We arrived in Hong Kong on Monday morning. On first
impressions it’s quite an organised city, with a good train service, and well
run taxis. We checked into our hotel, and then went for a wander down to the
harbour. We visited the Space Museum and went to the local park, where we were
asked to participate in a survey about service in Hong Kong. We then headed
back to the hotel to meet the people on our tour.
Our tour guide has taken Stony as his English name. We haven’t
quite worked out why, but he seems a nice guy. He makes a lot of jokes, and
laughs at stuff that no one else seems to get. (Like when he was asked about
how to make sure we don’t eat dog, his response was "It’s not the season for
dog, ha ha ha!) He gave us some information about China, talking especially
about the not so nice stuff we are to expect. Like the spitting and the toilets
and the food we might not like and so on. The spitting we have begun to
experience, and it is quite gross, and done very loudly.
That night we went to see a light show at the harbour, which
was done to music, and then visited a (nother) night market. At least they had
different stuff here – a lot more fake designer gear than local crafts. I got
some designer socks!
The next day we had the morning free to wander around Hong
Kong. We went over to the main island and took the tourist open top bus. We saw
most of the main sights, and we were told about the ladies under the bridge who
you can buy curses from. You have to write down the details of the person you
want cursed on a human shaped piece of paper, which they will then hit with a
shoe and burn. The curses can last for anything from a week to eternity, and
can be done against a rival in business, love, sport or any aspect of life
really. If you buy multiple curses, you may be lucky and get a discount.
That afternoon we got a train to the border, and then an
overnight train and a bus to Yang Shuo. The overnight train was better than the
other two that we experienced, and I managed to sleep most of the night.
Yang Shuo is a pretty town, on a river. Yesterday we were free
to wander as we pleased, so we did a bit of shopping. We decided to buy a new
carry-on bag as our other one is totally on its last legs. We got a bigger bag,
with the idea that we would use it for extra space instead of sending another
parcel home. We met in the evening for a group dinner. Stony ordered for us,
and we all shared a few dishes, which were quite nice. We had duck, sweet and
sour chicken and beer fish. We are also both getting fairly nifty with the auld
chopsticks. After dinner we all went out for a few drinks. Between playing
jenga and connect four, teaching Norwegians gaeilge, trying to convince a bar
to give us free drinks, trying to avoid buying
watches/flowers/postcards/whatever else was being offered, and having our photo
taken by people walking down the street it was pretty good fun.
Today we had some optional activities planned. The whole
group went for a cycle this morning to see some of the very beautiful local
scenery. It is all karst landscape here, with seemingly random hills dotted all
over the place. They are all around the town, and are even lit up at night which
is a lovely effect. We cycled about 15km, and saw a
motor bike with a pedal bike strapped on the back. In the afternoon I
went for a kung fu lesson (harder than it looks) and a Chinese painting lesson.
Both, incidentally were taught by the same person. Both were enjoyable, though
I preferred the painting. Myself and some of the other girls in the group went
for a manicure. It was only €5, and probably one of the better ones I have
gotten. I got French paint, and nail art done on my thumbnail. I was amazed by
the detail she managed to get in.
While I was at all that, John went for a cookery class. He
really seemed to enjoy it a lot, and I got to taste the dumplings he made, which
were very good. I can’t wait for him to cook me the rest when we get home.
We went out for dinner again this evening, as a group, but
without the guide. Bad plan. We did what we had done the night before and
ordered a few dishes for the table – some duck, some chicken and some
vegetables. Every part of the duck and chicken were thrown in, including the
feet and beaks. The only thing that seemed to be missing was the actual meat –
we got a lot of bones, and not much else. If we avoided those bits it was
edible, but not great. John seemed to be quite happy that he had already eaten.
Tomorrow and Saturday we have a long journey ahead of us –
an hours bus ride, a train departing at 13:30, and arriving the next morning at
08:30, and then a five hour bus ride. Eeek.
I must also mention that there is limited internet access
here in China. No facebook, no twitter, and while some aspects of Google are
available, many aren’t. Including blogspot. So this post, and the next few have
been emailed out of China, and posted by a kindly helper. (My Mammy is the
bestest!) Picassa is also not available, meaning that no web albums for photos
are available, so there won’t be any photos for the next while. If someone
leaves a comment on my facebook I can read it, and reply to it via email.
However I can’t use facebook email, so please don’t try and contact me that
way. Apologies for the lack of photos.
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