Uttara holding an 80-year-old pumpkin and bamboo basket with Santa in the freezing lobby of the Feng Yu Qiao Hotel

In December 2008 we were busy with our year-end inspections and audits and immediately after I had a journey with Carol, a client who travels with us every year.

It was freezing in Guilin and Sanjiang, warmer in Yangshuo, and the karst pinnacle mountain landscape was just amazing and as real and surreal as in the picture books.

Minus 2 to 6 degrees Centigrade at 600 metres above the sea and snow, whereas in Gyalthang at 3,300 metres it is lovely and sunny though minus 10-12 degrees Centigrade at night.

It was wonderful to spend time with the Zhuang, Yao, Miao and Yi people of the region. It is going to be a definite addition to our programmes with special Gyalthang Eco Travel touches.

The wind just pierced through our skins to our bones and a we were not the most elegantly dressed! We had a million laughs and enjoyed some great food including Beer Fish.

In the freezing lobby of the Feng Yu Qiao Hotel stood a Santa who wiggled his bottom to a tune every time anyone was in front of him.

In our room there is a note to "distinguished guests" that reads: Warm Reminding - "We welcome your lodging in Feng Yu Qiao International Hotel! During your living time, you can make calls to the person who lives in local or in China and the telephone fee limitation is 30 RMB per day. If your fee is more than that limitation, you need to pay for the extra one according to the correspondence standard. Hoping you have a happy time here!"

Editor's Note: The following description of Yangshou is taken from www.ecotourchina.com:

Yangshuo is famous for a profusion of scenic hills and rivers. The Lijiang and Tianjia Rivers, which run by the town, are the two largest of the 12 rivers in the county. Peaks are so peculiar, so beautiful and so many that they are seen one after another to an incalculable extent.

Famous scenic spots in Yangshuo include Jianshan Mountain, Bilian Peak, Shutong Hill, Yangshuo Park and Chuanyan Cave. A commercial street in the town is also a tourists favourite. Native products are abundant thanks to the fertile mountains and rivers. Fruits here are most famous at home and abroad including orange, tangerine, pomelo, chestnut and kumquat.