It has been some time since our last official InternChina trip. After a busy September and a relaxed October (because of the Chinese national holidays) we came back on track with a small trip to Shaoguan.

The weather was surprisingly friendly towards us. Actually in Shaoguan city it was warmer than Zhuhai itself. Or this could be due to the excitement of finally continuing to explore China and its beautiful nature.

It may have seemed hard in the beginning to wake up at Saturday early in the morning (around 6) but that was soon forgotten. Surprisingly no one complained at all about the early morning! Maybe they couldn’t wait for the hot springs. So after a 4, 5 hours long bus ride we were finally in Shaoguan.

First on our list was to have a lunch together and then move in to the hotel. Everything was arranged and we were moving on schedule! Then we were off to the hot springs:

We spent more than 3 hours inside of the hot springs. The water was really pleasant and relaxing. Some of the mini-pools were actually infused with various Chinese herbs or milk which made them feel exotic. Honestly my skin needed this treatment. It felt a little strange since it was the beginning of December. While our European countries were fighting massive floods and snow, we were actually walking around in our swim suits. Definitely a different experience.

After we finished with the hot springs everyone was really starving so we didn’t wait for long. After returning to the hotel at around 8 in the night we gathered as soon as we could and went for a restaurant. Food was really delicious…as it is everywhere in China. After a couple of “dinner” drinks we were ready to go and explore the small city of Shaoguan! The locals were following us around the city as usual but they were really friendly and managed to help us out to find a proper bar where we could “experience” more of the culture in the city!

I would say the night was a success! After a great game of Chinese dice, stage singing and many beers at around 1.30 we were all in our beds tired but happy.

The next day was all about mountain climbing. We arrived with the bus near the entrance of the mountain road. There were plenty of other enthusiasts going up to the top of the mountain. Waterfalls, huge rocks and small sidewalks paved the way to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately we couldn’t reach the top because we didn’t have the enough time. After climbing for 2 hours we reached barely the middle so we had to go back!

At the beginning of the afternoon we had to go. No one really understood how much leg pain we will have the next few days but everyone was happy for the trip we made. It was the perfect combination of relaxation, fun and sport.

We would like to thank Paul, Maddy, Henry, Sunny, Manish, Enrico, Fraser, Ralf, Kate, Chris, Jessie, all our Chinese friends that we made and myself for the great trip that we had. Can’t wait for the next one!