Month: November 2015

The Polar Express to Suzhou and Shanghai

Before I go further, lets get this straight, Suzhou bought no warmer weather.

Tuesday. 24th November

The train from Xi’an was an interesting experience. The train station was busy with many policemen wondering around. Frank, the babe of a tour guide (genuinely – what a nice guy) informed us that the station was often subject to terrorist attacks and stabbings. Good start to the long journey!

We sat in a dingy waiting room to wait for our train. We were very early so got some seats but it very quickly filled up with the loud locals. When the train finally arrived there was a mad rush together on which seemed extreme until not much sooner after we were on the train with our bags, the train began to pull off and start its ~800 mile journey to Suzhou.

To put it nicely, the train was cosy. We had 6 beds in two, three bed high bunks in the cabin. Joined with all our luggage, breathing space was limited – but it’s all part of the adventure hey?

Train left around 8pm and lights out at 9:30pm. I lay down to read but was convinced I felt travel sick so forced myself to sleep. By 2am I was wide awake listening to the trains honk at each other as they passed. SO LOUD.

Eventually it was 8am and time to get up as we assumed we would be arriving at 9. We assumed wrong. Franky boy came to tell us we had slowed down due to the snow so we wouldn’t get in until half 11. I was bored of this train now so went back to sleep.

The upside to the train was that the toilet wasn’t as bad as it could have been – it didn’t smell great but it appeared clean. I also scored a bottom bunk so no climbing for me. Life could be worse.

We finally arrived in Suzhou. It was cold. We went to the Garden of the Master of the Nets which is considered to be one of Suzhou’s best preserved gardens. It was laid down in the 12th century and was left to die but was restored in the 18th century as part of the home of a fisherman (hence the name). It’s very pretty but given it was so cold, it was hard to enjoy the outdoor space so many of us headed back to the hotel after the garden for a decent sleep after last nights journey.

Thursday.

We caught an early bullet train to Shanghai. Top speed hit was 297km/h. I however was less speedy in taking a photo to show the speed!

We arrived into Shanghai to sunshine and blue skies. We checked in and went for a walk down the Bund for our first sight of the Shanghai skyline.

We had bought tickets to an evening acrobat show at the Shanghai Circus World which did not disappoint. The metro there was an experience – China in rush hour is crazy! Acrobat show was amazing though. Who mine you could fit 8 motorbikes into a caged sphere?

Friday.

Last day with the group. We walked back down the bund to the Yuyuan Gardens which were large markets that sold souvenirs and various bits of tat. It’s all in a nice setting though.

After a local lunch at Maccies, Lindsay, Hayley and I headed to the Shanghai Museum which is a large museum of ancient Chinese art. It was interesting but I’m glad it was free.

We then decided to head to an observatory tower. Given that we couldn’t access wifi we just guessed which metro station it was likely to be near. How wrong we were. Given that we didn’t know the name of the tower we wanted – just that it was known locally as the “bottle opener”, I couldn’t even attempt to find it on google maps. It is one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai, so you can imagine our surprise when we could no longer see it when we left the metro. Absolute mare. We guessed which way to walk and headed over. An hour or so later we finally arrived. Whilst writing this I have since learnt it was actually only a twenty minute walk – just shows you need to research where you are going first!!

We went all the way to the 100th floor at 474m high. It’s the tenth tallest building in the world and since we were fortunate to a clear day, the views across Shanghai were spectacular!

Dinner was the last supper. Last meal on tour. We all decided to get a taxi, which required 3 different taxis, and naturally, the three were taken at different times as they were hard to flag down and we all got dropped at different locations. However we did finally make it which was the best part of a miracle! After dinner a few of us walked back down the bund to see the skyline at night.

We made a detour via a bar for a well earned drink to celebrate a good week.

Saturday.

I had a final day in Shanghai by myself. I took myself off early to the Yuz Museum to see a new art installation called the RainRoom. It was a large room where 1800 litres of water fall from the ceiling every minute and yet you can walk through without getting wet.

It was amazing. It is all done through motion sensors and 3D cameras. The rest of the museum wasn’t hugely exciting but the rain room was well worth a visit.

I headed to the French concession for some lunch and a general wander round the area. Back then the hotel for an early night as I’d decided to brave the metro to the airport at 6am.

Back to Mainland China 🇨🇳

Beijing. Saturday 21st November

It was freezing when I left Beijing airport. My backpack had increased in weight by 6kg – likely to be a result of a bottle of gin I bought for the guides and forgot to give and the books – plural – I bought on the biography of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung that I am sure will make for fascinating bed time reading.

There was no taxi queue this time and the woman manning the rank pointed me to a guy who was beckoning me over. He showed me a card that read “I speak English” which made me laugh and then tried to charge me 500RMB for a taxi. That was not happening given that I was now a Beijing pro and knew it should only be 100. I loudly said “bù xièxiè” (no thank you) and went back to the queue for a regular taxi. I knew what I was doing.

At least, I thought I did, until I showed the next taxi man the hotel address (in Chinese characters) who then appeared to ask me how to get there. In mandarin – so at least that’s what I thought he was saying. After 5 minutes of him speaking very loudly in Chinese (which made me think the game Chinese whispers is an oxymoron as I don’t think it’s possible for them to speak quietly at all) he started off in what I figured must be the right direction.

My hotel was called Chongwenmen hotel and was right next to Chongwenmen metro station. The driver dropped me off at exit B (so it turned out) and according to my hotel directions, I wanted exit C. I paid less than 100RMB for the ride (glad I didn’t go with the original taxi thief) and headed into the metro to find exit C. I couldn’t cross through to exit C from where I was without a ticket so instead of going back upstairs to the road and crossing it, I just bought the equivalent to a 20p ticket to the next stop so I could cross the station. I exited at exit C and saw my hotel – 20p well spent.

The hotel was of a much higher standard than previous hostels which was a god send. So, instead of venturing out into Beijing, I went to the local department store for lunch, bought a new pair of straightners (which I rationalised by calling them my new “travel straightners”) and headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and a nap before the next tours orientation meeting.

Dinner was a very enjoyable affair of Peking duck with my new tour group. I never want crispy duck pancakes at home unless the pancakes are 1000 times thicker, at least 3 times the size and the duck is succulent and juicy. It was delicious.

Sunday

Early start for a trip to Tiannenmen Square and the forbidden city. It had snowed overnight and was still doing so when we ventured out. It was due to drop to -2 degrees today.

Fortunately at the time we got there the queue wasn’t too bad. The area looked pretty in the snow. It was still bloody cold though. My snazzy coat only kept me so warm and I made a mental note to wear more layers tomorrow.

After the trip we headed for a group lunch and then a few of us to the department store to buy more layers. I found a pair of 120 denier tights at an H&M and bought those as an extra under layer! Back to the hotel for a couple of hours before the evening activity as it was too cold to do much else!

The evening activity was a Kung fu show. It was brilliant. It was funny and a couple of parts required audience participation. Fortunately I was not chosen for that.

Monday

Today we were heading to see the Great Wall. We had a private bus to head out of town to the Mutianyu section, a recently renovated stretch of the Great Wall. It took two and a half hours to get there and naturally I slept the whole way. Travelling and being on holiday is exhausting.

“He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.”

Mao Zedong

When we arrived at the wall the surrounding area was beautiful. We had clear blue skies and everything was covered in a layer of white snow. There was the option to walk up steps or get a cable car. Obviously I got the latter – figured I had climbed my fair share of steps this holiday at the rice terraces near Guilin alone!

The cable car didn’t not disappoint though. It took us up to tower 6 and the views were spectacular. The snow made it look so pretty. Myself and two girls, Hayley and Lindsey took the first selfies of many at the top and started walking carefully down the wall.

Tower 6 was quite high compared to some of the latter towers and walking down the wall required a descent down a number of steep steps. Often it was a case of watching someone else go down to conclude how slippy the steps were. Given my lack of general balance and coordination, I was glad I managed to do it in one piece.

The ‘original’ wall was begun more than 2000 years ago and it was hard to imagine the poor souls who dragged the required materials up the mountain without that handy cable car.

We walked down to tower 11 where we bumped into Ruth, a member of our group who had braved the steps up the mountain. She said it hadn’t been too bad so we decided to walk down and the steps looked manageable.

After the wall many of our group went to the Subway by the ticket office (the shops just at the base of the wall consisted of a subway and a pizza joint) and 3 of us went with Frank our guide to a local restaurant a few minutes walk away. Frank’s order did not disappoint and was delish.

The afternoon then consisted of a drive to the airport for a delayed flight to Xi’an. The Chinese were loving the group of western tourists sitting on their bags waiting for check in.

Tuesday

Late arrival and early start for a trip to the Terracotta warriors. This army is one of the most famous archeological finds in the world. In 1974, farmers were digging a well and uncovered an underground vault that yielded thousands of underground soldiers and horses in battle formation. These pits had never previously been mentioned in historical records.

On the warriors we could examine upclose, it was clear that no two faces are the same and their hairstyles,armour and even the tread of their foot ware was all unique.

There are three pits at the museum, pit 1 being the largest housing more than 6000 pottery warriors although approximately only 2000 are on show. The Warriors are reputed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”.

The warriors were found in 1974 when local farmers were drilling a well in search of water. They found pottery fragments which soon turned out to be all of this!

The below chap on the left is one of the seven “generals” found in the pits. The height, clothing and headgear of him all indicated his high rank.

The right picture above is one kind of the armored infantryman. The pose of his hands suggest he once held a crossbow. The back of the statue still had some colour from when they were originally painted!

I then attended a tea ceremony with some others and bought some lychee tea which was glorious. Chinese tea leaves can be used 6-7 times in one day and not lose their flavour. I wasn’t convinced I could drink that amount of tea without needing to visit the bathroom every 10 minutes! I was prepared to give it a try though.

After the tea ceremony we drove to Xi’an’s Muslim quarter. The area north of the drum tower has been home to the Hui community (Chinese Muslims) for centuries.

It is an area full of butcher shops, markets, one of China’s largest mosques and was a great place to wander and buy some fantastic smelling food.

Myself and Haley tried the lamb kebabs. I thought the skewer of meat was glorious so had one the bought another. Hayley didn’t seem to think the same so I had hers too. They were very enjoyable.

Tonight we board a train to Suzhou. I can’t say I’m looking forward to 14+ hours on a train in cramped cabins! Let’s hope Suzhou brings some warmer weather!

Beijing, North Korea and Dog Soup 🐶

I arrived late Saturday night into Beijing. I somehow managed to skip past a very long taxi queue and get to the front which, given that I was not feeling fresh, I had no qualms about doing. All the queuing the Chinese do was driving me crazy.

The taxi driver dropped me off at the end of a dark street and told me (in mandarin) that my hostel was “down there”. Concerning but nevertheless, I got my stuff together, paid and headed off down this dark little lane. After what felt like ages and not passing anyone else I was beginning to worry that the driver had lied to me and figured he would play a fun little joke on the English girl. Fortunately that was not the case as I finally found a the Saga Youth Hostel sign and headed in.

The restaurant only served western food so dinner was a burger and chips. Awful. My ‘no western food’ plan for this trip had been scuppered. I was also told these dark alleyways are known as Hutongs and are all over Beijing. I just wished I had known that before I was sent down the alley of death to my hostel.

Sunday.

Today I visited the Temple of Heaven Park after a long lie in and a detour to the department store to buy some straightners that worked in China! I only found mini ones but figured they were cheap and would do.

The park however was beautiful. There were many people – lots of elderly people doing various dancing exercises or playing ping pong. Some were also sat playing cards and a game I can only assume was mahjong. There was also a group of people singing which was mesmerising to watch.

Monday.

Today I had signed myself up for a market tour and cooking class with Hutong Cuisine. We made triple cooked pork, an aubergine dish, Szechuan beef and fried pepper. Super tasty.

Tuesday 17th November – D.P.R.K.

Today was the day I was heading off into what could be one of the most brutal and ridiculous countries of the world. The flight was with Air Koryo which is banned in the EU due to “serious safety deficiencies”. Check in at Beijing was pretty straight forward – I think we were surprised to see so many North Koreans checking in with us though!

On the plane I sat next to a 14 year old girl who had just been in China with the North Korean under 16 football team. Although she spoke no English we managed to communicate in smiles and nods and she enjoyed my pen which had a pull out slip with some Korean phrases on. She seemed find this very amusing!

Going though customs at Pyongang was an intense affair. Phones and passports were handed over first. Then your checked bag is scanned and anything you have claimed as a high value belonging or reading material is then given to the airport officials; I handed over my iPad, camera and China lonely planet guide. My bag was scanned and they were insistent I had two more books. My Japan guide was at the bottom of my bag so had to pull stuff out to get to that and I knew I had no other books. The official was having none of it and kept saying “one more book! One more book!” He pointed to where it was and I emptied the pocket. Turns out a bar of Lindt chocolate looks like a book in an airport scanner. He just laughed though as I brushed away the beads of sweat that were appearing as I worried someone had smuggled things into my bag. That was not the end of it. Before I even had time to put my things back in order and into my bag, I was whisked away down the room for them to go through my camera and iPad photos. Not sure what they were looking for but they did eventfully give them back. Note to self – next time someone goes through photos remember to delete all the selfies you’ve taken and decided not to use. It’s awkward when he’s just trolling through similar pictures of your face in various locations!

Eventually my belongings were handed back, I repacked and exited the airport into the arrivals lounge to wait for the bus with the others.

On the way back to the hotel we went via the Mansu Hill Grand Monument. These are 23m high bronze statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. They are pretty impressive. Before photos were taken we needed to show our respects first by bowing and laying down flowers. This was the first bow of many on this trip.

Wednesday.

The itinerary for today included The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a trip on the metro and a helicopter ride over Pyongyang.

The museum taught us about the history of the Korean War from the North Korean perspective. There were many exhibititions, including the USS Pueblo; an American spy ship captured by the DPRK navy in in 1968. There were also numerous dioramas and captured weapons that belonged to the US ‘imperialists’.

The ride on the metro was like being back in the 50s with jazz music being played through speakers. It is also the deepest metro in the world. The designs of the stations were pretty with various mosaics and paintings of the leaders and scenes of Korean life.

The helicopter trip was certainly a highlight. Even though it was a little wet and rainy, it was impressive to see the city from the air. No photos were allowed during takeoff or until we got to Pyongyang but the helicopter was large and spacious although the decor was dated.

Thursday.

Today was a big day. Today we were visiting the Kumsusan Memorial Palace were Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state. This is a very important place to locals and the males of the group were instructed to wear ties. It was strange seeing the bodies of these men who have led one of the worlds most repressive governments and almost created a nationwide cult playing homage to them. It was hard to see that while in the country though. The people showed it most respect to the leaders and I felt I had to constantly remind myself of what we are told in the West that they have done and not get swept away in thinking they are great leaders.

The afternoon took us to a town called Nampo where foreign tourists hadn’t been allowed for a number of years. As a result many people looked our way! We again paid our respects to another set of statues before taking photos. We noticed that people cycling would get off their bike and walk it past the status. No one rode in front of it across the square.

After this we went to Nampo docks which pconsists of a remarkable 8km dam/causeway across the bay to the west of Nampo leading to a series of locks and a large control tower. The purpose of this is to regulate the fresh water river flow ( from Pyongyang, into the West ( Yellow ) Sea, and vice versa. It prevents flooding or low water levels upstream and allows shipping in and out through the locks. This was constructed, largely by hand, by a workforce of 30,000 soldiers between 1981-86, and not without a few casualties. The view on the drive was beautiful – stark comparison to the barren land we had seen previously.

From here we returned to Pyongyang for a trip to a glass factory. This may sound dull but it was fascinating to see the glass being made and being allowed to walk over an open bridge above the glass. Health and safety was of no concern! We were told the glass was unbreakable to American bullets. Assuming American bullets are no difference to any other, we assumed the guide just meant bulletproof.

Dinner was North Korean pizza. I had pizza with pepperoni which apparently was pizza with a few peppers. It was tasty all the same! We also crashed a military wedding party that was a relatively quiet affair other than some atrocious singing and an impressive drummer.

Friday.

Today took us to Kaesong and the DMZ. At the DMZ it was possible to go into one of the huts that straddles the demarcation line and actually cross over into South Korea! This is one of the few places where you can take pictures of (and even with) members of the DPRK military.

Kaesong for lunch where any tried Kaesong chicken – a whole chicken in ginseng broth – head included and others chose dog soup which I was told tasted like rabbit which I found very hard to believe. I chose neither and stuck to rice and various side dishes. I have morals.

After Keasong we went to a museum where we were told North Korea invented the spoon. So here is a picture of the worlds first spoon:

Below are some examples of the propaganda that was seen regularly around the cities:

Overall my time in the DPRK was interesting and we certainly were only shown the good side of the country. I have come away with many more questions than I had before and can see how they are led to believe that they have “Great Leaders”. I’m looking forward to having phone signal, wifi and control over my life again though. Tomorrow, back to China.

Here are some images of the local paper:

And what their currency looks like:

Guilin, Yangshou and a lot of rain 🇨🇳☔️

Wednesday.

On arrival into Guilin, I had to navigate my way on two buses to the hostel through rain and the cold with no English signs and limited mandarin knowledge. Where had I taken myself to?Fortunately the group of people I had heard speak English on the train were going to the same hostel so I tagged myself onto their group and onto a very busy bus.

Given the size of my bag, I stayed downstairs as walking up the bus steps was just not an option. Although we were on the bus and knew we needed to get of at Guilin South train station, the map of stops was in Chinese and we had no idea where to get off. One of the guys from the other group, whose name was Pedro, attempted to ask these two Chinese girls who were wearing identical cat ear hair bands if they spoke English. They giggled at him instead. Typical.

However, we were none the wiser so he tried again, this time using an app on his phone to try and translate. It sort of worked as they were able to tell us we were 12 stops away. Unfortunately the bus got particularly busy and it proved hard for anyone to move past the monstrosity that was my backpack. Life was great.

We finally arrived at the hostel and it was time for a well deserved beer and some dinner. Two of the guys, Felix and Ming , wanted to source some duck neck for dinner so we went in search. Whilst wondering in a shopping mall, there was a “9D experience”. 20 yuan (£2) for 10 minutes – why not? I chose the roller coaster option and I spent the next 10 minutes on a roller coaster in a virtual reality and needless to say I came off it feeling a little sick and dizzy so a good £2 well spent.

Dinner was clay pot rice that was super spicy. No duck necks.

Headed back to hostel for beers and a night out in Guilin. China nightlife is bizarre. Girls were giving free drinks out left right and centre and the choice of music was ridiculous. I am the Music Man mixed with some horrific techno beats was not my choice of fun. However hostel Tsingtao in 600ml bottles for £1.20 was very enjoyable.

Thursday.

Up early and feeling far from fresh for a trip to the rice terraces. 2 and a half hours and a replaced flat tyre later we arrived. Still raining we bought some snazzy plastic footwear to attempt to keep our feet dry. This was today’s attire:

Unfortunately due to the rain the views weren’t great but we managed to see some pretty impressive views. Again, millions of steps which was a bit of a mare but I certainly couldn’t complain about being cold anymore!

Quiet night in at the hostel with dinner there being enough in one portion to fill a family of 6. All for £3. Bargain. I also needed to do washing. It was only after I took it out of the machine that I realised there was no dryer and it was raining outside. Good start.

Friday.

Another early start but this time we were off on a four hour cruise down the Li river and into Yangshou. The trip is a popular one for Chinese tourists (which there were many of) as the scenery is picturesque and can be seen on a 20 Yuan banknote.

We didn’t have quite the same view but the rain didn’t make it any less impressive. A four hour trip might have been a bit excessive though. Lunch provided consisted of bean sprouts, pickles, egg and some plain rice. Not great – explained why everyone else on board bought their own picnics – we obviously missed that memo.

Gerado, me, Ming, Thiemo, Pedro, Felix, Erik

Yangshou itself is a pretty place. Much more traditional unlike the concrete city that was Guilin but as a result was much more touristy. The group were keen to head up to the tv tower on top of one of the mountains so we acquired a map and made our way.

Ming was directing us and told us to cut through the market. The market was almost deserted. It started by selling some typical weird animals such as eels and frogs and fruit I’ve never seen but as we ventured further in we began to see the dead animal carcasses. It started with ducks cut down the middle and hanging limp over a table but it very quickly descended into goats, rabbits and sadly cats and dogs.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw a cage with 5 or 6 kittens in there waiting for their fate and it nearly bought a tear to my eye. How can people think it’s a normal thing to eat? I made a swift exit after that not wanting to see any more upsetting sights. I nearly made it until I saw the remains of a dog, still with teeth intact. This market was in a different world.

We finally made it to the base of the route up to the tv tower. The steps started again and I have to admit, I did not feel like doing that again so I returned back to Yangshou with Pedro in search of other sights and a toilet. We met back up with the others an hour or so later and headed back to Guilin.

Another night was planned at Muse so after some more cheap beer and not so cheap G&Ts we returned. This time it was short lived for me though as the novelty of the appalling music and performances had worn off. Smoking is still allowed in clubs in China too so the air was pretty stuffy too. After a couple of hours we headed back to bed leaving Felix and Thiemo pulling some edgy shapes on stage.

Saturday. This morning we could lie in. I’d booked a flight to Beijing in the afternoon so I said my goodbyes and headed off to the airport after lunch.

See you soon Beijing!

The journey to Guilin from Hong Kong

So I awoke at the crack of dawn to get the train from Hong Kong over to mainland China.

To fly would have cost £130 and the train would be £21. Although I knew my way to the airport, I knew how to get through customs, I knew I could sleep safely on the plane, I knew the hostel the other end had a free transfer service, I decided to brave the train and save the money for a rainy day (as it turns out though it was pouring with rain in Guilin so maybe that day was today but never mind!).

I first had to make my way to Lok Ma Chau on the border using the subway. Which I needed to get a bus to first. In rush hour. But that was fine. I could cope.

I arrived (finally) at Lok Ma Chau, got through immigration fine and entered no mans land. I still had to get through to Shenzhen and through immigration and customs there. I managed that fine without any speaking, by following the crowd. Happy days.

The problem came when I had to buy a ticket from the border in Shenzhen to Shenzhen north where the train to Guilin left from. Although the machine said there was an English option, it lied. In the end a very nice lady asked if I needed help and bought my ticket for me. I say nice, she was probably too fed up of waiting behind me.

That ticket in hand I got another metro to the next station. To pick up my train ticket I had the instructions written in a handy piece of paper. I had come prepared. I handed that over in silence and the unfriendly lady printed the ticket without a smile. I began to wonder whether being unfriendly was a requirement of selling tickets in China; her, the machine in Shenzhen and the lady in Hong Kong. I kept that thought to myself.

I found my way to the correct platform and started to queue. The Chinese love a good queue. The train wasn’t leaving for an hour yet!

Unfortunately for me I ended up in a queue that ran parallel to a Chinese tour group. You can guess what happened there. One guy insisted on taking photos of me and my massive backpack. At first they were subtle. That quickly stopped as he began to angle it so that he could compare me to the poor 4ft lady in front who definitely could have fit in my bag.

I got on the train hoping I would finally be away from it all. But no. My luck had taken me to their carriage. And I ended up in the seat next to Mr Camera Man himself. Which the tour group found very amusing. Me, not so much.

I couldn’t help but laugh however as they keep talking to me in Chinese and I understood none of it. They clearly we’re loving life as they inspected my backpack and tried to lift it.

As the train pulled out of Shenzhen, they pulled out their lunch which consisted of a large bag of monkey nuts, a bag of dried prawns and a tub of an unidentified meat object. At first they offered some and I said no which they obviously didn’t understand as Mr Camera Man poured a large pile of prawns and monkey nuts on my tray. Tasty.

He then showed me pictures of his family and videos of his house which was fun. He was actually really friendly.

Through the tour of his photos I forgot to look out of the window. We were beginning to see the start of the bizarre Guilin landscape. The mountains are known as Karst Mountains and in the current weather they looked really eerie.

3 hrs and 41 minutes later I finally arrived at Guilin. I just had to get myself through the rain to the hostel!

HONG KONG 香港 🇭🇰

I arrived early Saturday evening with my winter cardigan on that I had been wearing on the plane. That quickly came off the moment I walked out of the airport to the bus. After buying a ticket in almost complete silence from the lady behind the counter, I navigated my way to the bus I needed to get to my hostel. Quick but much needed shower then dinner. I had a quick chat with the super unfriendly guy at reception and he pointed me to this Hong Kong Restaurant. I headed off in search for my first taste of Hong Kong cuisine. On route I found a games arcade which was full of various games machines all very brightly coloured!

Dinner consisted of prawns in OK sauce on noodles with a side of choi sum and some bizarre green iced drink. Delicious.

Sunday. Given that I had forgotten to buy my octopus card at the airport yesterday, I walked what City Mapper called a 33 minute walk to the Museum of History. Maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere but an hour later I rocked up to join the queue to buy my ticket. It’s a good museum with some interesting stories from the opium war and what Hong Kong was like in the 60s and 70s.

After a couple of hours it was lunch time and I realised I hadn’t eaten yet so headed out to find some more tasty treats. I looked around and ended up next to the bins at a Vietnamese restaurant. Mare.

After lunch I took a stroll around Kowloon park. Jet lag was beginning to hit so I sat down and started to read. I was surrounded by Indonesian and Filipino girls who were maids in Hong Kong and have the day off on a Sunday so they took to the parks to relax and chat. And giggle. Lots of giggling. I eventually moved to a quieter spot where after 20 minutes I was accosted (and I mean accosted) by a bizarre Asian lady who asked for a photo. I figured she meant of her and her husband in the park.

No. She meant of me because naturally I look like a local(?!). She must have taken at least 10 photos of different poses including various hugging situations which even writing about I am cringing over.

A very unwelcome experience. I did however spot this cute dog and these cute guys painting.

Dinner was much more enjoyable. I met a friend of a girl at work who was able to take me around and try some other HK food. I tried congee with a thousand year eggs and noodles with dumplings. Both delish. We also had radish cake which apparently is actually turnip. It was good either way.

Our post dinner activity was the Symphony of Lights. I am glad I saw it but it’s not the most exciting thing in the world so I will end the day there.

Monday. Today I was meeting another friend of the girl at work and although having lived in HK his whole life he had never seen the Big Buddha so we headed off there. Lots of steps up to the Buddha though. Not enjoyable in the heat either. But I made it and lived to tell the tale.

There was also a monastery on the site which we headed to too. It was pretty and very ornate and had a service going on when we were there so I don’t have many photos but it was a fun thing to experience.

I also tried dried squid. Salty and chewy. Yummy. Lots of bizarre looking creatures in the market too. For example this happy fellow:

The view from the top of the Buddha steps:

Tuesday.

Today I slept in and it was wonderful. After asking my good friend #backpackchiu where was good to go, she suggested I went to the Hello Kitty secret garden. When I googled this glorious concept I found there was a restaurant and given that it was basically lunch time now I found myself off on a bus for a much anticipated visit. Oh my, I was not disappointed.

What an enjoyable place.

I then headed up the peak. Admittedly today was not the best day to go as it was hazy but I felt I had to do it so I waited in the queue for the steepest tram ride of my life. It was like a roller coaster but without the fact you go down again. Crazy. Although obviously I did go down an hour or so later.

Steven, my Big Buddha friend took me to a local Cantonese cafe for dinner. Best sweet and sour pork I’ve ever had. The British Chinese are doing it so so wrong.

Tomorrow I am heading over the boarder. I’m hoping I manage to pick up my train tickets in my non existent mandarin but we will see. If I can’t I’m stuck in HK. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing but I’d need to invest in a portable air conditioning unit so wish me luck!

So after three 3 days and 4 nights in HK I’m sadly due to leave. I say sadly but I’m happy to be walking out of here in solid form and not have melted in my time here. It’s been 28 degrees and, as far as I can tell, 90%+ humidity and although fun, I don’t think I will rush back unless I can be assured of a gentle breeze.

And I’m off!

The time has finally arrived and yep you guessed it – I went for the big bag. Naturally it’s too full for any small Chinese child so no panic there. I do think however that I packed well – I took out a pug jumper but replaced it with a Christmas themed penguin jumper. I’m sure the Japanese will love it.

Saying bye to people one by one was sad – made it hit home that I am actually going. Mental. But I’m now finally at the airport waiting for my gate to open. Upgrading to business class was £1200+ which although I’m sure worth it, was above my £600 limit of what I would have paid. Let’s hope if I buy in Istanbul it’s cheaper. I feel I’m optimistic.
My phone and watch are already on Hong Kong time so it’s now 23:22 and way past my bed time. I got my handy travel pillow though so I’ll be straight asleep when I get to my seat!

First stop HKG.

HKG – China – DPRK – China – Tibet – Japan – HOME FOR CHRISTMAS – Guatemala – Honduras – Nicaragua – Costa Rica – Ecuador – Galapagos.

And a sneaky trip to Atlanta on the way home.

I can’t wait. Hong Kong is 26 degrees and Tibet is 3 degrees. My body will be on a temperature roller coaster. My mind probably on an emotional one. I’m going to find myself and come home a gypsy.

I got random bag searched on the way through security. Those spare pairs of pants your told to put in your bag? Yeah well mine were picked up by the bag man and in an attempt to keep my dignity he hid them under my woolly hat. What a guy. Shame you can’t rate them like you can uber drivers, he would have got 5stars.

Right gate is open and I best ring my grandad. Likely to shed a tear there!

See you on the other side!

I need a PA to pack for me

So the exam is finally over – 4 hours writing about cycling is enough to send anyone to sleep. But now for the bigger challenge. Packing.

Choosing between a 10kg bag of hand luggage size, ideal for travelling with ease and less hassle and (what will likely be when I have finished packing it) a 25kg bag almost big enough to fit a small child in, to take on my back for my time away is as hard as choosing between the twix and the fruit and nut mix in the vending machine at work.

I DON’T KNOW.

The hand luggage bag will be so easy to carry around and it will prevent me taking all the unnecessary rubbish that I am likely to insist I will need if I take the backpack. But if I take the hand luggage bag, where will I put all my Mulberrys and fake designer goods?

I’m having a mare.

I’ve also read I need a sleeping bag. So who knows where I will put that in a hand luggage bag!

I recently read “Hand luggage packing guide” written by “A Blonde Abroad”. Admittedly she’s one of those a super annoying people that gets paid to travel the world and write a fun blog and gets free stuff at the same time which therefore means we wouldn’t be friends (who am I kidding she’s my idol and that’s what I want from this blog since blogging about travelling is super original and edgy right?) but she’s got some handy tips on there. So I bought a cardigan and ordered some eye moisturiser as she reckons they were key things to take. We will see. Personally I think straightners would be on that list but what do I know.

My next issue is footwear. I need outside shoes for walking (most likely taking my super snazzy trainers) but I would quite like my Uggs to keep my toesies warm. My Uggs won’t fit into my hand luggage sized bag though so another point to the backpack.

A blonde abroad recommends Tieks. I can’t justify $150+ on a pair of flats so maybe I will just wear the uggs and tie my waking boots to my bag. There must be a way to bring both!

I’ve pulled out all my clothes and although Sam managed to do 6 weeks on hand luggage turns out thats much harder when you are heading to 5 degree ‘heat’. I’m going to freeze.

I’ll leave you all in suspense of what I go for.

Life’s all about life living on the edge right?