the Western countries. The track leading from the coach park to the river cruise boats was lined by open stalls with a dazzling selection of goods, many of which would have been made by local farmers during the winter months. We cautiously boarded our Li River boat up narrow gang planks, then watched coolies, their shoulder poles sagging with their loaded panniers, confidently stride up gang planks of other boats. Having left its moorings, the cruise boat started its journey, joining a convoy ahead.

Water Buffalo Grazing Seen From Deck Of River Cruise Boat

At each bend we were presented with spectacular Li River scenery. Many of the peaks had a legend associated with them, and some rock faces were said to represent figure heads, but I confess that the images were not apparent to me. From the cruise boat we could see clumps of tall bamboo, in shades of green, which were a fitting backdrop to young buffalo grazing on areas nearer the river. Where banks had collapsed, people bathed.