A disappointing day

We have chosen to come to Guilin during a tropical storm :-(

Last night there was torrential rain and a massive thunderstorm.  This continued as we were picked up from our hotel and taken to the Li River boat which was to take us down through the beautiful Karst landscape.  This was to be one of the highlights of our trip but we spent most of the journey inside the boat sheltering from torrential rain.

When we did venture out it was amazing and the low clouds gave it a magical quality but a few minutes outside and it felt as if a bucket of water had been thrown over us.  Umbrellas were no good because it was too windy.  As a result,  Jane and I really struggled trying to do justice to this place photographically.  It was impossible to keep cameras and lenses dry.

We were also unlucky with the weather in Halong bay last year so I'm afraid that,  like our two unsuccessful attempts to see the Aurora,  this is a part of the world we will have to enjoy through other peoples photographs.

A further complication after we arrived was that the road to our hotel was flooded (see extra) but our driver managed to get us here by driving through back lanes.   After arrival at the hotel,  the power was off but the rain has just stopped and the power has been restored so I am able to upload this Blip.

PS,   JG,  if you read this - there IS such a thing as bad weather!