River Cruise the Unconventional Way

While most tourists would cruise the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo by boat as seen in background of a photo posted, Grace decided she wanted us to cruise the river by bamboo raft. That was day 3 of our travel. We paid RMB120 to hire a small van taking us from Guilin to this remote village where our raft owner met us. A farmer by birth, but taking tourists down the river in his raft has been his main line of income for the past 6 years. As a farmer he is allocated roughly 600sqm of land by the river but the land could provide just 3-4 months of livelihood for his family of three per year, planting Lychee and other fruits. Before he started his rafting business, he and wife had to collect firewood and herbs for sale to survive the winter months. Now he is able to make RMB3000 per month catering to adventurous tourists like Grace. We saw his house when he stopped by to dropped some grocery and fuel. Very simple abode, spartan in amenities, rather untidy too. The cruise cost us another RMB120 for 90mins, but one could easily drag the adventure out by stopping at various bends and scenic spots. He and many others operated without a proper permit, and thus could show their customers just the mid section of Guilin to Yangshuo cruise. Local police keep a blind eye, but police from Guilin and Yangshuo would confiscate their rafts (RMB7500 with engine). They are deemed as illegal competitors to state owned cruise boats which ploughs the river for many tourists at much higher prices. At the dropoff point, we have to take a motorised tricycle for RMB10 to another remote village to catch a local mini bus to Yangshuo. Bus ride cost RMB5.50 each. It didnt take long for the bus condutor to try sell us various tour packages.....