“Disco de Wheels”
When: This two-day bike festival is kicking off on Friday, 12 May to Sunday, 14 May; or opt to join the pre-festival trip from Tuesday, 8 May to Friday, 12 May.
Where: Fly to Guilin (approx. 1.5 hours) and be collected from the airport or Gongcheng train station.
How much: Festival tickets cost RMB 2800 (approx. $3160) which includes accommodation for two nights, a two-day bike hire, Sunday morning food discover ride, breakfast, lunch and dinner for both days, luggage transfer, Friday night pick up, wireless headphones and music, live bands, T-shirts and more. You’ll need to buy your flights separately though, girls! Click here to book or email [email protected] for more deets.
Read more: From Beginner to Advanced: The Best Cycling Trails in Hong Kong
We’ve all been to our fair share of festivals in the past. Clockenflap is practically a right of passage for Hong Kongers! But a far cry from the cemented stomping grounds of Central Harbour Front is the Yangshuo Bike Festival in China. I don’t know about you, but I’m a total sucker for all of the cool and quirky adventures Asia has to offer, and riding through jagged limestone mountains and the lush rice paddy fields of China’s Guangxi region, whilst listening to a banging sound track, ticks all of those boxes.
Dubbed as ‘Disco de Wheels’, the two-day, in-your-ears dance party forces you to peddle hard and play even harder as you bike while listening to wireless headphones, and then stop to feast on super fresh local delights cooked up by villagers along the way. Start in Yangshuo Town and cycle through the Yulong Valley, along the river and down through orchards and over to Gaotian village. Cool off in the water at the end of each day, sip an ice-cool beer, get up and dance or lay back and listen to acoustic live music at a farmhouse music venue for sundowners. On the Saturday, you’ll have the chance to stay at the seriously special Gaotian village for a rice wine cocktail party (keen!), an interactive farmers feast (we might forgo the stinky tofu!) and village cinema screening. And if you’re not feeling too wobbly the next morning, hop on your ride and explore Yangshuo’s historic villages even further before making your way home.
Read more: Off-The-Beaten-Path: 5 Unexpected Adventures in Okinawa
“Off-the-beaten-path” adventures are all the rage these days, and we’re constantly in search of the next ‘cool’ thing to do. So why not try something that’s close to home and cools your itchy feet? Yep, we’ve caught to the travel bug!
Images credited to Yangshuo Bike Festival website