Attractions:
> Possibly the biggest and best maintained Wind and Rain Bridge we have seen (NB Wind Rain Bridges and Drum Towers are found in ALL Dong villages). However well maintained also means that it is not in its original state ie being painted over and rebuilt.
> Nice water wheels that are still in use.
> A very informative and chatty guesthouse (ChengYang Bridge Hostel) operator.
Drawbacks:
> The greed of the some of the villagers. We asked around for a specific guesthouse and were given the runaround because the various guesthouses want our business. We were told variously that the guesthouse that we were looking for was non-existence, went out of business and in one case, another guesthouse even claimed to be the one we were looking for but has just changed its name! There was also a new guesthouse, just next to the original but using the same name.
> Maybe the village had been on the tourist map for a little longer and is frequented by foreigners who think that it is ok to give a little money for photographs etc. Hence, a lot of the villagers (sadly especially the older womenfolks) asked for money when one takes their pictures. We strongly felt that it is NOT a healthy practice to pay locals to have their pictures taken. It fosters the wrong attitude towards tourists and making a living, generally.
> The amount of rubbish especially plastic bags, food wrappers and bottles all over the village.
|
