Another good day

After such a wonderful day, it would be hard to get one better but this one tried.

Hiking in China
We woke up early (thanks roosters) and relaxed a bit again in the morning before feeling guilty for being so lazy so we decided to go for a hike. At the inn, they have several walks available for you to do so we picked the Top of the world plateau and got going. It was a great opportunity to get some exercise and see some slightly different countryside - close up.

There wasn't always a path there, but the views were breathtaking and all natural. The walk snaked up and through two of the karst mountains to an unexpected plateau and then down to a nearby river, around by some farms and then back into the village where the guesthouse was located. Fantastic!

Cooking in China
After all that walking we still got back in time for our driver to pick us up and take us to the Yangshuo local market for a tour around before we head off to our Chinese cooking class!

The market was a bit of a treat, there were so many vegetables and products that I didn't recognise and our guide was very helpful in pointing out and explaining what everything was.

We saw lotus roots, pickled cabbage, long white carrot-looking things that weren't parsnips. Not to mention a multitude of chinese greens of every discription. And some other meats that are probably unmentionable for this blog...

After the market tour, it was on to our cooking class which consisted of 5 different dishes in a small class of around 8 people. We donned our aprons, picked up our vicious looking cleavers and got to work.

We learned how to steam meat in our steam chicken dish, how to make make egg dumplings and how to stir fry using oyster sauce properly. We made stir fried pork and vegetables, spicy aubergine and stir fried greens.

Afterwards we sat outside on a terrace overlooking the river and the karst scenary and ate the good things that we had just cooked. What a fantastic experience.

So, after my rant, we have managed to have not one but two incredible days in China. It's always best to leave a place on a high and as we've been told several times by different people, Hong Kong isn't really China so technically we will be leaving China tomorrow and starting another adventure.