| Our Travels |
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| Beijing Well we landed at Beijing airport very heavily jet lagged. Armed with our hotel written down in Chinese we headed there by taxi. Since the airport is about 30 km from the centre we had a good introduction to what would lie ahead. The American west is starting to gain a foothold with MacDonald's, KFC and a Starbucks all spotted on our brief taxi tour! At the hotel, a short post trip snooze ended with us waking up 7 hours later. We found ourselves a local restaurant and tucked into some great nosh. Since our Chinese is non-existent, looking for English translations is the only way we can avoid eating Yaks testicle soup. Given the potential number of Chinese individuals getting access to the internet in the next few years, I think a smattering of Chinese may be a benefit. Day 2 finds us oversleeping again and cancelling plans to go to the Forbidden City. I hope this is not a recurrent trend, otherwise 5 weeks in Bognor may have been more appropriate. We needed a map and thanks to our Lonely planet guide got a more detailed tourist one from the Beijing friendship store a few km away. For this hard work we went to a nearby Tibetan restaurant where they did indeed serve Yaks testicle soup! Skipping this seemed reasonable and we went for something loaded with chilli (great!). My measure of any great culture is how they serve up two items: Firstly the chocolate here is very good and secondly, the Starbucks coffee isn't ruined here like it is in the UK and US! Well I have managed nearly 48 hours without a cup of coffee and thought I needed a reward! Finally we manage to visit the Forbidden city, which was a really interesting day. Years ago this was the residency of the various Chinese emperors. Needless to say they lived a life of extreme privilege. For our tour we hired a digital audio guide. This was narrated by none other than Roger Moore! At one point along the tour we found out that one of the "halls" was used to house one of the emperors many, many concubines. At this point cue Mr Moore's eyebrow raise: this emperor died of heavy over consumption ;-) We also took a look at Tiananmen square, but my camera run of juice so no piccys. Our plan for the next day was get to the summer palace. Taking a longish nap meant that we cancelled that and went about finding somewhere to book a tour to the Great Wall, and get some internet access. After failing to find the tourist information bureau we walked into a hotel near where it should have been. After somebody helpfully booked us on a tour there we walk out and see the tourist bureau right in front of us! Clueless in Beijing? After trudging around the city all day (with several Starbucks visits) we find no internet access. Dejected we walk back to our hotel only to find two on the street we walked down only that morning. But they served coffee so dejection became elation. Well the next day sees us getting up before noon to go on our Great wall tour. The planned itinerary was a morning jaunt to the Ming tombs followed by lunch and then to the Great wall. Well this happened, but via some rather naff detours to a Jade factory and a traditional Chinese medicine institute. We get to the great wall after a rather large lunch, not ideal conditions for hiking! Our guide tells us we don't have time to climb from the bottom (no thanks to your bloody detours genius) so we take a "cable car" to the mid point. So when does a plastic bucket on a ratchet become a cable car? When its at the Great wall. This great structure has become nothing more than a tourist trap; at least the section at Badaling anyway. I climbed to the "highest section" and was greeted by more hawkers wanting to sell me "I climbed the Great wall" t-shirts. Well I didn't climb the whole of it because of the firkin' Jade and the bloody buckets! 
The next day lets us lie in but we rush out realising that the Summer palace needs a full day and we had only half a day left . We have a relaxing few hours wandering around the park, enjoying the clearness of the air and its tranquillity. This is our final day in Beijing so It was a good way to spend it. We round our gastronomic tour off by eating Beijing duck. Splendid!
:: posted by Lliam 16:36 23/10/2004 Dali 
Leaving early in the morning for several interconnecting flights took us about 2500km south west to Dali. Old Dali is described as a tourist and backpacker haven. It has many small restaurants, trinket shops and pretty cobbled streets to while away your days in. Our hotel was in the new capital "new" Dali about 12km away! Not a picturesque town at all, but is well served with bus routes into old Dali. We have spent the last four days traveling to old Dali and have eaten rather a lot. The old part caters well for western tastes and you may be pleased to know that I've managed to get a daily fix of coffee and chocolate cake. The Yunan coffee is very good, with a nice acidity and rounded flavour but it strong enough to take the surface off the road!We hired some bikes and took a cycle out the the edge of the main lake in Dali - Erhai Hu. We cycled back through the village through the narrow lanes getting accosted by the locals asking us if we wanted a ride in their boats! :: posted by Lliam 14:24 26/10/2004 Lijiang 
Our next part of our trip takes us to Lijiang. This town has a lot of very old traditional Naxi (pr. Narshee) dwellings called the Ancient town and a modern section side-by-side. In 1996 an earthquake shook the new town to pieces but left the old town untouched. This also shook the local government to think that maybe there was something worth protecting in this old town! The Naxi people we were told were amongst the oldest in China, and had even developed a pictorial based writing system, which still survives today. Lijiang is a great place the completely pedestrianised ancient section is a pleasure to walk along. We walked out to the Black Dragon pond to take the obligatory picture of the mountain Yulong Xueshan. Dee was a bit annoyed that there was too much cloud on the top, ruining her perfect picture! We also went to listen to traditional Naxi music played on traditional Chinese classical instruments. Many of these were lost forever during the Chinese cultural revolution when the music was banned by the communists. Some were secreted away and were handed down to continue the tradition. The head honcho of the Orchestra, Xuan Ke spent more time introducing the songs and telling long tales in Mandarin than playing but we got to listen to some really old music (in the end).
We had a great two days in Lijiang just mooching around and enjoying life. I think if we go back we will have to take the 2-3 day hike along a valley called "Tiger leaping gorge". But not this time.
Yangshuo Hitting Yangshuo after the calm of Lijiang was a bit of a slap to the senses! The main tourist trap is Xie Lu (West street). Not having ever been to Costa del Sol, Yanshuo gives me the impression of how the Chinese do it. This Saturday night was thronging with Chinese and Westerners. Music shops pumping out a mix of four to the floor Euro-trance and many restaurants tempting people in with a mix of Cafe del Mar, movies and good smells. We sat down for a meal on the first night, when I noticed what looked like burnt out match heads on the corner of our table. It was only after working our way through half of the food that we concluded they were probably rat droppings! 
Banana pancakes, rat faeces and coffee aside, we have done a few of the tourist things whist in Yangshuo. We took a bike ride out along the river which was a three hour morning trip. The locals took a shine to Dee along the way shouting hello and Ni Hao! (hello in Mandarin). The furboy was ignored. India is also keen on bikes, maybe they saw a common bond.We also got on a boat and spent an enjoyable few hours cruising up and down the Lijiang river.  On the left you can see the many mountains that dominate the skyline along this stretch of river. This particular shot is as featured on a popular brand of cigarettes. On the subject of cigarettes, they are everywhere (as are mobile phones). The Chinese are the biggest producer of cigarettes in the world. The Chinese government want to regulate the things by slimming down the market to only 500 brands. I think I have done more passive smoking in China in the last few weeks that I may as well start smoking Havanas. :: posted by Lliam 16:30 6/11/2004 Shanghai 
Flying north-east this time to the big city of Shanghai. Plenty of stuff to do here for a couple of city slickers. Our hotel is situated very near the river area known as the Bund. We took a stroll on the evening of our arrival. It is a commercial water way lined with many skyscrapers lit up like Christmas trees. All along the walkway there were hawkers selling genuine fake rolexes, postcards, pens and some just asking for money.
 The scene on the right is the Nanjing road at night. This is a very tourist orientated part of Shanghai with big hotels, cafes and restaurants.
Since we are so highbrow and incredibly intellectual we thought a trip to the museum would be a good idea. This picture on the left is the museum. It is designed like a "ding" (an ancient chinese vessel), so the guide books say. Well we took in the exhibits there until our heads were full. 
With our minds full we thought a flagon or two of German style brewed beer was called for. This place brews beer according to "Bavarian purity standards of 1571". Well tastes like Leffe brun to me so hooray! As you can see Dee can barely lift her flagon. We also took a trip down to the old French concession which still has many of the old buildings in the old colonial style. There is a lot of great architecture there, the French really made their mark on this section. There are lots of eateries here too, and during our wanders found a great curry house. It has been a month since I've had a curry and my chilli levels were low and were in need of replenishment! Well we've had a good time in Shanghai and time has flown by here. We are leaving for Hong Kong soon which promises even more bright lights and restaurants! :: posted by Lliam 16:36 12/11/2004 Hong Kong We travelled from the airport by the bus to Nathan Road. This is one of the main tourist areas in Kowloon, with lots of people, neon signs and shops. It has been said that Hong Kong is one giant shopping mall, and our wanderings along Nathan and Canton roads confirmed that. The Harbour city shopping mall boasts 700 shops, restaurants and cafes. As a tourist you are well catered for in Hong Kong. As soon as you get to the airport there is a lot of free literature with advice on shopping, eating and island hopping. All this stuff really made our Lonely Planet guide a bit underused. 
We got the ferry across from Kowloon to Hong Kong island in order to get the Peak tram. This is a sometimes near vertical tram ride to the top of 'the Peak'. This is essentially a great spot to get some higher views of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and the Harbour. We got up there during the daylight to take one of the recommended walks around the Peak and get some 'post-card' photos. The Peak sounds like a craggy mountain worthy of ropes, cramp-ons and epic post-climb hero novels. However the area we wandered around is a well paved leafy area with views out over Hong Kong bay. It is really a nice spot to get away from the majority of the crowds. We were lucky enough to time things so that by the time we got back to the viewing tower by the tram it was dark. This allowed a lovely lights-of-the-city view before we headed back.
Since were in the Central part of Hong Kong we thought we would eat at a restaurant at Soho. This is an area with lots of plush eateries. We found one called Olive which served great middle eastern food. The Turkish delight, backlava and coffee set desert was particularly great!
Some exercise was called for the next day in order to burn off those calories. Our walks guide suggested that we take a ferry out to Lamma island and walk from the North to the South. It sounded like a great trip particularly as there are no cars on the island and some good beaches along the way. We packed some sandwiches bought on Nathan road on our way down and headed for the MTR or mass transit service. This is essentially Hong Kong's tube and is really an excellent way to get around. You can get to Central very easily and gives an alternative to riding the ferry, as I discovered we don't have sea-legs. 
The walk took us a good three hours which included a beach lunch along the way. Lamma is a lovely place to spend a day, and I enjoyed our walk. Dee "the knee" as she will now be known, complained at the regular steep slopes and various steps along the ten kilometer route. I reminded her that the Lamma trip was her idea and proceeded to take her down another steep set of steps. This I promised had a good view at the end....which it did - of the power station. Curses!
At the South village we got the ferry back to Central; the sea was a bit rough and Dee got a bit sea-sick. Luckily there were no Technicolor yawns so all was well! We got our appetites back sufficiently to grab an excellent set menu curry in a place called Bombay Dreams in Soho. I don't think we have been that stuffed for some time. 
On our final day we visited the Science museum after Dee said no to the Teddy musuem. We spent the afternoon learning about the history of Astronomy, the Chinese space race and that urinating on board the space shuttle is a potentially hazardous exercise. The Lonely planet guide suggests if we want American style food to go to Dan Ryan's bar and grill - OK now you're talking! When the menu says "warning! American portions" I should have taken notice. I proceeded to eat all my blue-cheese burger fries and half of Dee's spaghetti and creme brulee. Top that off with a pint of Kilkenny and welcome Edger-san, Sumo wrestler in training (ready for Japan)!
Well we have really enjoyed our five week trip around China. The spitting, staring, turning to stare and crowds we have got used to. Dee was really conscious of the staring and I told her it was because she is really beautiful (another beer Dee or I'm not writing anymore) and effervescent. Dee thought it was because the Chinese had not seen an Indian before. My hypothesis was tested in Shanghai when two Chinese ladies kept turning around in a queue we were in to stare at her. As we passed them one of them said you are very beautiful! I said thank you and told Dee she was right. Another thing I shall probably not miss are the hotel phone calls from anonymous ladies asking if I'd like a massage. It was a men-only service presumably, as when Dee answered they hung up. It occurred in several hotels with such regularity that we unplugged the phone after eleven at night ..... I wonder if they take VISA? :: posted by Lliam 12:52 20/11/2004 |