HongKong

And so the end is near and I've reached my final destination. It's been an incredible 11 months but more than anything I can't believe how fast it's gone. As I sit in a cafe waiting for breakfast under the fan with mid 20s outside it's hard to think I'll be back in european winter in a matter of hours.
Hong Kong has been great. My accomodation is without a doubt the smallest room I've ever seen, but at least it's not exorborant and it's clean. Kowloon is a bit manic though, but fun in a strange kind of way. The pervasive smell of curry is hard to shake, but the excellent park here makes a nice retreat.

Hong Kong island itself is generally a much more pleasant location. I spent most of a day up on Victoria peak, accessed by a cool funicular ride. It's a great day out and even with some haze/fog has amesome views, as well as some nice trails to stretch your legs.
I also made it out to lamma island, a car free spot only 30 minutes by ferry. It seemed to have a large proportion of expats engaging in all kinds of new-agey and healthy pursuits. Indeed Hong Kong has been a bit of a revelation in China with the number of white faces about - and theres tons of people from all over asia and africa as well, making for an interesting mix. If a very expensive one.
Well, it should at least help me get to grips with the prices back home.

Other than that I've just been eating and drinking and admiring the views from the star ferry, particu1alarly memorable at night. Just a few more hours and I'll be on the BA jet for Heathrow. Joy. Though to be honest, it is kinda nice making it home for Christmas and catching up with everyone.



Honey, I'm home! Well after the MTR to the train, train to HK airport, plane to heathrow, hour on runway, tube to Tottenham Hale, train to Stranstead, plane to Dublin, bus to Hueston, train to Athlone and car home I finally made it just in time for sunset on Christmas eve.

Um pouco portuguese

Macau is a slightly strange entity. Despite never leaving China, I still had to invalidate my Chinese visa and clear customs and immigration to get there. Like Hong Kong, it's retained a special status for 50 years after it's handover (in 1999) It definitely feels different than the rest of China so far, especially in your pocket, with prices closer to it's former ruler than it's current one. But it's got a good vibe to the place, with European like streets and people crowding around shopping, hitting the delicious bakeries for breakfast and the Macanese eateries serving a mixture of specials from places like Goa and the old and new homeland are very good.

After struggling with Mandarin I now have to try to understand Cantonese, but at least the signs are in English or at least Portuguese. For a small place there are plenty of interesting cultural sites around to pass a couple of days. Wandering around the backstreets especially in the hillier parts almost makes you think your in Lisbon. Well, with a heck of a lot of Chinese tourists.



Macau is also becoming something of an Asian Las Vegas. It's had legalised gambling for a long time, but only recently is it taking on Vegas style theme hotels and casinos. You can now wander around mini amsterdams, miami beachs and Colosseum type buildings. All quite tacky but somehow impressive nonetheless.
One final strange thing about the place - despite being a former Portuguese colony and currently Chinese, they drive on the left. Weird. And I didnt even notice until I was leaving.

Expectations

Up until now everywhere in China has pretty much exceeded expectations. A cynic might say that that's partly cause I didn't have such great expectations to begin with. But nevertheless, I've been very impressed with almost everywhere. But I arrived in Yangshou and felt a little underwhelmed. I don't know if it was the cloudy weather hiding the scenery, the constant sound of jackhammers and angle grinders or the thumping Chinese discos, but I felt a bit let down. It was the one place in China I was going to make a real effort to get to. Perhaps it's cause I expected a lot that I was inevitably disappointed.

A few days here and the place is starting to grow on me a bit though. I've found a couple of good bars serving reasonably priced beer and a decent bunch of people frequenting them. Staying out till the discos close is a good way of getting a good nights sleep too.
And the locals are very friendly and really keen to practice their (pretty good) English, offering some Chinese lessons and even plying us with free beer in return. This English teaching is easy! Apparently I'm welcome back on a longer, more formal stint at any stage.
Although the cloud cover is pretty constant, I did have a decent day visiting Moon hill on a bike. The views were decent but lacking the beauty that a really clear day would give, but it was nice just to get out of town for a while. Yangshou also has some pretty decent climbing so I spent a great day with the guys at Blacrock Climbing on the local karsts. Consequently I'm pretty wrecked today and have spent a pleasant day doing absolutely nothing.

Back tracking

When I got back to Lijiang from Shangri-la, I decided to pay a visit to the nearby village of Baisha to the somewhat (in)famous Dr Ho. He rose to acclaim after Michael Palin's visit to him during "Himilaya" as well as a couple of other international organisations. At 84 with a face full of character and a long white goatee he definitely looks the part, but I kinda felt like he liked to blow his own trumpet a bit. Still, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, so we will see what effect his mixture of herbs has on my blood pressure.

Getting there was half the fun, as the scenery was quite nice and I managed to wander off the main road on my bike and find cute little back roads through the local countryside. Despite getting well lost, I always seemed to end up close enough to a main road to meander back. The part of the village away from the Doctor was actually much prettier (no souvenier stalls or jewellery sellers in sight).

Leaving Lijiang with it's lovely streets and super friendly guesthouse was hard, but eventually I managed to hop on the bus back to Kunming. It's kinda weird being back in a big city again, but the weather is balmy and it really is quiet a nice place. The area near the university is especially athmospheric and a bit different than the pervasive shopping malls elsewhere. I bumped into Phil from TLG/Mama Naxi's at the hostel here so hanging out with him until I head off on the long train trip to Guilin.

Leaping tigers and Shangri-la

Until recently, it existed only in a fictional novel and as part of a myriad of resorts and hotel names, but now there is an actual town of Shangri-la, and I'm in it. A few years ago, the Chinese decided that Zhongdian wasn't really pulling in the tourist dollars, so a little nomenclature wizzardway and all of a sudden James Hilton's mythical place has been born in north western Yunnan, close to the tibbetan border. It's more than a little tibettan complete with roving yaks, which isn't surprising as it was once part of Tibet prior to the Chinese "liberation". It's actually a pretty cute place, with a nice old town and a cool athmosphere. Actually it's pretty baltic just now, I arrived to snow flurries at noon and the mercury is well below freezing as I pen this entry. Given that it's two miles above sea level and it's December, I guess it's hardly surprising. But at least the resturants and bars are well equiped with toasty fireplaces. So far I've just wandered about, and visited the local monastry, an impressive and pretty place.

I arrived here after completing the Tiger Leaging Gorge trek, an incredibly beautiful hike through one of the worlds deepest gorges, and just physical enough to give that added sense of achievement. The first day was a bit overcast, and the scenenry nice but slightly underwhelming, but the next morning waking up under the gigantic spires of the mountain and the resulting hike through gorgeous scenery was simply stunning.

I was also with a really nice bunch of people so that made it more fun, though every now and then it was nice to drop back and just enjoy the birdsongs, the sound of the roaring water cascading through the rocks and chasms of the gorge and appreciate the remoteness of such a location in a country of so many people. I'd higly recommend it to anyone with an adventerous bent, especially as the Chinese have damming plans for the gorge.

Prior to the hike, I stayed in the beautifully picturesque town of Lijiang, a couple of hours north of Dali. It's another heavily touristed (by chinese) town but the lovely setting under snow capped mountains and the beautiful winding ancient streets (or at least ancient looking) more than make up for it, and the stay at Mana Naxi's guesthouse is an experience in itself.

Before leaving Dali, I managed to tear myself away from the delicious Bai cooking for long enough to cycle to a couple of local villages and to the nearby lake, and to take the cable cars up the local mountain, which allows you to complete a 10k walk along a path cut into the side of the meandering mountain valleys, which was pretty stunning in itself. Leaving Dali I was quiet sad but I imagine it's somewhere I'll make it back to sometime. Yes, although I'm heading home in a couple of weeks I'm far from finished with China.

Dali

I'm in the town of Dali, a really pretty if very touristy town in northern Yunnan.
It a bit of a change - menues are in English, guesthouse owners speak English, what's going on? It's pretty high so pretty cold at night, but the sun warms the place up lovely during the day. It's a good place to just stroll about, drink some local tea and sample the delicious food (local Bai, Tibetan and Chinese). And I've been sampling a lot of it. Must be the colder air making me hungry. I must say I wasnt expecting the food here to be so good - outside Thailand it's the best I've had on the trip. The black peppers are especially zingy, they would make a good novacane substitute.

At night the town is especially pretty, with the chill in the air and the lights on the buildings and temples it gives an almost Christmas like feeling to the place. It's really nice just to wander about and hit a few of the cute bars in town. I'm still surprised by the dearth of western tourists - I guess it's low season.


The town is certainly a lot different than modern Kunming, from where I jumped the train to here. Although significantly longer than the bus trip, it was worth it for the relative comfort and the chance to try to chat (up/to) the locals. Luckily the ones opposite me spoke a bit of English, and were a good laugh. I must say I'm finding the Chinese a lot friendlier than I expected. In Kunming I got invited out with some locals for Hotpot, and then onto a club where I didnt have to pay for any of the (large quantities of) booze. Magic. Tonight I'm actually going to try to learn some Mandarin, Mr Li next door has offered me pretty cheap lessons so will give it a try, beats trying to guess what pronunciation the Collins phrasebook writers actually were try to convey.

Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore

Yes I've left SE Asia behind and entered the uncharted teritory that is China. Hekou, the Chinese border town, is famous for the border guards enthuasism for collecting LP Chinas, so I ripped mine to bits and just took the loose pages I needed - just as well, they leafed through all of my books - all very pleasantly done mind, and satisfied that I wasnt in posession of the demon book I passed through unscathed. Travelling in China is definitely different - almost noone speaks more than 1 word (hello) of English, so my phrasebook has become invaluable, along with the LPs Chinese script names for the cities/guesthouses which I can just point to.

My first destination was Yuanyang, famous (in China at least) for the beautifully sculpted rice terraces that are often shrouded in mist. The trip there was really beautiful and really long and bumpy, the road being at times asphalt, dust and mud. Seems like even the Chinese havent managed to build motorways in this part of their country.

Yunnan province is home to a higher percentage of ethnic minorities than anywhere else in China, and in this respect it is a little like Sapa in Vietnam, without the (western) tourists - there were a handful in Yuanyang, and after a day we all knew each other, its a pretty small place. The various groups are beautifully dressed in really colourful garb, and although they tend to employ similar hard arm selling tacticts as their cousins over the border, there pretty good natured about it. So far I'm really enjoying this part of China, though it does come with some less savoury sites, such as dogs being skinned and some truly awful public toilets, and theres a definite increase in volume of both spitting and shouting which takes a bit of getting used to, but for me the ubiquitous smoking is the toughest, especially on the buses. But it's all part of the experience! And the food is good so far, which is a bonus. The vegetarian stuff is especially tasty and cheap, so long as you dont mind the odd bit of pork or chicken thrown in.
I'm now in Kunming, a bright, modern, cosmopolitian city, and a nicer spot than I would have imagined. Theres even a little english spoken. I'm off to see if I can score some warmer threads .. its cold up here!

Towards China

Having a bit of time to spare while waiting on my China visa, I headed south of Hanoi for a day to Tam Coc, an area geographically similiar to Halong bay, minus the bay. Its all part of a chain stretching up from Krabi in Thailand, Tha Kiet and Vang Vieng in Laos, through Halong bay and continuing up to the Guillin area in China. It's certainly very beautiful, even if the experience is even more of a tourist trap than Halong. The best part of the trip was getting away on the mountain bikes and peddling through some local villages, which let you appreciate the scenery away from the crowds, and also meet some of the locals who were super friendly, and, as yet, not looking for money!


The main part of the trip involved heading through some caves, being rowed by charasmatic old locals. Despite the crowds it was a really pleasant experience.



In Hanoi, I said goodbye to Elliott who was on his way to Sapa via motorbike - my recently weakened constitution prefered the train. I met up with Tuyen and Hanh, two sweet Vietnamese students we had met before by the lake, and I had a nice day wondering about, eating ice-cream and drinking coffee. On my last day I even braved the traffic chaos of Hanoi and rented a mophead for some touring, which was a bit of a challenge and not a little adreneline fueled.

Eventually I had to head north on the night train to Sapa. I was really quiet sad to leave Hanoi, having met loads of great people and stayed in the friendliest guesthouse so far on this trip. Had a good nights kip on the train, and arrived in Sapa to beautiful blue skies. After wandering about town for 5 minutes I bumped into Elliott, who had made good time on his meandering mountain route despite coming off his bike at 60kmp - other than some serious oil stains on his jeans he came away totally unscathed. Pretty lucky.

We headed off to the local H'mong village of Cat Cat, which was a lovely walk in the sunshine, and we managed to get lost the other side of the village, in or efforts to escape the tourist hordes. On the way back I realised I was coming down with something, and spent much of the next 2 days recovering from a particularly nasty cold. It seems like the weather on our first day was a bit of an anomoly - its been totally fog bound since, though this morning the sun is trying to break through. So, much of the time was spent drinking hot liquids around roaring fires and being entertained by interesting locals like chess champion Mr Tim, the bunches of local lads kicking around what feels something like a badmington shuttlecock and a nice bunch of pool playing black H'mong girls. It was nice to be able to talk with some of the minorities without them trying to flog you everything from necklaces to opium. And their street learned english was amazingly good.
Today I'm heading off to the China border...sounds like one of the less pleasant crossings, but, sure, it's all part of the experience.

Tour of duty II

So I'm back in Vietnam for my second tour here. I wasnt 100% sure about coming back up to the north, but I'm so glad I did. It's been amazing. Halong bay alone has been one of the highlights of the trip so far. It's incredibly beautiful, and even the flotilla of tourist boats didn't detract from the experience. Sleeping on the milk-pond like bay and waking in such amazing surroundings was pretty unforgettable. Even if, as is the nature of these tours, at times you felt a bit like a sheep in a pack, with enforced stops at craft centers en route, along with the 100s of other minibuses.

Apart from enjoying the stunning views, we had time to get suitably lost kayacking, and repeatedly dive into the inviting water from the top of the boat.

Back in Hanoi to the chaos of literally millions of motorbikes choking the narrow French like streets. But I love the place for some reason. Maybe it's the way most of the streets in the old town are still dedicated to a profession, like silk makers, tin smiths, bamboo or even headstones. Or the wafting of fresh coffee from the multitude of coffee shops, the numerous Bia Hoi places selling glasses of the local liquor for pennies, or the beautiful girls that seem to fill the streets.

Whetever, I'm finding it really hard to leave the place. Just strolling around without much of a purpose is a great way to pass the day, and theres always the lake or some of the old houses or cool bars to escape the crowds. In one of which I encountered an ex-pat looking for some English speakers to teach. Feeling like I needed to be useful I gave it a go for a few sessions, and it was fun, definitely something I could do more of.

Back in Bangkok

So after the Docs at Bangkok Hospital, Phuket gave me the alr clear I found myself on a plane for the first time since early June, and back in Bangkok. Well, I didnt think a 12 hour bus would be the best thing for me just now.
Bangkok always surprises me, one minute your marveling at the construction of the new sky train and the amazing shopping centers (and that's coming from a shopping hater) and the next your route is cut off by a passing elephant. It has a reputation for truly awful traffic, but its easy enough to avoid the worst by using the river ferries, canal boats, Metro and Skytrain, which are all fun and pretty stress free ways of getting around.

I based myself in backpacker based banglampu, mainly as I reckoned it would be the handiest place to get my Nam visa. I'm staying in a nice little family house off of soi Rambutri, which is just far enough away from the neon lights of Kao San. I had to wait around for a few days, which, given my delicate nature at present, wasn't a bad thing.
Apart from gorging on thai food, I managed to get out a bit and do some cultural things, like checking out the house of Jim Thompson, which was pretty cool and colonial, as well as the super modern siam square area. I also paid a visit to one of the more visited "cultural" attractions, the infamous patpong - something I'd not done before, and, quite frankly, probably won't bother again. I guess it's the sort of thing you need to see once, but there's only so many times, despite the obvious skill involved, that popping baloons with a dart gets you excited. To complete this part of my tourism extravaganza, I visited the soi Cowboy strip in Sukhumvit, which was a little lower key but more of the same really.

On another note, I just found out that a pic I took of a bridge in Verona was used on the cover of a magazine, so that was pretty cool.
My passport with Visa finally arrived back today, so I'm all set for the Nam flight tomorrow.