Balancing between hectic work and being parents to an active toddler really makes “rush hour years” like we say in Finnish. During the workdays life is a triangle between home, work and daycare. During the weekends it’s either catching up with household chores or going out with friends. I bet many parents can relate, there is seldom time for just relaxing.

So when we got a chance to escape the busy life in Guangzhou and travel to Yangshuo, we welcomed it with open arms.

Fast trains operate between Guangzhou and Yangshuo many times per day and it takes just two and a half hours to reach Yangshuo station. Ticket for one adult one way is 117RMB. These are modern and comfortable trains, bring a magazine and some snacks and you are ready to go. Meals and snacks on the train are much pricier than in shops.

We were invited to Yangshuo by Gary who is the owner of Mountain Escape Yangshuo, a boutique hotel in a quiet village away from the busy city center of Yangshuo. I’ll share a hotel review with you later, but I can tell you it was one of the fanciest places we have stayed!

It was Saturday afternoon when we arrived to Yangshuo and first we just relaxed at the hotel. After checking every corner of our room we headed out to walk around the small Yulong village. Unfortunately few months ago there had been a huge flood and some of the old mud houses had collapsed.

After breakfast on Sunday morning Gary drove us to the city center where Bike Asia‘s Snowy was waiting for us. She had planned a family friendly biking tour from their shop through rice fields back to our hotel. I haven’t done any exercise for a long time, but the route Snowy chose was perfect for me and I didn’t feel too tired even after cycling for 18 kilometers. Anna enjoyed the ride and beautiful scenery at the back of Alan’s bicycle.

Our trip to Yangshuo happened to be at the same time as a small group of families where having a family trip to our hotel. On their last evening they organized a kids party for everyone with delicious dishes and even more mouthwatering desserts! While other kids stayed and joined the activities, for us it was time to get a shower and put Anna to bed.

On Monday morning we still have a little time before our train back to Guangzhou so we decided to check out the ancient Yulong bridge that was just 10 minutes walk from our hotel. The Yulong river was full of bamboo rafts waiting for tourist, but we decided to hang out at the coffee shop and enjoy the view with a cooling fan.

Just after two short nights and three days it was time to head back to Guangzhou. During our short trip we realized how many activities there are in Yangshuo and definitely need to head back for a longer holiday one day soon.

In my next posts I will introduce the hotel, the bike trip and share lots of more photos from our family getaway.