October 29: Lazing around

Today was a super lazy day. Had wanted to wake up early to catch sunrise at the rooftop of my hostel but I overslept and only woke up at 9:30am. Decided to head out to visit the local wet market and took a stroll there, grabbing some local sugared wheat donut twists along the way. The wet market was just a short 15 minutes walk away. I've always loved visiting the local wet markets of any country or city that I travel to as it gives me a glimpse of the local life there. The wet market in Yangshuo gave me an uncensored and unfiltered peek into their lifestyles.

One side of the market was for vegetables and dried goods while the other side was for vegetables and meat. The meat section was of particular fascination as it was, as usual, filled with piles of meat and innards from various animals such as cow, chicken, duck, fish and pig. However, there was something else that I was not expecting.

Tucked away at the corner was two small shops, each having a couple roasted dogs hanging at the shop front. There were small rusted cages inside the shops, filled with dogs. The dogs are bigger than what you would find in housing apartments as pets, about 70-90cm in length each. All awaiting their fate. I witnessed one of the shopkeepers killing and gutting a dog, before using a propane torch to burn away all the fur.

Nearby, there were at least ten stalls selling livestock, including pigeons and rabbits. Large white rabbits that you normally see in photographs, for sale to be slaughtered and cooked. It was all very real and very normal in this part of the world. One man's pet is another man's dinner.

After visiting the wet market, I strolled along the city for an hour more before returning to my hostel. Once again, I was tempted by a shop selling beautiful handmade ceramic vases and I bought three of them for myself.

The ride from Yangshuo back to Guilin took about 80 minutes and upon alighting, the cold weather in Guilin hit me in the face. The temperature difference between today and yesterday was about 10 degrees Celsius! The trishaw drivers quoted me 15yuan to ferry me to my hostel that was 2km away and I felt rather cheapskate and decided to walk despite the crazy cold. I was dressed in just Tshirt and hiking bermudas.

Back in the Guilin hostel, I totally enjoyed the awesome rainshower that this hostel has provided in each room. Dinner was a mix match of street food from the stalls along the walking street. The hot and spicy barbecue meat a welcome in this cold weather.

Since it was cold outside, spending the evening in the room reading a book and eating the hot street food was particularly comforting. Could definitely use more of such cosy nights.