Day 6 : Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village

Today's weather was slightly chilly. Again, our itinerary was so relaxing ... we went downstairs to check out the breakfast buffet. Because of our terrible experience the day before, we dared not expect much. However, there were still some food to eat ... I made myself a sandwich with the bread and sausage and salad. 

We walked around the hotel again after breakfast. Most of the shops were still closed, but there was a park behind the hotel. We found a small steamed bao shop ... so we bought some baos and soy milk to try ... 

We left the hotel at 9.00 a.m. .... today we were going to the Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village - the biggest Miao village in China. By the time we got there, it was time for lunch. I liked a few items here .... 

The steamed rice cake ... spongy and fragrant ... 

Stir-fried zucchini 

There were 2 carts selling 粑粑柑 .... I bought 1 piece for CNY3 ... 

The Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village was huge! The houses were built on the slopes and the streets were touristy ... there were things to see and buy at least ... 

Cannot resist a Mixue soft serve, CNY3 

We took the bus to the viewing platform at the top ... and here ... we were supposed to dress up in Miao costumes and take photos .... but a few of my friends and I opted out. We strolled leisurely down the hill instead ... 

Pork skewers, CNY10 for 12 sticks ... yum ... 

Dinner time was at 6 pm inside the village .... 

The sour fish hotpot was a specialty, but I didn't like it ... 

The only item I liked during this meal was the sweet rice wine ... 

After dinner, it was time to leave the village .... the night scene was so beautiful! 

There was a slight drizzle when we left, we drove an hour to our hotel. We did not dare expect a good hotel that night, but surprisingly, the room was great! We stayed at the Fuli Lan Shan Hotel or The Grand Orchid Mountain Hotel 福利阑山酒店 at Kaili ... The room was nice and it had AI assisstance. Since it was slightly cold, I warmed myself with a cup of Milo and a packet of 呀！土豆！

We always bought and ate this in China! 

Guizhou : Day 5 - Qinhan Film and Television Studio & Libo Small Seven Holes

There was practically nothing to eat at this hotel for breakfast. Horrid. 

But it was not going to ruin my day! I was so excited when I found out that The Untamed was partly filmed here at the Qinhan Film and Television Studio! 

Unfortunately, I had no idea which specific locations were used for the drama ... 

Well, I have watched The Untamed a few times over the years ... I love how layered the story was and I love the theme of love, friendship, loyalty and sacrifice. Of course, I have fondness for one of the lead actors and still watch out for his news everyday! 

I think the lack of proper signage makes it difficult to locate the filming sites for The Untamed ... and it also seemed to me that many parts of the studio were abandoned or not maintained .... I walked about a bit and exited. 

The tour guide then started to sell his stuff in the bus ... this tour guide was not pushy at all, so that we found his style so amusing. 

Dried prickly pear 刺梨

A type of fruit that apparently is a powerful antioxidant 

Prickly pear extract 

Herbal ointment

Moutai

He sold us matcha biscuits, walnut crisps, medicated plaster, Chinese herbs, among other things. I decided to buy the herbal ointment and a packet of 刺梨 jelly.

Lunch was at Libo .... 

I liked the preserved veg, it tasted like spicy gongcai 贡菜.... 

 

Today's special dish is vermicelli in scallop shells ... 

After lunch, we bought some confectionery sold outside of this restaurant ... and then it was a short drive away to Libo, a Unesco Heritage Site. We took the easier route, going into the site via the West Gate as we would be walking downhill all the way. 

Libo Unesco World Heritage Site

The first stop ... Wolong Pool ..... 

Breathtakingly beautiful! 

The water was so clear! 

The second stop ... Cuigu Waterfall 脆骨瀑布

We had a matcha ice-cream here .... 

The third stop was a long walk downhill ... it was steep at some places but the view was great ... 

Finally, we arrived at the Seven-hole Ancient Bridge 小七孔 .... this bridge was built in 1836! It's 2 centuries old! 

Further down the river was another 7-hole bridge ... but it was a more recent construction .... we did not get down here .... instead we got down at 大七孔 to visit the last attraction .... 

We trekked 1km to see this cave and trekked another 1 km to walk out ... We were ushered to dinner ... we had to climb steep steps up to the restaurant ... so we were so amused! The food was alright ... nothing that special ..

That night, we checked into Guizhou Park Hotel in Libo ... the room was dark and it was so smelly .... probably from the stale carpet .... The location was good though, as we could walk around browse at the shops surrounding the hotel. I bought a small bottle of Moutai, CNY28.

Guizhou : Day 4 - Tianlong Tunbao, Gui Show, Duyun Stone Street

We woke up to a light drizzle this morning. 

My breakfast .... 

Millet porridge

I put preserved tofu and preserved mustard and spring onions and cilantro in my bowl ... yum ... 

This morning we went to Tianlong Tunbao ... an ancient village of about 600 years old ... 

Again, I did not find this place too interesting .... it was then a long drive to the next destination ... 

Our lunch spread at Longmen town ....

There was a Dragon Waterfall at this place .... 

Opposite this waterfall is a seemingly abandoned tourist attraction .... we would watch Gui Show here ... 

The show was not bad ... the songs and dances and special effects were quite good! After the show, we went to Duyun Stone Street .... 

Again, this place was full of shops ... we had our dinner of street food .... we each bought different things to share .... 

Our guide bought us this steamed glutinous rice cake ... it was not too sweet, very fragrant

I bought this Changsha Stinky Tofu ... CNY10 ... so tasty! 

Skewered BBQ lamh ... CNY14 ... yums ... 

Stirfried noodles ... 

Grilled oysters 

Pork & egg pancake 

Mixue honey dew ice-cream, CNY2 ... so cheap and so good! 

We also took away some goodies to eat in the hotel .... 

Seaweed and pork floss cake ball ... it is 2 pieces of sponge cake filled with mayonnaise, coated with meat floss and seaweed flakes ... I suppose it went viral on social media and my friend was kind of fond of it ... so we bought to try ... 

Pink strawberries 

Ripe, soft and sweet, with good strawberry flavour ... 

It started to pour after we finished our food .... so it was quite inconvenient to walk around the streets ... we went inside a snack shop and spent some time shopping there before going back to our hotel. 

The hotel Shengshi Jinyuan 盛世锦源酒店, however, was horrid .... the moment I opened the door, I caught the stench of cigarette smoke ... we opened the toilet door to find an empty cigarette package that was not disposed! Huh? Who smoked here prior to us checking in? The cleaners? An errant hotel guest? 

We quickly opened the windows to ventilate the room .... 

Luckily the mattress was firm ... so I had a good sleep.