We were there last year in November and there were no water level problems; we don't know if one month would make a difference. Stayed at Paradise Hotel--lovely and in an excellent location. Tuk-tuk drivers took us around the countryside (beautiful scenery) and in particular to a small farming village (can't recall name) which was pretty interesting. Yangshou was in general just fun to walk around in. Have fun!

Thanks for your response. The Paradise looks like the place to stay. It's good to hear from someone who actually stayed there. Thanks again.

I second the vote for the Paradise - we stayed there and I recommend it to everyone who goes to Yangshuo - just be sure to ask for a NEW room, and check out your room before you unpack to be sure you like the one you get. The situation may have changed, but when we were there about 2 years ago, they had renovated one wing but not another, which made a big difference. The room we stayed in was very nice.

One trip I've always wanted to do but have never had the time for is to the Dragonback (longsheng) rice terraces. It's a bit difficult to get to, though, so it would take 2 days out of your 4 free days. (But if I had 4 days there I would do it!).

Here's a website:

http://www.yangers.com/longsheng.htm

There are lots of things to do in Yangshuo; we were just there for a day and a half, so we just did the river cruise and countryside tour (as mentioned in the post above - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED); they also have cooking classes and excursions to special minority villages.

We stayed at the Paradise Resort in Sept 2002 and were happy with it.

Do one of the cormarant fishing trips at night, it was amazing to see the birds fish. It lasted an hour or so and it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Locals will approach you to see if you need a guide. Most of them have a notebook that previous travelers will write about their experience with the guide. We hired "Esther" to take us on a bike trip around the countryside which was neat, we also had lunch cooked at her house. We went to a local market at a nearby village with her another day, which was really interesting.

Let me know if you'd be interested in our trip report from Yangshuo, I can either post it here or email it to you.

Anna

Thanks to both Andrea and Anna: for info including Longsheng site and nighttime cormorant fishing trip. It won't be long now for us hopefully traveling early December. Thanks again.