Xmas Break in SW China

We took a 9pm flight off Beijing on Dec 24 to Guilin. The adult fare was heavily discounted at 40% (60% off). Kids fare was roughly the same as they paid 50% of normal fare anyway. We arrived in Guilin airport at 11pm, met by a small van arranged by hotel downtown of Guilin. The hotel cost us RMB238 for one night. I couldnt figure out how they could throw a free airport transfer in at that price, normally RMB70 pp. The pickup came with personalised tour guide, one per family, with the objective of selling the guests various tour packages during the 40 mins ride into Guilin. Maybe the airport transfer is a tour company service to hotels, so they could lock in customers early, upon arrival. We didnt buy any of the tours introduced by the guide.

The hotel is small but cozy, facing a nice lake but we didnt hv much chance to soak that scenery in as we arrived late and left early. Breakfast was Guilin mifen (similar to laksa beehoon, rice round noodle). RMB2.5 a bowl. Noodle was the same and soup stock (on tap, self service) was the same, but the condiments made the difference for the persons in front and behind the the serving counter. I left the talking to Grace.

I did have a feast of rambutans (火龙果）later from a street vendor, 1.5kg for RMb15. Plus same amount of mangostines at 3x the cost. Good quality. That was our snack while cruising Li River flowing through Guilin。 The river cruise was not in our plan, but Grace was 'hijacked' by a woman on the street touting the cruise. The whole region is full of tour guides. Everyone has something to sell. To foreign visitors, tour of Guilin and surrounding is often arrnaged as a packaged, but for local individual travellers, the streets are full of 'guides' peddling tour packages. They usually get a discount from the operators, and most pass on the discounts to their customers. The woman who sold the cruise package to Grace was some disctance away from the boat jetty, but she showed us to a car which took us to the jetty. We paid RMB40 to the driver for each RMB50 ticket. I dont know how else they get rewarded for bringing customers in, but that seems to be the customs on the strrets: selling, transporting and operating the tours are different faces.
The cruise was boring in hindsight but it was okay for day 1. It gets better later.
1. at entrance to hotel #1 of 4nights
2. Pure sugar cane juice for RMB2 per big cup.
3. Elephant Trunk Hill, from top of cruise boat. chairs in mid river are for lunch customers.