第三天早晨，团体在伏波山合照 Group photo at Fubo Shan in the third day's morning.
伏波山洞内寒风刺骨，湖中有人冬泳。
I can feel the wintry chill standing underneath this cave. But someone out there is swimming in the icy cold water.
自费乘搭缆车上“尧山”。
We paid for this cable car ride.
自费150元乘搭缆车上“尧山”A cable car ride costed us 150 yuan (RM75) each.
饱览桂林市方圆数十哩的群山The scenic mountains of Yao Shan.
往阳朔的高速公路群山围绕。Highway from Guilin city to Yangshuo is surrounded by mountain ranges.
到达世外桃园。Arrive at Shangri-La, Yangshuo.(4pm)
世外桃园入口处。Main entrance of Shangri-La.
“世外桃园”山水相连，平静如画。
A stunning panorama of peaks and lakes just like what you see in Chinese landscape paintings.
渔夫与鱼鹰在捕鱼。
A fisherman with his helper osprey which dive into water to catch fish.
夕阳西下，河边群山轮廓更加清晰，傍晚的“世外桃园”美不胜收。
A natural view of sunset, river and mountains.
村姑在江边洗衣。
Maidens were seen washing cloths.
洗衣、洗菜、饮用水都来自同一条河。
The river of life as washing clothes, washing vegetables, drinking water, all sourcing from the same river.
农村风光无限美。Village life at Shangri-la.
船靠岸了。End of the boat trip.
抛绣球。
再见了！世外桃园。Bye-bye, Shangri-la!
9-1-2009（星期五）晴天
(伏波山、尧山、阳朔世外桃园、荔莆)
今早虽然阳光普照，温度却只有5℃。早餐后将行李搬上车，今天晚上住在桂林市以南的荔莆。在离开桂林市之前到伏波山兜一兜，看到队友在摊档前购物，车夫及导游脸带嫌恶开始埋怨说时间迟了，之后却带我们到宝树堂买药，一呆接近两个小时，导游笑眯眯陪着购买大包小包出来的团友，市侩的面容看了令人肠胃不舒服。接着又到“茶博士”卖茶。哎！上了贼船。
中午气温上升至24℃，我们自费150元乘搭缆车上“尧山”，这里可以饱览桂林市方圆数十哩的群山，只是收费稍嫌太贵，建议可以省略这个行程。
下午四点开始往阳朔出发，傍晚到达号称被遗忘的故乡“世外桃园”，马上陶醉在这里的美丽风光。乘小舟在江上漫游，村姑在江边洗衣洗菜，农村的孩子在屋前嬉戏，渔夫与鱼鹰在捕鱼。夕阳将群山衬托得如梦如幻，构成一幅美好的山水画，船只经过时原本平静的水面形成一波又一波的波浪，使画面变得真实了。虽然园内有许多景点被人工化，我们对这里的自然景观给予极高评价，到桂林必到“世外桃园”。
在阳朔享用晚餐时，队员要求导游带我们到夜市购物，你猜她怎么说？她说：「阳朔小偷第一多，出去逛一逛，回来变穷光蛋！」该感激她还是该对她的信口开河不以为然？入黑时住进荔莆没有电梯的酒店，各自搬行李上楼。
9-1-2009 (Friday) Sunny
(Fubo Shan, Yao Shan, Yangshuo, Lipu)
It looked bright but the temperature had dipped to 5 degrees Celsius. Our baggage were loaded into the coach's compartment as we will move on to the south, known as Lipu. There was a stopover at Fubo Shan. Both driver and guide pulled out long faces when others shopped at free will. With constant grumbling about running out of time, we left the place.
Guess what? They pulled over at a renowned herbal shop for us to pick up medicinal items. How long was this unnecessary stop? Exactly two full hours and the guide smiled, even grinning from left to right as tour friends bought bags of goodies. The episode did not end till we were taken for another ride to a tea shop for tea leaves purchase.
Due to mountainous topography, its weather is very diverse as its landscape as temperature soared to 24 degrees Celsius high. A cable car ride costed us 150 yuan (RM75) each as we were carried across to the scenic mountains but the fare was rather steep. Today's itinerary for both morning and afternoon could be given a miss as there was nothing spectacular.
We left at 4 p.m. for a visit to Shangri-La Yangshuo, "The Forgotten Homeland". On arrival in the early evening, we could feel the pulse rate beating as somehow this place has a real attraction. We sat in small boats and rowed about in the beautiful lakes.
Shangri-La is not vastly populated but rather rural as maidens were seen washing cloths and vegetables beside the running waters in the rivers. Children played at their homes?frontyards and fishermen angled for fish with ospreys. This capable bird is known for its fish catching prowess.
Sunset was glorious, very pampering for our souls. We watched as little streaks of light and colours slowly disappeared below the horizon. Only the boats broke the surface of the still water sending ripples all around. Many manmade sites were seen but nevertheless this lost horizon has been preserved quite intact. Shangri-La's reputation rests squarely on its matchless sceneries and I give my thumbs up on this "must see" place if you ever set foot into Guilin.
At dinner time, a few tour friends requested the guide to accompany them to visit the night market. She bluntly refused with an excuse that the place has been infested with pick pockets. How much is true, we won't know! But we had to lug our baggage up to our rooms as the hotel has no lift service.
