Guilin and Tibet in August

[andy_cha]

<p>Hi,<br>

Has anyone been to Guilin and Tibet in Aug? I am planning my trip now. Would like some tips and hear opinions about traveling during that time.</p>

<p>I would like to photograph the classic photos of Li River--early morning or evening with fishermen and their boats. Is there a good place to stay by the river for good photos opportunities? or can I stay in town and travel early for photos?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

[rick_wong]

<p>It will be hot... Very Hot<br>

If you are willing to hire your own boat you might have a chance to get some of the classic Guilin photos along the Li river. The tours all travel the river the middle of the day I ended up hireing a personal tour guide and driver about $250 US for half a day. the problem is the ones you see in the books and by people such as Art wolf hire the fisherman to pose for them. in fact the classic shot of fisherman and birds at dusk or sunrise can be shot just by hireing the boats just for the photoshoot. Tour companies will set this up for you or if you don't care about being yelled at just shoot away when a group is shooting at the river.<br>

<img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/photos/22240590_hntM2-M.jpg" alt="" width="352" height="450" /><br>

This shot on the road was from a real village that we visited. They have tours going to special villages for tour groups. but because I was in a single car and it was just the guide and myself he took me to a real village where people lived and worked in the rice fields<br>

<img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/photos/25203795_RKope-M.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /><br>

If you stay in Guilin you will be in the big city and you will not be able to get shots of the rice fields here is a shot from the park accross the street from our hotel early in the morning<br>

<img src="http://riwong.smugmug.com/photos/25203796_wBDbG-M.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Yangshuo is the city you want to spent the night at it is at the end of the Li river cruises and is where the photo tour groups hang out.....<br>

here is a link to my china gallery... <a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/gallery/532257_9gLLQ/1/25203796_wBDbG">http://riwong.smugmug.com/gallery/532257_9gLLQ/1/25203796_wBDbG</a><br>

<a href="http://riwong.smugmug.com/photos/25203795_RKope-M.jpg"></a></p>

[Craig_Cooper11664875449]

<p>Stay in Yangshuo not Guilin. Look here for some advice http://www.yangers.com/<br>

...and paying anything like $250 to be taken around for any part of a day (or even a few) is being ripped off!<br>

Get to Buffalo bar in Yangshuo (see web site above http://www.yangers.com/Buffalo_Bar.php). Its run by an Australian, and ask people there about how to best get around and find guides. Tour operators should be a last resort unless you want to waste money.</p>

[jeff_delisio]

<p>Where in Tibet? I was in Amdo and Kham in July two years ago traveling down from Xining south and west then eventually swinging over to Chendgu. Normally the height of the rainy season but in an entire month we were rained on only twice. Some days were quite warm and evenings get quite cold - especially over 13,000 ft. Dust is not as much a problem as it seems in central and Western Tibet. There are more and more well paved roads in that area but as you get off those you are often on tracks and rather rudimentary one lane roads that could be problematic with lots of rain. The light was astounding every day. Go and try and spread some of your wealth around to the Tibetans there.</p>

<p>Guilin was the start of a trip we did in Guizhou several springs ago. It has become a real tourist area, see if you can get out from there further out as the other posters have noted. There are some truly beautiful areas to the north and west - we went for weeks without seeing a belching factory. The Dong and Miao people still retain some of their original culture but it is all changing very fast, get there as soon as you can. There was a lot of road construction going out of Guilin - it may be easier to move out to the hills for a few days.</p>

[john_hughes4]

<p>Hi, Guilin and Yangshuo have been allowed to open up for tourists since 1981,the first time I went there.The shopkeepers you see now all have large houses in the hills nearby,and all the holes that you will see in those marvellous rock peaks,are or were tombs that the locals broke into to take and sell the statues in there.In other words they're waiting for you,and why not,people who go to China to eat pancakes,which I'm sure is not your case, deserve all they get.So avoid guides(no point),wander around the hills a bit(no danger) and grab yourself a Chineese hotel,so that you are more in harmony,important for photography, with a place that for centuries has inspired painting and poetry that has always been an integral part of Chineese culture.</p>

[MTC Photography]

<p>Fly to Guilin, stay no more than a day, exploring the caves, then take a Lijiang cuise to Yangshuo. There will be plenty of photography opportunity along the way. You need a wide angle <br />lens of 24mm equivalent or wider, in order to cover mountains from the deck.<br />,<br />Don't skip lunch on the cuise boat, the meals are usually prepared with fresh caught fishes, prawns, crabs and escargos, cooked in Yangshuo style with beer.<br>

<br />At Yangshuo you may stay at West Street ( Yangshuo Xijie ), it is a pedestrain only area with good hotels, bars, restaraunts, with English signs.<br>

When stay at Yangshuo, you may also explore the inner river by bamboo raft tour offered by local tour agents stationed at the West Street. Two person raft is more fun than group raft with 8 to 10 people.<br>

Bring US dollars for exchange to Chinese yuan, hard to exchange other kind of currencies even in local banks in Yangshuo</p>

[dlambert]

<p>If you have plenty of time you can even rent bikes with guide for about 10 dollars. And never pay 250 dollars for half a day for a car, cause that is a big rip off. Make sure you bargain for everything you buy unless there is a price listed and still.</p>