November 2018 Part III (Yangshuo, China)
I sank deep into the familiar couch.
Even though Lily had changed her hairstyle a bit, nothing else about the Climber's Inn had.
Once I arrived, I checked into the only available dorm room and set up my things, and then I went back out into the common area and waited.
All the others had gone for dinner and would be returning soon, Lily the ever charming owner and mother of the hostel assured me.
Just as promised, after a few minutes of fidgeting, a dozen climbers came bustling in, talking and laughing loudly, settling in the seats around me.
And somehow, before I could take it all in, I was in.
I caught names and accents, stories and faces. Somehow, all of these climbers had also just shown up to the Climbers Inn during the past two weeks, each as alone as I was.
The next morning, we had breakfast and paired up. My partner started up his motorbike and I hopped on, trusting in him--whose name I wasn't sure I knew-- that he would be able to manage both our weights and the weight of a 70 meter rope and 30-some quickdraws and several liters of water without toppling over in the lawless Chinese traffic and that he'd be able to belay me later as I scaled up the face of the limestone towers.
It was so easy.
Despite the gaudy lights, obnoxious music and seedy clubs that fill its infamous West Street, I love Yangshuo.
It's a particularly special place for me as it marks the first time I went on an actual climbing trip, the first time I committed to just climbing all day every day. Five years ago, I planned to go to Yangshuo for just 2 weeks but I ended up loving it so much, I got an apartment and stayed for 2 months.
Things have definitely changed since then.
West Street, for one, is much bigger than it used to be and even noisier and more crowded than ever. Music blasts from every establishment and the streets surge with tourists like ocean swells.
And then there's the motorbikes.
Previously, everyone rode bicycles to get to all the climbing. Most crags were just a half hour bike ride away, and if we wanted to go further out, we'd hire taxi vans to take us.
But nowadays everyone rents or buys motorbikes.
I miss the bikes, the idyllic lifestyle. Waking up, cycling over for breakfast, climbing hard at the crag and starving as we raced home to dinner.
With that said, the motorbikes are convenient.
And the climbers haven't changed. They're still the goofy, bright-eyed, adventure-driven rag-tag bunch of misfits that I remember them being.
And just as I did five years ago, I fell in love with our community.
I love sport climbing on limestone in Yangshuo.
It's pretty much always stupid humid in Yangshuo and sometimes you hit a jug but it's so greasy that it feels like someone slathered it in vaseline but I love it anyway, fight me.
The movements are just so fun.
It was super satisfying to try amnesia-onsighting routes that I had projected when I was there five years ago. And also send things I hadn’t sent!
Except for Stone Dog which is supposedly 5.10d (6b) but is totally not if you're shorter than 5'4. The crux move up is absurdly hard for the grade if you can't pistol squat off an edge. (I'm only kinda bitter about this route.)
Climbing in Yangshuo is so fun and so accessible. I remember why I got stuck there last time. If I hadn't already had plans, I would've gotten stuck again.
There's something special about riding a motorbike in Yangshuo, air blowing past as you stare out at the endless karst mountains in the distance.
Within our group, there was only one tumble on the motorbike during the entire week I was there!
Totally safe.
One of my favorite things about China is how seriously it takes hot water.
It's pretty much a basic human right to have hot water there.
After a week in Dali, I took a 10 hour train ride all the way to Guilin, the major city near Yangshuo.
The train ride was comfortable. While I curse my shortness when I’m climbing, I'm thankful when it comes to travelling. It's easy to curl up and nap.
But best part of the train is the hot water.
Like everyone else, I bought two packs of instant noodles before getting on the train and indulged in delicious soup and freshly brewed tea.
Amazing.
I belayed a friend on his project at Riverside on his send go and he skipped the last two bolts which were not trivial. I was super terrified because he also weighs like 40 pounds more than me, and the whole time as he made his way to the anchors, I was shouting, YOU GOT THIS MAN but-also-please-dont-fall-now-because-thats-gonna-be-a-nasty-whipper.