It was already 1pm in the afternoon when we were approached by this modest looking lady who invited us to have lunch at her home across the Li River at Maozhou Island (毛洲岛).
This island, which is directly opposite Daxu Ancient Town, is the biggest island on Li River and is also known as "Bottle Gourd Island" due to lots of varieties of bottle gourds being grown there.
We called the lady 'Da Jie' and here you can see her waiting for us to get onto the boat.
This is the view of Daxu Ancient Town as we were leaving in the boat.
The boat ride was quite pleasant.
It took just 5 minutes and before we knew it, we had arrived at Maozhou Island!
Climbing up the stairs, we reached the front gate.
Entering the gate, we could see a waterwheel.
The signboard showing the direction to Ecology Corridor (生态走廊) and Clearwater Bridge (清水桥).
It started to drizzle all of a sudden. Da Jie quickly got us each an umbrella. We followed her as she led us through the Ecology Corridor, where we could see lots of fruit trees and vegetables were grown.
The local folks at Maozhou Island had in fact developed an ecology tour whereby visitors are invited to have a meal and stay overnight at their homes to experience the peasant family life. We did not plan to stay overnight of course, but it would have been nice, I think.
Da Jie even had her own farm and she grew lots of vegetables in which some ended up in our lunch later.
Soon, we reached the Clearwater Bridge.
Crossing to the other side, we came across the Lovers Tree. Da Jie told us that the two trees grew in such a way that they resembled two lovers hugging each other.
After a few minutes walk, we reached Da Jie's house. Her house number is 69.
This is the front entrance of her house.
There was a bamboo forest surrounding her house.
And I saw this bottle gourd hanging from the top!
Once inside, we were given a menu to order for our lunch. While Da Jie went into the kitchen to cook and prepare our meal, we had some refreshments and some sweet and sour fruits called Yellow Skin Fruit.
It was my first time tasting this fruit. I could see a lot of these fruits being grown here. They seemed to be quite popular in Guilin.
Soon, our meals were ready. We ordered stewed home grown chicken, stir fried bamboo shoots and bitter gourd with eggs. I was quite surprised that the food was served directly in the wok placed on an induction cooker!
The food were absolutely fantastic! I enjoyed this lunch very much! We also ordered a soup to complement the food.
And our lunch would certainly not be complete without a serving of the local LiQ beer!
I could not remember how much we paid for this meal but I think it was quite reasonable.
We took some rest before leaving. Da Jie led us back to the pier to take the boat back to Daxu Ancient Town. On the way, we crossed the Clearwater Bridge again.
Walked through the Ecology Corridor and reached the pier.
Soon, we were back on Daxu Ancient Town. Da Jie was there to look for other customers. We bid her farewell before walking to the bus stop to take a bus back to Guilin. It had been an interesting experience and I was glad I visited Daxu Ancient Town and Maozhou Island!
Coming Up Next : Guilin Night Market
FIRST COMMENTER
:D
interesting place! hmm u mean the food was served all together in the wok?
Haha :D Yeah! Why you guys didn't pay? Tak baik you know.
Ouh..so was that the modest lady who invited you guys to have lunch back at her home? :p I mean the one in the picture?
Bottle Gourd Island? Wow...I wanna see how many varieties they have. :p
Da Jie was waiting to pounce on you and Jam? Then asked both of you to pay! LOL :D
Daxu Ancient town looked beautiful...when you guys were leaving. :p
Ouh...just 5 minutes. The interior is indeed cosy. How much you guys had to pay?
Ouh...there is even a front gate? :D Pintu gerbang? How come there was bricks stacked up? They wanna build a bigger gate? :p
Waterheel? Where's the water? :p
Ecology corridor? Meaning you guys were treated to an ecology course? :p Aww....I see the bottle gourd. :p
She is so nice and it seems that she is really taking good care of you guys. :D
Yeah! I think it would be nice to stay there and experience farming life? :p
Ouh...she even had her own farm? :p
Now there's a really weird looking trees. :p Hugging each other? Hmm...more like hm...
Wow...her house look so huge. And there i even air conditioner. :p
What? You guys were given a menu? Sounds like she is operating a restaurant. :p
Yellow skin fruit? is it the cousin of langsat? or mata kucing? :p
Eiiuuuu....they seem yucky to me. Bluek!
Wow...she even had induction cooker. Damn rich lar this aunty. Even I don't have induction cooker. :p
Hahaha :D So in the end...it was a restaurant lar? But well...it should be ok since she serviced you guys so well.
Yeah! I hope she would find more customers. She is a nice lady. :)
I love the scenery there. So green... even the water is green. :)
So, she had kinda homestay program going on, eh?
homegrown and home-cooked food. What could be better, right Foong?
The Chinese for Clear Water Bridge and Ecology Corridor is written is traditional characters. Hmm...
So this signifies the return of the traditional characters?
FOONG,the dish served in the wok.. i could see a chicken head and a pair of chicken feet inside.. are they really? gosh... looks..er.. "weird" to me..btw, the surrounding reminds me of one Singapore movie.. the bamboo trees and all..
but something different to experience cos all these are not included in any guided tours..
Homestay is a great way to experience local culture. I wouldn't mind going for homestay when holidaying. So far, have never experienced it before.
whoaa most of the people in the boat old ppl ah?? so near? 5 mins only?
ecology tour! nice! got own farm summore. sure very fresh one the vege. :))
LOL! got Lovers Tree summore! interesting! :P
d fruit taste sour??? sweet?
Nice photos, like in Kung Fu Movie.....minus the actors.....LOL!
The clearwater bridge is newly built, with no 'security' rope or cable by two sides of the bridge yet. Wow lovely bamboo garden. So this Da Jie sort of operating a 'house restaurant'..interesting to have lunch this way..tQ
When Da Jie invited both you and Jam did you guys response immediately and jumped at the idea instantly or both hesitated and have some fast thinking first scanning the lady head to toe and left to right before buying her idea? Well just reflecting on mama's words - "Be Careful" with strangers that's all..
that is one beautiful place to hang out!
i would have assume you were still in china otherwise. :p
Wahhh the fruit looks nice...like longan only..hmmmm
bamboo forest? you got get turned on? LOL
nice place indeed
What a nice place to have lunch! Very home cooked and delicious, I must say. The lovers tree looked a bit.. obscene :P
wow wow...lovely food and experience....
love yr series of photos! like the waterwheel..
Hi foong, what an interesting place to visit. I like to try the boat ride and I am fascinated by the quiet provincial atmosphere of the place, very serene. :)
I also love to try the fruit, and taste that delectable dish -yum!
oh, that one looks like a very nice place.. i see greens and water, so serene..
and i like the bamboo forest, and first time i see the real fresh bottle gourd.. interesting..
what are those fruits called?? just call them yellow skin fruits?? haha, so funny.. the texture looks like our langsat no??
urgh?? what is that in the wok?? how come got chicken head and chicken feet??!! OMG~~
Now that sounds like a fun afternoon which a regular organised tour would not have included that part of the country. Did you have to book ahead or just got picked up by the lady?
Sure is a nice green place. Is the water wheel just for show? Looks like it's just sitting pretty there.
The house looks new and big. I love the bamboo forest. Awesome!
Are those gourds seasonal, do you know? And that yellow fruit makes my ears tingle. Are they extremely sour? Oh gosh..
Interesting that dishes served together in the wok - for double purposes - kept warm and save on dish-washing. :p
You forgot the little detail of how much that little detour plus lunch package cost you.
Thanks. That's an enjoyable afternoon tour.
Hi Foong, yellow skin fruit looks masam... :)
The food was cooked and served together in the wok u mean?
heheh lol u go sis but maybe we will have to battle i bet me and my Glace can beat u. I have finally mastered our cat ice sratch :D xxx love u little sis by the way we have the same style of clothes but mines light ice blue and i have brown hair. I have changed sis we should meet one day MEOW from glace and kitty
beautiful picture ! of icland i really like these !
monica, actually one food was cooked at a time, but as we ate, the lady added the next dish into the wok. So in the end, we had three dishes in the wok! : )
tekkaus, yes it's nice to stay there and experience farming life. It's a good thing she gave us the menu - we could select the kind of dishes we like.
The yellow skin fruit may look yucky to you, but it's actually quite nice tasting!
lina, yes what could be better right? Totally enjoyed it there! : )
khengsiong, no maybe because this is an ancient town, they have not upgraded their chinese characters yet : )
reanaclaire, yes you saw right! But I didn't eat the chicken head. Haha! Yes if you go Guiliun, you ahould drop by this island and experience their homestay program : )
mei teng, yes it's a great way to experience local culture. You should try one homestay program in your future travels : )
caroline, I don't know why most of the people in the boar is old, maybe the young people have gone to bigger city like Guilin?
The fruit tasted sourish to me : )
pete, like kung fu movies? Really? Haha!
bananaz, oh you are pretty observant there! Actually Da Jie is operating a homestay program but we did not stay there.
Da Jie was not the first lady to approach us, so we knew it was quite common for tourists to be invited there : )
levian, yes it was indeed a beautiful place!
eric lee, got turned on by the bamboo forests? Haha, you must be kidding! : D
iamthewitch, which part of the lovers tree is obscene?!
vialentino, yes enjoyed myself there! : )
wenn, thanks! : )
tes, yes it's a very serene place - the kind of rural life that is relaxing : )
SK, well yes the fruits does look like our langsat.
LOL!! Yes the chicken head and feet were all included! But I didn't eat them!
happysurfer, yes I like the bamboo forest too! I am not sure if the gourds are seasonal. As for the yellow skin fruit, they were sour indeed!
Yes, I also find serving all the dishes in one wok placed on top of the induction cooker a brilliant idea!
I've just gone through my travel notebook and found that this lunch cost me about 33 yuan (RM15). Quite reasonable yes?
mariuca, yes the fruit was sourish with a tinge of sweetness.
The lady cooked the first dish and placed them in the wok and while we ate, she came out with the second dish and placed them in the wok too. In the end, all 3 dishes ended up in one wok : )
handmade holiday gift ideas, stop spamming my blog!!!
I would love to live in a countryside place like this. Full of greeneries. Simple living. I bet the people there have long lives and are laid back people. I'm remembering the place. Definitely would want to visit someday.
That's the best lunch I had in the entire trip!
I must say you people had quite an experience of a lifetime at Daxu ancient Town. The boat ride looked interesting. It was quite spacious also.
There really is a plant called botle gourd? This is the first time I saw kind of fruit.
You really had a good visit there eh?
Have a nice weekend Foong.
that seems to look like a great place to unwind but I'm quite scared with the green water and can't see what's under =P
that food cooked in the wok looks appetizing too
looks like a fascinating place to stroll around.
33 yuan per head for homecooked food not bad esp if the dishes are tasty. Taste plays a big part for me - display not so important.
Maozhou Island is really a beautiful place to spend the weekend. The bamboo forest is really fascinating. I hope you enjoyed the trip. Bye.
Do you know the last bus leaving for Guilin City is at what time?