We left the lovely Yangshuo, for almost two days of travelling. 1 hour bus ride, 19 hour train ride, and then a 5 hour bus ride. So for those two days we really don’t have much to say. We ate some more
pots of noodles, and read some books, and played Mafia, a game that we were introduced
to on our NZ tour. We were warned, but over the past few days we have noticed a few things. Chinese people stare at white people. A lot. They point at us, they come out of shops to watch us walk past, they take pictures of us, they follow us into shops, they walk into people in front of them because they are so absorbed in looking back at us. At dinner today one girl asked our guide if we would mind her taking our photo. At least she asked! Then about another 20 or so people took our photos. Some of them got into the photos too.
After dinner,some of us went into a clothes shop. One of the assistants asked Kristian, a Norwegian
who is travelling with us, if he minded taking a photo with her. She actually jumped for joy when he said yes. Absolutely no exaggeration. She jumped up and down and waved her arms around. And in the train station yesterday, a child was obsessed with one of the girls. He would be playing with his dad, and would just stop to stare at her. And stand there and stare. It was quite funny!
We were also warned about the air quality. It’s very poor, so it is almost perpetually foggy. It is so bad that when we blow our noses it comes out black. The food isn’t great either – we were served duck
and chickenfeet, and heads too we think. Though we have had some nice enough stuff too.
And people spit, noisily, everywhere. (including on the restaurant floor).
From Fengjie we got two boats. The first was a hydrofoil,and we travelled down the first of the Three Gorges. Plenty of nice scenery along here. You can see the water mark of how high they let the river flood. Because of the dam the government have total control over this, and people are allowed to build anywhere they want above this line. Some have built only a few meters above it, meaning that in Winter (the dry season) the water is just below their houses. We got off this boat, and had a quick lunch. We then drove to the next dock. On the way we passed the famous dam. It is not the longest or
highest in the world, but it has more turbines than any other hydroelectric dam in the world, and it gives electricity to about 25% of China’s population. It was a huge construction project, where the government spent billions.The gorges behind the dam were flooded, so many people had to move house.
They were given three options; move higher, move to a different province, or move to one of the new purpose built towns. Obviously many were not happy about having to move, but for most it was an improvement in life quality as the houses were provided for them, and they were also provided with land to farm.
The second boat we got was on the other side of the dam. It was a luxury cruise boat (without cabins for sleeping), and it was very nice too. (Even if they did serve tomatoes with the ice cream, for whatever reason!) Again, plenty of beautiful scenery, and the sun even made a rare appearance. We had to pass through a different dam further down the river, so I got to go through a lock for the first time ever. (The three gorges dam has a series of 5 locks, because there can be over 100m of a difference in the water levels in front and behind it. They are also constructing a ship lift, as the lock system takes about 4 hours to navigate).
That night we went out for a few drinks. I tried to order a vodka and coke, but it just wasn’thappening. They were trying to give me the entire bottle of vodka, which I wasn’t really on for! We had some
time the next morning in Yichang, before heading off for another overnight train. At the train station, another child was transfixed by the same girl! The train wasn’t too bad. This time we amused ourselves by making some dice, and playing Yatzee.
We arrived in Xi’an on Tuesday morning, and got a taxi to our hotel. The driver kept saying stuff in Chinese to me. Then he showed me his arm, and compared it to mine. I’m not sure if he was showing me that he was more tanned than me, which he was a bit, or if he was showing that he was almost as white as me, since his arm was whiter than his hand. That’s something that we have noticed since coming to Asia. Nowhere sells fake tan. Most moisturisers advertise themselves as “Whitening”, and you can buywhitening creams, body lotions and shower gels.
On Tuesday afternoon we visited the Terracotta Warriors, which was about an hour away on the bus. This is a very interesting museum, with the excavation of the warriors still in progress. Four pits have
be found, 3 of which contain these warriors, chariots and horses. They were all made as a tomb for China’s first emperor, who died by poisoning. (He was poisoned by a concoction of medicines he took to give him everlasting life. Most of the medicines contained metals such as silver, gold or mercury.)
It is amazing to see how much money, time and effort was put into building his tomb, which was
only rediscovered in the 1970’s. Most of the group were very happy to discover that pizza hut was an option for dinner that night!
On Wednesday we took a bike ride on the city walls of Xi’an.
The three couples in the group took tandem bikes, which are frankly terrifying.
If you are in the back, you have no control, nor can you see much ahead of you. Someone said that all you need is some trust in your partner. Yeah, I trust John to do his very best to scare me. Still, once I got used to it, it was very enjoyable, and we cycled the whole way around the wall, a distance of
13.5km. We got a bit wet in the rain though.
We spent the afternoon just pottering around, and then we went out in the evening for some Karaoke! Amazingly, for all the time we have spent in Asia, this was our first time doing this. It seems to be very popular all over Asia. We went to a very fancy hotel, and had a room to ourselves.
Dinner and drinks were served to us in the room, and we had three microphones.
However, we didn’t really take turns – everyone just sang every song that they knew, and it ended up being quite crazy, with people dancing on the couches, and screaming at the top of their lungs.
We have one more day here in XI’an, so we are going to sample the local speciality of dumplings for lunch, and spend some time seeing what there is to see. We have another night train this evening, and we are heading to Shanghai.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Hong Kong 11th April 2011
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.
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.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Kuala Lumpar
So we have left Viet Nam. Now that there are less motorbikes (and more sane drivers), there is little to report on. However, the early morning ride to the airport gave us a good send off in the motorbike stakes. It seems that at this hour, everyone is on the way to the markets and have the bikes piled high. Incredibly, we saw a bike with two gigantic ming vases strapped on! These things were not far off me in height!
We arrived in Kuala Lumpar, and crossed the road at a pedestrian crossing. We were in shock when the cars actually stopped. And then to add to that, our taxi had seatbelts!!!
Kuala Lumpar is a very pretty city. "A city in the jungle and the jungle in the city" as it was aptly described to us. It was more Westernised than I expected, and quite similar to Singapore in many ways.
We checked into the hotel, and then went to explore. We found a huge shopping centre - ten stories, and each of them quite big. There was even a rollercoaster. In the shopping centre. And it was even a decent one with a few loops and all!
On Friday we went out to the Formula 1 to see the practice. And that evening we went back to the shopping centre to try out the rollercoaster and other rides.
On Saturday we went on a tour bus (which seemed to go over and back a lot). We then went back out to Sepang for more F1, this time the qualifiers. The track is a good bit outside the city, so it took over an hour to get there, and due to some problem with buses, it took much longer to get back. (We were waiting for well over an hour)
Sunday, we made it to mass for the first time in a while, and then visited an orchid garden, which was very enjoyable, even if it was a bit hot to be walking around. We somehow managed to flag down the same taxi driver twice, and for some reason he tried to con us the second time. Which when he knew we had already done the same journey, and knew that we knew what it would cost, I really didn't see the point! We spent the afternoon out at Sepang again, this time at the actual race. It's incredible how very very loud those cars are, and how fast they go by.
Today we got a very early taxi out to the airport, and flew to Hong Kong. We have joined the group that we will be travelling with for the next while and met our guide. A few people had a few questions, including "How do I make sure I don't dog?". The response - "It's not the season for dog!" Hong Kong is an amazing, buzzing city. We saw a light show this evening which really showed off the skyline to its best.
(Missing the pics from the Orchid Garden - forget the memory stick!)
We arrived in Kuala Lumpar, and crossed the road at a pedestrian crossing. We were in shock when the cars actually stopped. And then to add to that, our taxi had seatbelts!!!
Kuala Lumpar is a very pretty city. "A city in the jungle and the jungle in the city" as it was aptly described to us. It was more Westernised than I expected, and quite similar to Singapore in many ways.
We checked into the hotel, and then went to explore. We found a huge shopping centre - ten stories, and each of them quite big. There was even a rollercoaster. In the shopping centre. And it was even a decent one with a few loops and all!
On Friday we went out to the Formula 1 to see the practice. And that evening we went back to the shopping centre to try out the rollercoaster and other rides.
On Saturday we went on a tour bus (which seemed to go over and back a lot). We then went back out to Sepang for more F1, this time the qualifiers. The track is a good bit outside the city, so it took over an hour to get there, and due to some problem with buses, it took much longer to get back. (We were waiting for well over an hour)
Sunday, we made it to mass for the first time in a while, and then visited an orchid garden, which was very enjoyable, even if it was a bit hot to be walking around. We somehow managed to flag down the same taxi driver twice, and for some reason he tried to con us the second time. Which when he knew we had already done the same journey, and knew that we knew what it would cost, I really didn't see the point! We spent the afternoon out at Sepang again, this time at the actual race. It's incredible how very very loud those cars are, and how fast they go by.
Today we got a very early taxi out to the airport, and flew to Hong Kong. We have joined the group that we will be travelling with for the next while and met our guide. A few people had a few questions, including "How do I make sure I don't dog?". The response - "It's not the season for dog!" Hong Kong is an amazing, buzzing city. We saw a light show this evening which really showed off the skyline to its best.
(Missing the pics from the Orchid Garden - forget the memory stick!)
 |
| I'm not sure why, but blue instead of red looked soooo wrong! |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Vietnam Hoi An - Hué - Hanoi
Bikes:
A door
A table
A woman with so many vegetables, in front and behind her, that all we could see were her head and arms.
A pile of hats
My final words on the last post were spoken too early - the bus ended up being even bouncier than the previous one! And the driver was crazy with the horn. It seems to be a normal thing to beep the horn here, and we noticed this in Cambodia too. People seem to beep to let people know that they are overtaking; to go around corners; to let you know that you are in their way; if someone overtakes in the opposite direction; and if its very early in the morning and they aren't bothered waiting for the lights to change to green, they will beep and carry on through.
On top of that, the overtaking is quite mental. At home, if someone overtook with oncoming traffic, it would almost certainly cause an accident. Here it seems to be the norm, and is therefore relatively safe. People expect it to happen, and so they barely react. They just move over a bit. However, the problem arises when one is overtaking a vehicle, and said vehicle decides at the same time to overtake another vehicle. Or when one is overtaking and the oncoming car is also overtaking. Or when the road is not wide enough to accommodate 3 cars. Or when one is overtaking, and the vehicle you are overtaking decides to swerve. Or when one overtakes a vehicle and there is no space to pull in front of it, so one must continue to overtake three or four more vehicles. Surprisingly we have seen all of the above, and we are still here to tell the tale! You'd be in real trouble in a car with only one headlamp too!!!
Anyways, on Sunday morning we arrived in Hoi An. After a poor nights sleep we checked into a hotel, and slept for a few hours. We got up to find lovely bright sunshine, and a beautiful town. The town is quite old and quaint, and has quite a French feel to it. It is very pretty, with many galleries and craft shops. There are also many tailors, who will make you any clothes you want, at quite a cheap price. I got a top and skirt made for me. In the afternoon we went to the nearby beach - it was a seriously beautiful beach. It was very very clean, and a huge stretch of golden sand. Possibly the nicest beach I have been on.
We had the night there, and then got the bus the next morning to Hué. From here we had planned to get the night bus to Hanoi, but the bus company messed up, so we ended up getting the train instead. (They were not very nice about the mess up either, even though it was the company's fault). That late the train was fairly full, so we only got seats, rather than a sleeper carriage. We spent a few hours in Hue, visiting a Pagoda, and the citadel - an ancient palace which was quite interesting. The train was interesting too. The lady on the seat in front of us had a few fish in a water bottle. Not sure if they were pets or what, but they seemed happy enough swimming around the bottle.
We arrived in Hanoi very early on Tuesday, and had to wake up the guy in the hotel we were staying in. Fortunately they had a room available, and we could check in . The bed was such a relief! We slept in a bit late, and some of the stuff we wanted to see was already closed (They closed at 10am). However we did get to visit the history museum and the military museum, neither of which I found that interesting.We visited a Temple of Literature and another Cathedral.
Today we took a tour our to Ha Long Bay. This is a UNESCO world site, and is one of the most famous places in Viet Nam. It is very beautiful, with 100's of limestone islands in the bay. We didn't get to see it at its best though, as it was very foggy. We did see a floating village, where people live in floating houses, and I had fun doing a bit of kayaking.
Tomorrow we are leaving Viet Nam, on our first flight in over a month!
Please note: Vietnamese museums are awash with propaganda and don't believe everything.
Anyone who offers you a book is selling poor counterfeits- including shops.
DON'T be expecting to be treated fairly by service providers, everyone wants to rip you off and the locals would climb over you to get off a train 1 second quicker.
A door
A table
A woman with so many vegetables, in front and behind her, that all we could see were her head and arms.
A pile of hats
My final words on the last post were spoken too early - the bus ended up being even bouncier than the previous one! And the driver was crazy with the horn. It seems to be a normal thing to beep the horn here, and we noticed this in Cambodia too. People seem to beep to let people know that they are overtaking; to go around corners; to let you know that you are in their way; if someone overtakes in the opposite direction; and if its very early in the morning and they aren't bothered waiting for the lights to change to green, they will beep and carry on through.
On top of that, the overtaking is quite mental. At home, if someone overtook with oncoming traffic, it would almost certainly cause an accident. Here it seems to be the norm, and is therefore relatively safe. People expect it to happen, and so they barely react. They just move over a bit. However, the problem arises when one is overtaking a vehicle, and said vehicle decides at the same time to overtake another vehicle. Or when one is overtaking and the oncoming car is also overtaking. Or when the road is not wide enough to accommodate 3 cars. Or when one is overtaking, and the vehicle you are overtaking decides to swerve. Or when one overtakes a vehicle and there is no space to pull in front of it, so one must continue to overtake three or four more vehicles. Surprisingly we have seen all of the above, and we are still here to tell the tale! You'd be in real trouble in a car with only one headlamp too!!!
Anyways, on Sunday morning we arrived in Hoi An. After a poor nights sleep we checked into a hotel, and slept for a few hours. We got up to find lovely bright sunshine, and a beautiful town. The town is quite old and quaint, and has quite a French feel to it. It is very pretty, with many galleries and craft shops. There are also many tailors, who will make you any clothes you want, at quite a cheap price. I got a top and skirt made for me. In the afternoon we went to the nearby beach - it was a seriously beautiful beach. It was very very clean, and a huge stretch of golden sand. Possibly the nicest beach I have been on.
Still stalking us
We had the night there, and then got the bus the next morning to Hué. From here we had planned to get the night bus to Hanoi, but the bus company messed up, so we ended up getting the train instead. (They were not very nice about the mess up either, even though it was the company's fault). That late the train was fairly full, so we only got seats, rather than a sleeper carriage. We spent a few hours in Hue, visiting a Pagoda, and the citadel - an ancient palace which was quite interesting. The train was interesting too. The lady on the seat in front of us had a few fish in a water bottle. Not sure if they were pets or what, but they seemed happy enough swimming around the bottle.
We arrived in Hanoi very early on Tuesday, and had to wake up the guy in the hotel we were staying in. Fortunately they had a room available, and we could check in . The bed was such a relief! We slept in a bit late, and some of the stuff we wanted to see was already closed (They closed at 10am). However we did get to visit the history museum and the military museum, neither of which I found that interesting.We visited a Temple of Literature and another Cathedral.
Today we took a tour our to Ha Long Bay. This is a UNESCO world site, and is one of the most famous places in Viet Nam. It is very beautiful, with 100's of limestone islands in the bay. We didn't get to see it at its best though, as it was very foggy. We did see a floating village, where people live in floating houses, and I had fun doing a bit of kayaking.
Tomorrow we are leaving Viet Nam, on our first flight in over a month!
Please note: Vietnamese museums are awash with propaganda and don't believe everything.
Anyone who offers you a book is selling poor counterfeits- including shops.
DON'T be expecting to be treated fairly by service providers, everyone wants to rip you off and the locals would climb over you to get off a train 1 second quicker.
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