China

Friday 28th June

I am currently enjoying the pleasant surroundings of a coffee shop at the top of Victoria Peak, where I can swivel on my stool and look out over the city scape of Hong Kong. After getting in yesterday afternoon, I managed to find out about my visas (or lack thereof) for Mongolia and China, and will now be here for a few more days than planned. Luckily I have a place to stay with a friend of my Dad's which is on the very pretty (aside from the bloody great power station over the hill) Lamma Island, only a short ferry ride from the hustle and bustle of central Hong Kong. We went out for a very nice seafood meal last night overlooking the bay where he lives, and the mad rush of Bangkok that I had departed only that morning seemed like a distant memory.

Unfortunately for my Manderin, the local language (aside from English, which is widely spoken here) is Cantonese - so I am still unpracticed at saying all the important things that a traveller needs to say, like "I dont understand" and "where can I find a place that sells meat pies?". Luckily the symbols for both languages are the same so I am busying myself trying to remember the symbol for men's toilet! Hopefully a few more days of learning will help fix this.

Today is a dreary overcast Hong Kong day, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I am very happy about this. Yesterday I went out to one of Hong Kongs beaches, after being initially surprised that they have them, and not only did I get sunburnt but had a great time swimming in the clear blue water and playing frisbee and guitar on the sandy beach. Yesterday incidentally is the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China and is a public holiday. Among other things this means that there is a big fireworks display and the ferries stop running. There seems to be some conspiricy about this as the fact that the ferries were not running, meant that all the passengers had to watch the proceedings regardless that they had had a big day in the sun and just wanted to get home...

On Saturday, I explored the centre of the second most expensive city in the world (next to Tokyo) and looked at the markets and took a ride on the longest escaltor in the world before stopping all my sightseeing to catch the All Blacks and then the Wallabies play in an Irish pub. Despite being so expensive here, surprisingly the Macdonalds is far cheaper than England! On Sunday I went to Cheung Chau Island and wandered around there before catching a Sam Pan (like a taxi boat) back to Lamma Island. It is a most relaxing method of transport and a great way to see the surroundings of Hong Kong. Although my visa comes through (hopefully!) tomorrow and I will be heading into Mainland China then, I have really enjoyed my time in Hong Kong and it has really surprised me as to what there is to do.

Thursday 4th July

I am now in the other SAR (Special Administrative Region) of China, Macau. Formally a Portugese enclave, it was handed back to China in 1999 and is like Hong Kong part of the "One Country, Two Systems model". Its a lot different to Hong Kong however, aside from the fact that the predominant languages spoken here are Manderin and Portugese. There are heaps of casinos (and therefore lots of ATMs also) dotted around the city and a lot of colonial architecture which is a change from the glass high rise jungle of Hong Kong.

Yesterday after I arrived, I managed to discover over the space of about three hours, that it is very difficult to find budget accommodation here. I was about half way through the list of my lonely planet (without which I dont know what I would do, as the signs for these types of places are pretty much all in chinese and I would have had no way of figuring out where they were otherwise) before I managed to stumble across a place that was of the correct price range. After getting orientated, I managed to have a look at some churches and other landmarks - which would be entirely unremarkable if it werent for their north-east asian setting as it was I couldnt help thinking how cool they looked. I also went up the Macau tower just as the sun was setting and had a great view of the city and the adjacent island of Taipa. Today Ive been up to the lighthouse that looks over the city and wandered through some of the well kept parks that are dotted all over the place. All things going well I will be in China proper this time tomorrow. See you there!

Saturday 6th July

After a marathon effort from Macau, I am now in Yangshuo which is not exactly where I had planned to be, but it is just down the road from Guilin where I had intended to visit and not only is it cheaper but also more importantly for me after my bus trip from Macau and then Guangzhou, its closer. The majority of my trip was on the unique Chinese phenomena (well as far as I know) called the 'sleeper' bus. It is a regular bus fitted with bunk beds instead of seats, there are three accross the width of the cabin and therefore two isles. The beds are incredibly small, you cannot sit upright in them and there is no hope at all of rolling over, anything longer than me would have significant trouble. I would absolutly reccommend this type of transport to two people in particular, Paul Strange and Sgt. Scholtz - only for the comedy value! The other added bonus of this type of travel is that smoking is not only allowed but passengers feel quite happy lighting up in bed, this along with the VCD player pumping out chinese karaoke videos leads to an interesting insight into Chinese public transport! I can only summise that something went wrong during our trip, because instead of the usual 12-13 hour trip, this one took about 15 - part of the reason that I got out here rather than staying on for the entire journey. The stops along the way were interesting also. I wont describe the toilets at one, but suffice to say that I didnt see anything that bad in all of South America. Or for that matter have I seen any that bad anywhere.. ever! Unfortunately I didnt get to use my knowledge of Chinese symbols to figure out which one was which as they did have the added feature of a picture of a little man/woman to distinguish between the holes in the wall. (You will be interested to know Daz, that no they dont!)

The typical peaks common around Yangshou There is some fantastic scenery in this part of the country however, the mountains are just like the ones in the traditional chinese water colours and with the fog (or was it pollution) the parabolic shapes gradually fade off into the distance behind each other. The town of Yangshuo is a kind of backpackers hang out which adds to its appeal, there are cheap CDs, funky bars and lots of tourist excursion touts to add to the atmosphere. It was interesting to note that one of the cafes has an Israeli Breakfast containing among other things, ham and bacon. Dont think that they will be getting too much custom from their intended market! My inital fears about lack of internet cafes was unfounded also as everywhere seems to have some terminals - and they are only about 60p an hour, which reminds me that mine is up.

Monday 8th July

Yesterday I let myself get picked up by one of the local guides offering a cycle trip around the surrounding area. During the trip I got to see some of the farmers at work in the rice fields, peanut plantations and lots of local orchards. We went for a ride on a bamboo raft to see the Bayan Tree, a 2000 year old tree, which was big and green and very tree-like. The most interesting thing about that part of the trip was a fight that broke out between three Chinese people on the bank of the river. It looked as though they were fighting over one of the tacky souviners that are in stalls dotted all over this part of the world and it ended with a guy getting chased away by a very angry woman. Easily worth the entrance fee! After the ringside entertainment, we continued our trip to a large limestone rock called Moon Hill, and after parting with some more money I climbed up to the top for some great views of the area. During the ascent I was constantly being pursued by an old woman trying to sell me water, coke and beer. She was pretty quick too, especially carrying the small chilly-bin, as I was trying my best to outrun her! She didnt try to follow me down. On the way back to town we ran into a lost Chinese tourist and it fell to me to double her the few kilometers uphill back into town. I slept well last night!

Things in Yangshou are very relaxed and it will be with great reluctance that I depart tomorrow for the rest of China outside this little haven. Still the memories of the sleepy little town on the bank of the Li Jiang river will linger for quite a lot longer than many other stopovers of the past few months. Ahh the serenity, so much serenity.

Thursday 11th July

I am now in Kunming, a 24 hour bus and train ride from Guilin where I spent Tuesday night after arriving that day from Yangshou. Guilin is quite a pretty city and there were a few temples and a very well looked after lake/park area to wander around both by day and night. It did strike me there that for a communist country, China has to be one of the most capatilist places I have ever been. There are people selling stuff to you every where and always trying to rip you off (often Im sad to say, succeding!). Its just like America, but the McDondalds is amazinly much cheaper, certainly a budget meal option! The two-price system that they use (one for foriegners and one for locals) seems to go against all communist pricipals also. I did befriend a local in Yangshou who managed to get me into the town's park for free saving me 9 Yuan, but met some ex-pat Kiwis who said that they were paying 30-40 to sit in a park near Shanghi where they lived.

This afternoon I am continuing north-west to Dali city where Im going to see what sights the Yunan province has to offer, before eventually returning here to fly out to Beijing in just over a week's time. I am celebrating a return to some normal temperatures also, the 30+ deg and 80+ humidity was beginning to get to me, here in Kunming things are much more reasonable and I can wander around with my big backpack on without melting into a small puddle after a very short amount of time.

Sunday 14th July

Unfortunately the cooler climes of Kunming are not immune to the occasional torrential downpour, and I got caught in the middle of one on my way to the bus station out of town on Thursday. To make matters worse I was in the middle of the very pretty Green Lake Park which didnt have any immediate shelter, so the run with my backpack on was watched with great interest and amusement by the onlookers already sheltering from the deluge.

I am now in 'The ancient city of Dali', 20km down the road from the regular Dali, but to where there seems to be no bus stop for transport coming west. This means that when I arrived in the regular Dali (also known as Xiaguan) at night I had no idea where the hell I was! After negotiating a cab ride to my real destination, I found a place to stay and had a very sound sleep, after a lot of travel. The next day I explored the old town and found it to be the nicest place that I have been to in China yet. Its almost how one imagines a traditional Chinese village to be, with temples, pagodas, traditional paintings on the side of buildings and beautiful misty mountains behind a lake in the background. The other good thing about Dali is that there is (Thailand style) little cafes showing films all day, so you can while away a few hours chilling out while watching a movie.

Yesterday, myself and a few others from the hostel went for a hike up to the Cloud trail that overlooks the city and the lake and had a fantastic time watching locals pick tea leaves on the way up before getting on the main track where every turn provided a magnificent vista of the valley it was hiding. Although there was a chair-lift up, we walked up and the others also walked down, but I had to hurry back, so caught the gondola at the other end in order to get back into town to catch the internet coverage of the NZ v Australia Tri-nations rugby game. Although I only got back during the half time interval, it was worth the extra money that I had to shell out for the ride down and subsequent taxi.. (that would be 1-0 Aussies!)

Today I wandered up the road to have a look at the main sight of Dali, the three pagodas that stand a couple of kilometres to the north of the city centre. Having got there and found the extortionate fee to get in, I took a photo from outside the gates, turned around and went home. This afternoon, Im back on the road heading toward the city of Li Jiang where I hope to get some more hiking in before starting my journey back to Kunming. The Tiger Leaping Gorge near Li Jiang is supposed to be some of the best scenery in China. Will let you know when I get out in three days time.

Thursday 18th July

Today is the first rainy day that I have had since arriving in China, which is surprising because it is supposed to be the rainy season here. The trek down the Tiger Leaping Gorge was great, and provided some great scenery of traditional Naxi (the local people) villages, terraced farms and massive mountains rising out of deep gorges. It was also really nice weather, only getting uncomforably hot on a couple of occasions and never getting cold! The trip could have been completed in half the time if I didnt have to keep stopping every corner to say "wow" and take another three or four photos of the spectacluar vistas!

A horse on the path of the Tiger Leaping Gorge walkI started the walk with two Canadians that I had met in Dali, and we hooked up with a couple of Chinese after the first day. One was from near Shanghi and spoke perfect English, and the other was a mechanic from a couple of provinces who spoke no English but with sign language we managed to suitably express our tiredness at the top of hills and amazement at viewpoints. During the hike I met lots of other travellers from all over the place also, so the night stops at the little guest houses along the way provided plenty of opportunity for stories about the travels that everyone had undertaken, and hints and tips for further down the road. The food along the way was not only cheap, but certaily rivaled the food in Thailand for taste. Our chinese friends ordered for us and the hosts appeared with some amazing dishes, one dried beef dish that is local to this area in particular was delicious.

The end of the walk, with the Yangxi river behind

On the first day I felt pretty bad, slowly getting better over the next couple of days but I still have a bit of a cold - Im putting down to the fact that everyone spits here.. and I dont just mean a casual "piff" to the side of the footpath, no here in China people give it the full wind-up of "H-H-H-Hoik, Spliok".. every few minutes. The problem is that it is a vicious circle, people get sick because of all the germs from the spitting and then need to spit more. Its quite a sight to see pretty young girls walking down the street gob out a great big chuck of phlegm in mid stride. Anyway Ive put my little illness down to a mixture of that and the altitude, as we are at around 2000m here and during the hike got up much higher. I am using today as a rest and recovery day here in Li Jiang to help put this little health hickup in its place.

A young lad sitting by the trail on the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek The city of Li Jiang is also worth a mention, it is divided into two parts, the New Town which is obviously more modern and well.. new and the Old Town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has lots of old buildings along the sides of cobble-stoned Streets. Crossing these occasionally, are small rivers that run through town underneath some very ornate stone bridges. A very pleasant place to while away a few days, or indeed weeks if I had the time.

Sunday 21st July

I have made it to Beijing, arriving this afternoon for my last stop in China. It is a lot warmer up here and I noticed immediately after getting off the plane 3 hours from the departure in Kunming. The past few days have involved a substantial amount of rainfall mixed with quite a bit of time in buses. The ride from Li Jiang to Dali had me sitting with my backpack between my legs next to a lady with some small plants on her way to market. Just behind me a small child was busy telling its mother that it was not happy by crying constantly and loudly for almost the entire trip. It was a very tiring experience and after I checked into the guest house for the night I had a short kip. A couple of hours later I went for a wander around town and a guy remarked at my shoes - saying that they were in terrible condition and that he could fix them for only 40 Yuan. After me telling him that I knew that were in an appalling state and him persisting with the sales pitch, I finally gave in and he did a great job getting them back to some semblance of reasonable footwear for only 15.

Last night in Kunming I went along to the 'English Corner' where a school provides free beer for foriegners to speak to their students. I quite happily repeated that I was from New Zealand and that I liked music and films and that my name is Ryan for a couple of beers. There were all sorts of people there, from University Lecturers to young kids all eager to talk to me. I felt like a rock star!

Tuesday 23rd July

Back in full tourist mode, I have just returned from walking on the Great Wall. The section of wall that I chose to walk on is about 1 hour and 50 minutes out of Beijing and is therefore not visited by many tourists. The group from the hostel that I went with met only 3 or four along the way. The wall itself is a very impressive structure and although the part that we were on is mostly falling down - the sheer size is mind blowing. Its hard to believe that it was never defended, but if the invading Manchus had ever seen it I guess that they wouldnt have bothered anyway.

The forbidden city Yesterday I went to the Forbidden City, or as the Chinese call it the Imperial Palace. This is a huge collection of buildings that were off limits to regular Chinese during the Ming and Qing dynesties which lasted about 500 years. It was raining pretty much all day - though not cold at all, and I was not at all impressed when the sun came out just as I had finished my photo shoot! I also went to Tianamen Square and walked past where Chairman Mao's body lies in state. He does not take visiters on Sundays and Mondays though, so I will have to return later to join the thousands of others who gawk at him daily. Some travellers Ive met are trying to do the "big three stuffed dudes" of Lennin, Mao and Ho Chi Min. I may just settle for walking past the outside of one.

Beijing is a very modern city, and although the metro is not quite as extensive as I would like its pretty easy to get around. The usual "hello" from every second person still occurs and I dont know how many people have come up wanting to take my picture. I dont know how many Chinese photo albums I will be in by the end of the year! One guy at the hostel reported holding a baby for a Chinese family photo!

A watch tower on the Great Wall

Last bit of China (no date..)

A bridge over the lake in the grounds of the Summer Palace During the remaining time I spent in Beijing I had a day in which I chilled out and went to the Silk Market in search of a new sleep sheet, and when I found that there was none, I bought some cheap rip-off clothes. A highlight was when some guys from the companies that were being ripped off turned up with police and there was a huge mellee of people shutting up shop whilst running around and shouting a lot. It was great viewing!

The next day my mate Jason arrived in anticipation of beginning the Trans-Siberian train journey the next day. Although he had not slept in almost 24 hours, I dragged him in 38degC temperatures out to the Summer Palace and then to some other markets via Tianamen Square where I think due to the high temperatures, the people who hassle you were down to a minimum. I got a few necessaties for the trip and we went out for a few drinks in sensible preparation for the early start the next day.

Click here for my Trans-Siberian Railway adventure

Feel free to send any messages to me at ryananglem@hotmail.com