Middle Kingdom and the Christmas Tree City

We were not long in China, but we saw some of the most famous scenery on the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo. First we arrived in Nanning by bus and navigated the English-less station to the ticket counter and escaped as soon as we could from the squirming masses in the station and the rapidly sprawling Nanning city. Nanning is the overland port to Vietnam for all those cheap manufactured Chinese goods to be exported through. It is a busy and expanding place there were well over a dozen cranes supplying materials to the new high rise buildings on the outskirts.
We came to Guilin at night and gave in to the touts offering cheap hotel rooms because we were completely disoriented my the poor map we had and the lack of pinyin (romanized Chinese) street signs. The next morning we set out for breakfast and a proper map when we ran into Mike Wu- a retired english teacher turned tour agent. He set us up with a noodle shop where we had the local breakfast dish: Guilin mifan (noodles) for 3 yuan (<0.50USD). There was only a little meat but that was made up for by the free broth, variety of pickles and herbs to add as extras. Through the Mike Wu fellow we arranged a boat down the Li River for only us two. Compared to the posted rates we got a fair deal after some bargaining.
The region is known for its Karst topography- that is limestone landscapes complete with caves, blind valleys, disappearing streams and haystack hills. The Li River cut though this scenery and is little developed on the river. There are mountains with names like "Thumb," "Seven ladies" and "Nine Horse Painting" inspired by the images they evoke. The ride was beautiful though a little chilly but our driver was friendly but spoke no English. When we arrived on the disembarkation point we had a meal of a freshly butchered chicken (killed while we watched) and grilled fish. It was delicious and as authentic as Chinese food gets.
That night we stayed in Yangshuo, a smaller town surrounded in limestone hills. I went out for water and ended up in a tea house sampling the local leaf with an assortment of young Chinese ladies. There was a good language exchange then over several cups of mild green teas.
In the morn we strolled around Yangshuo. In the market we got some empty steamed buns and saw meats hanging ready for sale. The choices were broad: from common chickens, pigs and cows to the more exotic goats and even dogs- completely de-furred and teeth exposed. The Cantonese will eat anything with legs besides tables and chairs. We settled for noodle soup and fruits.
In the afternoon we headed back to Guilin to catch the bus. It was unfortunate that we booked the bus ahead of time as it turned out. We had to wait around for the "sleeper bus" which was a "sitter" and the most uncomfortable at that. The bus even stopped in Yangshuo for the driver to eat for an unspecified amount of time. These kind of stops occurred more than once and became a nuisance to the wary and uncomfortable riders. At about one AM the bus stopped and we switched into a real sleeper bus which was cold and smelled like feet.
We were dropped outside of Guangzhou in the morning. A taxi brought to the train station where we tarried for the window to open and after booking we found out it was for a flight we cancelled and sought the train to Hong Kong. This was a struggle as the station we were at was a mass of wriggling humans all fighting for the ticket window. A security guard gave us the vital bit of information: the Kowloon express originates from the East Station not the Main station. So rode the subway over there and got on the proper train with little difficulty.
Customs was a simple affair of asking for a stamp and receiving it.
Arriving in Hong Kong.....