Day 13.......Beijing explore......4 July 2015

Ive started this in the China section as the Trans Siberian has now sadly ended.....I've got a week in Beijing, then I start the travel through the rest of China. I like to settle in for a few days after reaching a new place, the countries capital you can get an idea as to what things cost, what to wear how to act, getting you  ready for the other places. I worked out it's 10 yen to 1 pound.....I can buy a kentucky fried chicken meal for £2.40.....a whole meal....cheap as chips.....or a 72, 64 and a fried rice for a pound..;-)....I did wake up late, must have needed it. So by the time I was up and about it was about 11am.....I decided to walk to Tianaman Sq, it's only a 20 minute walk and I like to explore that way. So off I trundle. The way was easy, along the main road, busy with traffic, lots of people, lots of soldiers and security posted along the roads, then I reached the massive square, it is massive, the biggest in the world, makes Red Square look like a drive. One end was red flags, a big picture of Mao....soldiers everywhere.....no tanks...we had to go through a couple of check points bag searches etc, then you was inside, guards strutting up and down like peacocks. I had a good walk round soaking it all in, it was abit overcast....I think...you can't see much sky here in Beijing,  a few people wear those surgical masks, I'm abit paranoid when they follow me incase they want me organs ....Still clutching me organs, I venture across the road into the forbidden palace, so called because it was off limits to anyone but royalty for 500 years......then this Essex boy come....;-)....It was a big place, archway after archway led into another palace complex and courtyard, with ornate buildings and pristine gardens. It was pretty crowded and after a while needed abit of chill time so walked through the gate into an alleyway with shops, tearooms, souvenir shops...and then eventually found myself on the main road again.....half the fun sometimes is getting lost, (unless your in the artic, or a mine field) I walked back to the hotel, zig zagging my way along, occasionaly checking me organs whilst looking behined.  

 I was getting hungry and didnt fancy sitting there watching the feeding frenzy of the noodle bars. Honestly, Ive never seen anything like it, Ive been to alot of local places in all parts of the world, but never looked up and seen 'people', not one or two , but 'people' just shovel food into their gobs....and I mean shovel,  bottom lip on the plate and hoovering it in like it was being taken away from them that very second.....I swear I saw plates going in.....the dirty gets....no wonder they use chopsticks all the cutlery went centuries ago hoovered into the stomachs of rich and poor....puts you off your food. So I went to Pizza hut, yes Pizza hut, sue me.....I fancied a spagetti....technically Marco Polo did bring spagetti to Italy from China all them years ago, so im following in his foot steps as a tribute.....and I cant face looking at that again.... but the tribute thing makes me sound better. It was lovely, seafood pasta my fav, a nice salad, garlic bread, a coke all for 70 yen.....(7 pounds)...here's to you Marco Polo. 

 Day 14  5th July.   Walkabouts.......

I didn't have any plans for today, I got up, headed out and walked along the road towards Tianamen Sq, mooched around, and just carried on walking throught the side streets called hutongs.....endless mazes of houses, shops, and the like. I came out into a new pedestrian shopping street with Zara, H&M...you name it, I walked along, watching the people, going about their lives.......same as us, just a different part of the world.  I must say it's a really clean place, no litter at all, everywhere you look theres an army of cleaners, some in orange uniform with big brushes, sweeping away then scooping it all up....then theres others in blue uniforms, these seem to be more senior as they have little buggies....not unlike the electric chairs you try to dodge in Benidorm, but with baskets, broom holders, a regular ''Bat mobile'' of the cleaning world. They scoot along and stop when they spot abit of litter, still sitting on the chair they get the ''Bat grabber'' and pluck the rubbish up disposing it in the box at the back .....even bubble gum....they actually get off for bubble gum....get the ''Bubble gum Bat spray'' couple of squirts the scrape it up....cant fault the Chinese for litter. Ive been walking around for 6 hours....time has flown by and it's been nice, i'm getting use to the noise, the loud speakers, car horns.....I think tomorrow i'll go to the Temple of Heaven, it's about 6 KLM south                                                    but looks easy enough to get to, it's supposed to be big there so will take up a day.  With my day planned for tomorrow, a final check i've got all my organs, I buy a bottle of water and start my zig zag home back to the hotel.......

There's alot of banks in China, Beijing bank....China bank.....they are obsessed with money, funny for a communist country, I sat in a tea house and three men came in, they started chatting in really good English, said they were on business from Shanghai, I asked what the statues outside the banks mean, every bank has two dragon headed statues with red ribbons round their knecks.....it's the old kingdoms Dragon Kings son and daughter P'i and Xiu,  they tell me they are the head of a dragon a body of a horse have beards and wings and fly above the clouds.....(think they had too much tea) Xiu is female and conquers evil whilst P'i is the brother and can store wealth. Red is supposed to be lucky.......they ask where I'm from what I do for a living, how much I make, do I have credit cards.....is my family wealthy......I made a polite exit, think they were scammers......I went back to the hotel, checked the internet hasn't been brought back to life.....I miss the internet here, no google, no facebook, no Instagram, even my website seems to be blocked......Ive got whatsapp at least, so see how everyones doing. 

Day 15. Temple of Heaven. Beijijng China. 6th July 2015

I write this now on my phone as my tablet has comitted harry carry. (Or is that a japanese thing?) it's no longer working, luckily my phone has saved the photos and blog....phew. Ive been in Beijing a few days and the noise, smoke and local wildlife is getting overwhelming so I decided to go to the Temple of Heaven, it sounds just what I need, it's abit of a hike, past Tianaman Sq, but I have a map, so made my way through the thong of the crowds, quietly zigzaging my way (clutching organs periodically) past shopping street into the now unknown. I took a quick bearing, and walked on, passing shops, banks, people sleeping, street sellers, still the signs were in English, bonus. I had to stop every so often just to watch, as people went about there businsess. One guy passed me with a pole over his sholder like the programme  Kung Fu except he had a bloody great turtle trust up looking at me mournfully, the place is unreal. The traffic would cause Boris Johnson to have a headache, bikes mix with motorbikes mix with wierd contraptions i'm sure the ''A'' team would be proud of. cars lorries all weaving along, what the fatality rate must be is anyones guess. There is traffic crossings, lights indicate when it's safe to cross, this is misleading, as it's never safe to cross!!! I saw a green man light up, with a countdown clock ticking away from 40 down......thats nice of them I thought....now I'm not sure if the Chinese man on the CCTV saw me walking but the numbers went down quicker than the Bolt could run...I could just picture him laughing in his office....saying ..''Lun  Engrish...lun....

I eventually made it, and walked through a big ornate gate, it was paradise. The noise of the streets, the hustle and bustle just stopped. The gardens went on for miles, all immaculate, Rose bushes, trees....it was Heaven. I walked in the shade and quiet..... watching families, people doing Tai Chi, dancing..really nice. Eventually I reached the gateway of Heaven Temple, with old buildings typically Chinese, Id gone back in time, and went to town with the camera....there I was happy as larry.

I must have spent the whole day there and walked miles, I still had to get back to the hotel so decided to call it a day, I decided it was time to try the metro, I was tired, must have walked about 20 KLM....I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was modern, easy to use, reliable, it even had the lights to show on the map where you were,  the next station....and the speaker in English to say the next stop....really well done, very impressed and not abit crowded....London undergrounds  more crowded....even getting the ticket was no real problem...ive learnt to count to 5...and say thank you, hello in Chinese...very proud of myself. I got back to the hotel had a shower, then went out for something to eat....I still didnt fancy another ''Bruce lee noodles bar'' ( honest thats the name) so I opted to push the boat out and went for a steak....and it was bloody lovely. 

Day 16 Great wall Badaling........and lots of people. 7th July 2015 

Id booked an excursion the day before to go to the great wall at Badling, it's the highest point of the wall and been refurbished to it's former glory, I will be going back to the wall during my travels ahead but was itching to see the thing, I paid 400 yen about 40 quid for a mini bus, guide, and to the the Ming tomb...Id meet up with some more travellers so was looking forward to the day ahead. It was an early start 7am( your all going to bed ) The bus came and I got on, full of Chinese, oh well...we then drove around Beijing dropping these off and picking more up, eventually I'm gald to say there was about 9 westerners on the bus, from Argentina, Russia, Sweden, Ireland...and me...It took about an hour and a half but it was nice watching all the outside world.  Our first stop was the Ming tomb, a palace complex where the last emperor was buried, he was buried in a great manmade mound to the South but no one knows where he is, I asked why it's not been excavated and she said they tried but many workers died, storms came so they stopped it as it was a bad omen.....I reckon the local ministers and fat cats looted the tomb years ago making them rich and decided to tell this story......It was a great place though.   Somehow we reached a Jade factory next, after the guide started going on about Jade being the ''gold of China'' ...all Chinese wear it as a sign of wealth, before no mortal was allowed to wear it....then lo and behold we arrive at a jade factory....amazing coincidence that....and guess what in the Jade factory was a shop....eventually spending more time than the Ming tomb telling us how Jade is made, etc...we had lunch...in the factory....but was nice food.....no prawn crackers though....We reached the wall eventually and the crowds were already building up, coach after coach...we had to get a cable car up...which cost extra, once up we were given 2 hours to walk around before meeting the mini bus at the bottom. It was heaving!!! I couldnt lift my camera up at some points....I feared for my shoes....they will be coverd in flem by the end of the day. It was amazing to see, I looked past the crowds and the uncomfortable heat and stared in wonder eversince I can remember I dreamed of seeing this and now I'm here...so fantastic. I looked at the time and decided to headback, I wasn't sure how long the wait was for the cable car and didnt want to miss the bus. Thankfully it wasnt that long and arrived in plenty of time, and my shoes were flem free...happy days. 

I thought we were heading back to the hotel, but then she started talking about Silk.....uh oh.....and yes sure enough we ended up at a silk factory....which surprise surprise is a shop as well....an hour and a half I waited there, we must have spent more time shopping than in the actual sights.....no tip from me. It was a good day though. Tomorrow I will be checking out of this hotel and going into one behined Tianamen Square, no more luxury...no more single room....I will be roughing it....but guaranteed to meet up with some people....so looking forward to it. 

Day 17 new hotel....new people.....new travel...8th July 2015.

I got up, had a shower, got all my stuff together, and checked out. I didnt fancy walking all that way with my bags, so went on the metro, I got the ticket, and was helped onto the right train by some locals, It was still a 10 minute walk to the hotel once my stop arrived , I checked in and dumped my stuff in the room, I will be sharing with an Australian guy, Daniel, but he wasn't there yet. I went off into the Hutongs and streets camera in hand having a last explore, I have enjoyed Beijing, but ready to leave now. We have a welcome meeting at 6pm get to see the rest of the group and whats in store. I'm glad I did a tour, I dont normally go for them but knowing how difficult the language barrier and culture shock is it was a good decision. I miss the interaction as well. I would go for days without speaking to anyone....hard to imagine I know...so a welcome change.  

I have noticed how the noise is almost umbearable,  and I'm deaf.....even worse now probebly after this trip, everything is loud, speakers at full volume.....even people on the phone, Ive come to the conclusion that most of these people have phones but no batteries....they are saving up for them.....so to look cool they stop everynow and then, get out the mobile and shout to their relatives in Shangahi...they can probebly hear them as well....

I go to the meeting and meet up with my new travel companions. Three Australians, 2 Irish, 2 Swiss, an Argentinian and three of us Brits. a pretty mixed group but all seem fun. We have an itinery, the usual questions and were all out at 6pm for a Peking duck meal in an authentic Chinese restuarant. Our guide is called Jane, well at least that's what we call her I couldn't even begin to prenounce her real name, so Jane it is. She speaks excellent English and has a good nature so were all in good hands. I decided to get another shower and change, it was hot today, meet my new roomey, and go out. 

We had to walk a fair way to the restuarant, everyone was fresh and excited, chatting away, you get a good feeling about the group. The Argentinian lady cannot understand most of the conversation bless her so I started chatting away to her in Spanish, now my Spanish is not good, but Argentinian Spanish is even more difficult, very fast and different , but we muddle through. We arrived at the restuarant and all sat at one round table, Jane ordered, and then plate after plate just kept coming, We were given chop sticks at our welcome  meeting and, no one thought we'd actually have to use them......but we did.... I thought I'd starve to death, food flying all over the place, peoples laps.....but believe it or not i'm pretty good with them now...(not swallowed a plate yet;-))..I really enjoyed it, not like the Chinese i'm used to, buffet style, on the table, picking off your food onto a small plate and your bowl of rice....mmmmmm. It was a good night, We walked back through the Hutongs, back streets, so busy and bustling,  bought some fruit and eventually found our way back to the hotel.

Day 18 first road trip as a group...9th July.

The first morning I was up and about, got my snacks water and food for the bus ride we were going to  the wall about three and a half hours East of Beijing, finally leaving the smoke noise and bustle. The wall was an unrestored stretch we were going to and staying in a really small village in a '''home stay''...where you get to meet and live with families. In for a penny in for a pound, if they try to feed me something i don't recognise ..or don't want to recognise then I've got my snacks...man with a plan. We reached the village and it looked like something from the TV programme Kung Fu....surrounded by mountains, I was blown away. We were given our rooms and I was really surprised, it was a big courtyard with each of our rooms surrounding it...I was back in time, the rooms were smashing. We went out for a wander, quite an attraction for the villagers, Ive attached the photos of the village so you can see the views...believe me I took ALOT. 

Dinner time we were greeted by a smiling happy laughing lady, it was her house, she ushered us to our table and out came the banquet, again a buffet table style. Armed with my chopsticks there was no stopping me...dumplings, beef and cabbage, rice, sweet and sour chicken.....mmmmm loved it.  

As a group we are still getting to know each other, I can't write about them as they will be reading this :-) so I will be nice .....ish...Sitting upsatirs now outside in our courtyard its so peaceful, no noise, fresh air, lantrns lit, and great conversation. I love travel :-)

 Day 19 The wall.....10th July.

Today I was up early....ish....I wanted to get the sunrise but at 4:30am my alarm went off I just turned over and went back rto sleep, so no sunrise photos.....I did get up at 7am....(your all going to bed in Europe)  guess I wont be calling anyone for a few hours.....We have breakfast, not your wheatabix, not your muslei....bacon eggs,sausage....no toast, no youghurt....but rice, noodles...cabbage..pork...tofu....sometimes you could just cry. who eats tofu for breakfast?????? a third of the worlds population does...well they can have mine.. We packed our stuff and jumped into the minibus taking us to the wall, quickly jumped off again as we were walking.....5 hours along the great wall of China, owz that. It was overgrown and broken but you could clearly make out the structure,  sometimes just a track, sometimes the battlements or guard tower and the scenery was just amazing. even forgot about Tofu for breakfast. Some parts we were climbing steep steps, ridges with steep drops either side, stopping often to take pictures, I think I took over 300 photos....The Argentinian lady was really struggling, she has to be of cocoon age, she's retired so good on her for giving it ago, so she was led off while we trekked on. I dont mean led off and put down by the way..It was hard going, and a hot day...even the youngsters in the group were struggling, but we all soldiered on. after an hour or so we were led down  off the wall into the undergrowth to a small farmstead which had drinks, etc. so we rested up and plodded on back upto the wall.

We finally started to see people, up until now we were the only ones, so knew we were nearing the restored part of the wall at.....(dont ask me to spell it out)...begings with 'Ch'.....blah blah blah...'ing'....we made it , over 5 hours walking, and I loved every second. 

Our new accomodation was a hotel here, happy days, we had a meal together chatting excitedly about the day, everyone was dog tired, and the Argentinian lady smiling happily ,as she survived.....see they didn't shoot her.  I slept well that night, I think we all did, the room had aircon, a bathroom that smelled a shower that sprayed everywhere but on you, but we didnt care....

Day 20 back to Beijing and another train ride......11th July ...

Morning came too quickly, we were to have breakfast at 7am, pack our stuff and be on the coach for mid day, we had some free time so I sat in the gardens under the shade writing me blog, cup of tea. Jane did wangle me a boiled egg for breakfast and the fruit I bought earlier made up a nice noodle free start to the day. 

The mini bus came and we set off back to Beiijing, it will be a three hour trip, straight to the station to get the overnight train to Xi'an the city of the famous terracotta army. Looking forward to it. The journey back was unaventful, my bladder did start to burst but thankfully no bottle was needed as most of the others were as well, so the driver defly stopped mid traffic flow, pulled over next to a public toilet and we all piled out of the bus. fully relieved we set off again through the Beijing traffic jam. 

Arriving in plenty of time we got  off the bus with heavy packs and bags weaved our way through the crowds, if you can imagine walking through a Christmas eve shopping night in Oxford street it would not come close to the amount of people there was in front of us around us .....on us....I couldn't even zigzag!!, It was a busy place, outside the station were people squatting on the floor, whole families cooking and *eating

(I use this term loosley) people selling crap, people buying crap, the loud hailers were still trying to indoctrunate

you.....''the peoples liberation army are fun people''.....I will be glad to leave the City of Beijing. 

Once we threaded ourway throught the check point, ticket control, passport control, xray....we were inside, it was still busy, but more contained. We headed for the VIP lounge, expecting it to be posh, cool, quiet...it was none of those...not even close. I  went to the toilet, through a curtain, it stank, boy did it stink....I inched my way to the cubical, amonia stinging my eyes, there was a bloke casualy squatting, smoking a fag, door wide open for the world to see....I managed to go....just...washed my hands to see this chef from the cubical walk past me....dirty get.  We all took turns to get dinner, we had a choice of Mcdonalds, kentucky, pizza hut, all these were in the station....bliss...so stocked up we were ready for the 31 hour overnight train journey....what could be easier I survived 19 days on the trans Siberian with ''Bear wrestler'' dodgey trains...you name it...How wrong could I be!...On the Siberian there was 4 to a room...this train there was six...three tiers of bunks, in the cabin the same size....I was on the bottom bunk, in a room with 5 women...they were all giggling at the mad foriegner...bags and crap everywhere.....oh well only 31 hours...I got my trusty mug and made a cuppa...what else could I do. 

I went back to the cabin and there was even more in there, they obviously told their friends I was there ( the rest of the group were all split among the different carrages.) so sitting on a bed designed for one there was 5 people...all taking photos, trying to practise there English...I suppose it was nice...At 10 oclock the guards came and said something, they all got up and started to go to bed, wiping faces, guess it was bed time. Yes the jeans stayed on. 

It was a bad sleep, I didnt really sleep at all, at 4am I made another cuppa, ..watched the world go by....and finally around 6 the hive began to stir. We were due to arrive at 8;30am, I didnt bother to wash, they were in a row of three sinks outside along the wall.....not nice....mom would definatly not approve....the toilet was a hole in the floor, litrally.....no more will be said as to it's hygeine....just use your imagination. 

We got throught the station in Xi'an, another busy city, we caught a local bus and made our way to the hotel. Showered and had breakfast, a fryup....yes a fry up..not a chopstick or rice in sight....mmmmm. so nice. 

Day 21.....12th July Xi'an China.

After our breakfast we went to the market, this is a Muslim part of China, people dress differently, it is a different place , still busy, noisy, hectic, but the souq is the same as any middle eastern. I enjoyed threading my way up the narrow alley, occasionally you would hear a horn and people thrown this way and that as a local decides to drive their scooter up the middle of the alley. I've noticed in China they love noise, they cant push a button to flush a toilet, but the finger is always on a car horn!!...you want to start a revolution all you have to do is disconnect all the car horns or turn off the wifi....it will be bedlum. 

I love walking past the food stalls, hoping to catch a glimps of something sickening...believe me we saw alot...snakes in jars, duck heads...insects...turtles... we've eaten some peculier mixes as well, Janes really good at selecting stuff that wont make us barf....well me anyway...but weve been served roast potatos soaked in sticky toffee as a dessert....duckhead...chopped in a million pieces...maybe so it's unrecognisable? on a whole I've really enjoyed our meal times, sitting round a big round table, delving into the various bowls...very cultured. 

Today we had some free time, so we all split up, Kate was going to a massage place at 3pm so I was winding her up about it being a cover for ...well you know...I think she was letting it all go over her head, but later when we met up with her, ( Daniel and me offered to sit in the cafe next door incase she screamed out....but really we wanted to see the look on her face after the massage......and it was priceless;-)....well worth it..ha...) She said she was told to undress then alarm bells started to ring when she saw the bed...bless her...ha ha...She did say it was a good massage but they were rough....they??....We went into the place after time started to tick by and were greeted by  a few lady ''hosts''??? ....asked us if we wanted anything and showed us about 20 photos of grinning Chinese girls....I'm still suspicious about the place, but after a while managed to convey that we were here to meet our friend, about ten minutes later a relieved looking but robot moving Kate come out .....You had to laugh...until I got us lost....half the fun is getting lost...I learnt some good ol Aussie swear words :-)...That night we all went to a show, Xi'an cultural extravaganza.......it was a big place, and Ive never seen so many ''westeners'' in one place since arriving here. The meal was nice...dumplings of everykind...mmmm...then the stuff was cleared and the lights dimmed. the curtains opened, and the musicians all in traditional costumes began to warm up......after half hour I realised they were not warming up.....It was nice, very well done, and I enjoyed it ...but wont be buying the album...

Day 22 July 13th.....Terracotta Warriors....Xi'an China. 

Next day I was really excited, I was finally going to see the Terracotta Warriors, So far they've excavated a fraction, but there are thousands of life size Terracotta warriors made each with an individual uniform ,hair style,and face of a warrior to guard the emperor in the afterlife......( see this is what eating too many duck heads or Tofu will do to you.....) The obviously mad emperor had the complete palace burnt to the ground after they were all buried inside......bet that wasn't in their contracts?????..... The museum was a massive complex, that was filled with millions of tourists...and us....it was divided into several buildings, hot sweaty, and heaving...I got to see them though in all their glory, another tick off my bucket list. So happy. see the photos, they are still excavating, many are broken so piecing them together must be a painstaking task....i'm sure theres 1.5 billion offers of help.....

We came outside and headed for the restaurant. it was lunch time and we were going to catch the overnight train to Shanghai later. 

We were on and off public buses  in Xi'an, very proud, Jane would lead our small band through the crowds and we would pile on to the bus and be greeted by the astonished stares of the locals, a comment was made by someone in the group,  that they now know how it feels to be a star, people were photobombing you, or asking to have pictures with you constantly, especially James and Melanie who have blone hair....you cant walk five feet with out stopping....it's unreal. I was too busy checking my feet for flem to get photo's taken of me...they must have though I was a local. ;-)....

Another trip to the train station, another overnight train ....all the way to Shanghai....it's another long trip....I'm in a carrage away from the group but it would be a chance for me to update me blog, drink tea, relax and watch the world go by........or would it??????...This train was the same as the last one, crowded, six to a compartment...again I'm sharing with 5 women....( and what happends with trousers?????) ..it was a real re run of the last trip....200 giggling women in the cabin...photos...practising English with the same questions, smile politely....this time I was on the middle bunk so I jumped up and layed on the bunk before they all eventually got bored. I came down and made a cuppa, found the rest of the group in the next compartment ...then came back to write this blog....In the walk way theres a row of 2 seats and a small table so I plonked myself down there and began to type....looking up to see millions of eyes on me...( I now know what a caged animal feels like) Resisting the urge to scratch my nuts or throw feaces it was better for me to just go to bed, the girls were all touching their noses to their mobile phones.....oblivious to me now....cool....so I just layed there, drifting off to sleep....then my bladder decides it doesnt want to sleep....it wasnts to party....I really should stop drinking so much tea. off I plodd to the toilet....heaving as I hold on for dear life...not looking down....It's now about midnight, the hives asleep, it's all in darkness, I can hear a chant, obviously someone saying prayers but it's repetative and soothing.....that's nice I thought....then after 20 minutes it was still going on......CHHHHEEEEEEEWWWWWWWAAAAHHHHH blah blah......It got less soothing and I just wanted to send them straight to what ever diety they were praying too!!!! It must have stopped eventually, i'm not sure.......or someone else launched them off the train, I didnt hear it again. 

I had a broken sleep, I looked over to the women next to me snoring away, the girl in the top bunk with her mobile still glued to her nose chiming away as text after text arrived.....have these people not heard of earphones????? I tried to go back to sleep but decided it was time for a cuppa....well it was 4am.....I sat in the corridor looking at the world flash past....the sun was rising and the scenery was gorgeous , so just as well. We were due to arrive in Shanghai at 8.40am...at least i'll be up and ready. 

Day 23 14th July Shanghai......another dream....

Coming into Shanghai you can see it's wealthy, Jane said it's the most expensive place in China to live. very modern, skyrises everywhere, it looked a million miles away from Beijing. We pulled into the station, and the usual clamour to get off the train  but I was tired so just barged my way through. We had to get on the metro...... in rush hour, with backpacks.....don't ask how but we managed it....The hostel was smart, very much a backpacker hostel, western bar, menu....and travellers from all over...and French. We showered, had a full English, ( I also had youghurt musli and pancakes) Greedy get. 

So far so good, I loved the place already. We all jumped on the metro again and went to the river, the center of Shanghais, shopping, restaurant, banking and market district. It was great, a real modern city, clean...ish...and a european influence I think in the architecture. Still tired we walked around, and eventually everyone split off into groups, I just wanted something to eat, a drink and a chill for a bit. We all agreed to meet at a rooftop bar later on again. Kate  Daniel, Dierdra and Alisha and myself headed for pizza hut.....in keeping with our celebration of Marco Polo you understand. Good ol Marco. Thank you ;-) 

Now it will seem that i'm always eating or drinking, it's not strictly true, but after a while food becomes a topic of conversation on the road.....I did have a scare back in Mongolia where I got on a set of scales to find I'd gained 10lbs......Briann then pointed out laughing that I was still wearing me backpack, talk about relieved......he did dare me to write that in me blog.....We all met up in the rooftop bar, watched the sun go down and the city light up, really spectacular, it seems a different city at night, i like it. 

Day 24 July 15th on to Hongcun....by bus....

We were up early, as we were getting the public bus to Hongcun, 6 hours away, it was the usual rollercoaster ......race with the devil kind of journey it did go quicker than I was expecting and we were in one piece so happy days. The village was a really small place, Mr Woo was the family host we would be staying with, he was a smashing bloke, very friendly, spoke quite good English, and always running around for us. After an explore of the town which lasted 10 minutes....(big town you see) we went back to the room. The room I was very suspicious of 

.....I think Mr Woo was a front man for a ''mens club''....the bathroom had a full length window inside the room, luckily it had blinds, the lights were red....very worrying....

Day 25 July 16th....Yellow mountain trek..

Next day we were all up at the crack of dawn as we were trekking on the yellow mountain ( that may sound politically incorrect given our current geographic location but thats what the yellow people call it themselves) it will be busy so we had to get ahead of the crowds...i'm glad we did as it was already busy that early. Mr Woo drove us to the bus station we boarded the bus and then it was a spiraling rollercoaster ride of a drive up the mountain, horn blaring, people hanging on for dear life, Alton towers would have been proud.  After a short wait for the cable car we were rewarded by some spectacular views, It was hard going, step after step, but every highpoint was rewarded with a view to die for....see the photo's. It was busy and you spent most of the time dodging people, you  have no personal space here in China, if you could sell personal space here you would be WEALTHY.....really wealthy, no wonder they invented ''selfies''.....they only time they are truley not surrounded by 1 million people....recorded on film.. ...  just so they could see what it's like.. It rained to today, first time all trip, weve been lucky so far with the weather, but the clouds closed in and it was hard to see the vista infront of you. We came down about 2pm....totaly knackered, the cable car was abit bumpy on the way down, young Hugh visibly worried, then Kate comes out with, ''dont worry if we fall you wouldnt know after the first minute'' the terror on his poor face.....but we survived. Mr Woo picked us up again at the bottom of the hill, obviously the brothel business not so busy today, we went back to the hostel and waited for dinner. 

Day 26 July 17th .....moving on from mr Woo.....

Today we said goodbye to mr Woo, we were off to a village 40 minutes up the road it's where ''crouching Tiger hidden Dragon'' was filmed.....no I've not seen it either. It was a great place though, it was like walking back in time...trouble is if back in time meant one million Chinese with selfie sticks, stopping every hundred yards to annoy you, or screaming to their relatives on a phone without a battery infront of you then it's a wonder they had time to build a bloody great wall. I loved the village though, they have a market as well selling just about anything, We did have a first though, the lunch meal by universal vote was the worst one weve had, it was horrible.....Tofu would be like a sunday roast compared to this lunch. I'm sure they were all sniggering from the kitchen seeing what other crap they could get us to eat, one plate consisted of fat....who's I couldn't tell you but the table kept spinning and no one was clearing the bowls....luckily on the way out of the alley we found a ''tea shop'' they served real tea, waffles, cakes....so each and everyone of us stuffed our faces...mmmmm.....The entertainment  was Dierdra seeing a rat in the garden, then Kate, who's country has more things that will kill you bite you or sting you than any other country in the world screamed the place down after she saw it...bless her......probebly a take out for one of the tourists got loose. 

Next day we were heading back to Shanghai, I was looking forward to it as we will be staying here for a few days, time enough to do some washing, and catch up on all the bits and pieces. Sad though as 6 of the group will be saying farewell. Ive got to know them and they are a great bunch, all different walks of life with one common passion for travel, so nice, they made the trip I think. 

Day 27 July 18th.....back to Shanghai....hello clean skids....

The bus back was an early start again, it would take 6 hours, so wasn't looking forward to it....i'm not a fan of buses, this one was a public bus, better than you would think, but my seat kept reclining, must have been the ''g'' force....the roads were non existant, the imprints of my head are still in the roof.....the highlight was Daniel spotting a Kentucky frtied chicken sign when we pulled over for a rest stop, frantically searching the buildings we found it eventually, and had chicken for lunch....this provence of China is famed for ''smelly Tofu'' beleive me it is smelly, and enough to make you want to give up eating for life. it's why the Chinese stay so thin, they bring them here on a day trip and they never want to eat again....the rest of the trip flashed by....litrally...We soon reached Shanghai, back to the hostel we stayed in before, I made a ''Paul'' shaped hole through the door in anticipation of a full English breakfast, pancakes and musli with youghurt.....I was hungry. ...We went out that night for our last supper together. I know I know eating again.....Then went out on the town ...Saturday night in Shanghai....we went to a bar district...I was going to push the boat out and had a guiness....cost 60 yen.....six pounds....for a pint...we had to get a taxi home, luckily I had a brouchure from the hotel and it says in Chinese where the hostel is....Once I peeled Kate off the taxi driver for not turning on his meter...(kidding Kate ;-) ) he did get us all home, it would have been miles to walk and I didnt have the foggiest idea what way....(I did have a Guiness dont forget).....Daniel and a few of the others stayed at the club, they had a good night.....I was sharing the room  with Daniel and seeing im curled up on his bed in the feotal position next morning said it was a good night...

Day 28 July 19th.....Shanghai chill day...

Today I got up early...ish...did the washing and tucked into breakfast, James and Hugh got the 6am transfer to the airport. Daniella the 10 oclock ....the others came down for breakfsat one by one, all looking like death, Kate was the last to leave, a great fun bunch of people , our band of travellers now just 6....it was a good last night, and I think a few tears shed. thankyou all, it's been a pleasure. Now to talk about them ;-)..;-)....just kidding. 

I'm upto date now on this, been sitting here quietly reminising about the last weeks, Ive seen some amazing sights, Jane tells me the best is yet to come, we will head to Tulou tomorrow, on a bullet train...9 hours...I'm keeping an open mind. I didn't venture out, I tried a few times to get online, use skype or whatsapp to call but no luck I'll keep trying, it's been a month now i've been on the road, Ive got clean clothes, a full belly, nice hostel, but it would be nice to talk to friends and family. Ive managed to catch a cold, it's been three days and not feeling 100%...just hope it's not bird flu....blackdeath...or what ever else you can catch here.....I suppose ive been lucky, not had a bad case of the squits....and being in such close proximity to all the bad habits of the local inhabitants it could be worse. .....We have got a new addition to the group, an American guy will be travelling with us for th next 10 days, we head out to a restuarant for a meal, only a few of us now huddled around a table, thinking back to the excited chatter and banter of the last few weeks....I'm threatened with receiving a whatsapp pic from Kate of her  sunday roast ....mmmmmmm.........sunday roast how I miss you....

Day 29 ..20th July ....bullet train ''Harmony'' to Tulou...

Here I sit on a bullet train, we made it to the station in plenty of time, found our seats, (no compartments on this train....no  bunks for sleeping...).The announcment on the tanoy announces in English welcome to ''Harmony''...ahhhh that's nice...it's still busy but we have assigned seats, it's clean, modern, and sitting here  with cheeks slobbering as we reach breakneck speeds.....NOT....I think this bullet fires blanks,!! I saw a cow pass us earlier....perhaps we increase speed over time....i'll keep you posted.  It's 9 hours to our destination, i've got chocolate, my tea supply, a cup of  noodles....I'm ready. I think my bird flu has passed, maybe it's just a cold after all.....or a serious case of ''Man flue''....:-/ ... I've been looking at the speed indicator on the screen above the door, so far 210 klm an hour ...ive had 4 cups of tea, a noodle pack, two snickers, and it's only been an hour...;-/..all my stash gone already....The toilets i'm not worried about, they are clean, with a bigger more visable flush button so it has passed my inspection....but still wouldn't moms...im sitting between Alisha and Matt  behind is the rest of the group, we chat, doze, play cards....well I dont as I'm still dozing.....sleep broken by shouting  " is it a fight? " I ask Jane, ' no just someone on the phone.........The rest of the journey  seemed to fly by....not the train speed....still not reached anything more than the 210 mark.....doh....before long we reach the station and th e City of Xiamen....It's the usual scrum to get off....there's 50 million on this train.......:-/..but we get to the gates and temporarily split up as we go through the control, and I'm met by a young lady outside who says 'Hi I'm your guide",..No No we have a guide I said to which she patiently says no I'm your guide....this went on for some time back and forth...until she must have got bored and called Jane ..(our guide) to ask what this crazy English was talking about no doubt...It was our local guide...my bad...We were escorted to the mini van and told we have another 3 hour drive to the village, it was 9pm at this time....The three hours was nearer 4....it was chucking it down with rain.....quite a few rock slides along the road as theyve had some terrible weather recently...We all slept most of the way, but still knackered. We reached the village and it was dark, ..every sod was asleep no doubt....with our packs we marched up and down flights of stairs, small coubled paths which in the morning was about 20 foot sheer drops....the way was slippery because of the rain, my pack weighed a tonne...all I wanted was a bed....We reached our fortress, sheer walls and a big wooden door...inside it was a cross between the thunderdome and the Coloseum, it was huge...all wood...red lanterns, and really impressive. Apparently it's a 300 year old Hakka  house, ....at one time 800 people lived there ...all related...safe and secure in this fortress.....I was blown away...but also knackered so we were given our little rooms...on the top floor of course... a little wooden doorway and the bed....bliss....I just dropped my pack and slumped on the bed......

I slept all the way through, I woke about 7.30am....my body clock I think.....or more than likely a full bladder...I really should stop drinking so much tea, anyway I was awake. The room was small, really basic with a high window made of mozzi gauze, it had a toilet shower and that but in the old days a whole family must have lived in here. I went out and looked at the building in all it's glory, a complete circle of small doors streaching all the way round , 4 levels, encased in 2 meter thick walls, with a small monestary and buildings in the middle on the ground floor...really impressive. see the photo's.

Day 30  July 21st. Hakka village Southern China. 

All the others got up, and we had breakfast, I think we were the only ones staying here,( they must of heard I was coming and cleared out)..  there was a large family living here, but in a building so big they were lost.....it was the first time since arriving in China I've not felt suffocated by the sheer volume of people... sooooooo nice!!!...and peaceful...all I can hear is the river below...birds....I'm in heaven. We had breakfast....noodles cabbage rice and egg....oh wheetabix...why out thy forsaken me????...I have got some rasin bread left over so stuffed my face with that after...;-)... We went on a walk around the village, only 4000 inhabitants....there was three of these big Hakka fortresses in total..we went into the biggest which was 600 years old.... it was a museum and not much different from ours we stayed in, but showed you a glimps of life in these all them years ago. I couldnt get over the fact they were all mostly related....someone marries...you move into the fortress...have kids ...they marry...so on and so forth....We did a couple of treks around the village, it's so lush and green, rice paddies, banana trees...ponds , rivers and lakes, a really lovely place, I liked it. 

After lunch we were moving on again back to Xianmen. so a three hour bus ride....it was abit easier, no rain this time and we stopped often...so not so bad. This place is really modern, doesn't seem as busy as the other cities. We arrived at the hotel, and checked in, it's a nice hotel, modern clean. We freshened up and all headed out. By universal vote we all opted for a steakhouse restuarant....big mistake, the order took forever and a day to take, then what we asked for we didn't get, and wasn't even nice....I'm trying not to think what my "steak" might have been.....but it wasn't beef. :-/ ..

Day 31...July 22..out and about in Xianmen....

Morning came, I slept well and felt refreshed. had my morning cuppa then went down for breakfast.....oh what culinary delight is in store????..Noodles, Tofu, cabbage, chilli,...but wait...boiled eggs...and bread rolls? I took three boiled eggs....not sure if it's Chinese policy to have only one like there children, but I took three, and a bread roll....The eggs were lovely, the bread roll was filled with cabbage....not so lovely but ok after you scraped out the middle....Today we were off sightseeing, going to the "beach"dont think I've seen the sea in nearly a month so it will be nice....We took a public bus to the main shopping area, we all split up as the others wanted to shop....I wanted to eat....( spotted a pizza hut) so agreed to meet at 1pm at Walmart. It's nice travelling with people, the conversations, laughter, but sometimes I crave some me time, so this was a great opportunity later on after eventually getting to the "beach" ...seeing the entire population fully clothed standing up to their ankles in the water I decided to leave the group to it and jumped in a taxi. It was easier than I thought, I got offered three seperate lifts by random cars, nice of them, but unsure of the protocol decided I'd stick with a taxi. He pulled over after seeing me...mid traffic...car horns blaring....screaching tyres...I thought id been responsible for the worst car pile up in Chinese history, you would be reading about me on the news..." English who wears trousers to bed causes 1 billion car pile up.....the irriot"....but thankfully no harm done...I showed him the directions in Chinese....he studied it a worryingly long time....can he read? Will I get there? at last he was happy and we pulled off....car horns going off...screaching tyres...we were off. It only took 15 minutes to get back, he put me right outside the door, he put the meter on when I got in so everything was great. bless him.

I went up to the room, done some washing in the sink, repacked my bag as tomorrow we are catching a flight early doors...I went out to the local market, bought some more toothpaste, two snickers,  and a couple of lemons. I fancied honey and lemon to get rid of me cough...I enjoyed milling around, I soaked in the atmosphere, chuffed that i'm in China walking about. 

Day 32  23rd July. flight to ......

At 4;30 am my alarm goes off, "noooooooooo." time to get up as were off to the airport to go to Yangshuo. One more week in China left now. On the 29th we reach Hong Kong. then a few days there on my own as the group tour has finished. I'm not a facebook addict by a long shot, but being without social media I miss it, no Instagram, Flikr, Facebook, Clare said there's alot on my wall on facebook so looking forward to catching up. 

I'm sitting here now on the plane, we got to the airport on time....ish....It would be an hour long flight, there was abit of turbulence so they stopped the meal service...phew....I was at the back so was one of the first to get a face cloth and a meat filled roll thing.....the facecloth tasted good...;-/ ...Before long we were beginning our decent, and landed no problem, it was raining....still is raining, big ol fat heavy rain, glad I packed a poncho. We were met by Jimmy. All the Chinese have adopted these western names, I've met countless pople who when I asked their name they say Sally ...Micheal...Danni....doesn't it get confusing for them??? We had an hour and a half drive to the hotel and the village, The scenery was amazing, tall mountains and green everywhere...so nice. 

The hotel was great, clean,a restuarant downstairs that has all kinds of food.....(some not Tofu or noodle based..) We were going to be here for a few days so it was laundry time....always nice to have fresh clothes. 

After settling in it was a short ride to the docks as we were going on th Li River, it was still raining...hasn't stopped raining yet...but the boats got a canopy, and the description "bamboo boat" is a little misleading....it seemed safe enough. we were on two boats....4 on each, and the manic bustle of the jetty dissapeared as we set off. It was fantastic....I kept picturing a scene from "Apocalyps now" when they are going up the river to find the renegade Colonel......it was amazing. Sheer mountains all around us, covered in green trees from head to toe. The river was busy with similar boats.....really busy....we were taking photos of the gorgeous scenery the other "tourist" boats were all taking pictures of us....oblivious to the surroundings.....it was like the "Cardishians were on tour" ...We arrived at a village, had a wander round it was mostly shops but nice enough. After a brief stop we set off again passing water buffalo, Cormeran fisherman all hundled out the rain. I wanted a good picture of them in action but alas even a fish would drown in this rain.....I saw ducks sobbing their hearts out. .........

After coming back we had a walk round to perdestrian street, and eventualy took shelter in a bar. The rain did stop, at least long enough to run to a resturant. I opted to go to an Indian place I spotted earlier, I've not had a "Ruby" in ages.....so I pigged out...chicken Tikka Masala, Alo Gobi, Nann bread and rice....bloody lovely..I ate the lot. 

I took a slow walk home, I had a rough Idea as to where the hotel was, so passed the shops selling just about everything...... along the road I walked...upto the garage I rememberd,  then took a left...after that I didn't recognise anything...doh....I had a card in my pocket with the address of the hotel so wasnt worried. Eventually I saw a rickshaw parked up with the passengers getting off so showed the lady driver the card....she made the cross sign with her two fingers from each hand.....In our culture this means "unclean"....devil....but here its 10 so for ten yen she will take me back to the hotel. It was only around the corner but I would never have found it so good on her. 

Day 33 24th July. Yangshuo....rest day...

Today was a lazy day, I got up late, had a smashing breakfast and generaly feeling better, I think my colds getting better...the curry last night helped. I got all my camera gear and walked back to the river for a day to myself, I walked up the river in the hope of catching my Cormeran fisherman but no sign. it rained on and off I was getting wetter wearing my poncho in a humid 80 degree heat....I got some nice shots, found a little embankment down a steep set of steps.....I was busy looking through the viewfinder getting the right moment only to look up with a family staring at me over my shoulder....after a few minutes of "where are you from"..."what is your name?" ...........there English words repetoire exhausted they bid me farewell....After a long ol day I walked back to the padestrian street....or at least started to walk back....a motorbike taxi pulled up and I thought what the hell save my long walk. We weaved our way through the traffic and made it safe and sound....I payed him his fare....10 yen.....and he happily rode off  whilst I walked like John Wayne for an hour after.

I fancied a spagetti bolognese today...theres a few Italian places, so picked a nice one, ordered and watched the crowds move infront of me, I love people watching....A guy in traditional costume arrived and started to make noises with a recorder, now I admire anyone who can play a musical instrument, but accordians and recorders seem to grate me for some reason, I was just trying to imagine him playing it where I would like to insert it and thankfully he moved on. My spagetti came just as a Chinese family came to sit at the next table, they all looked as I began to eat and chatted excitedly, occasionaly looking my way....probebly saying something like "look at that dirty get eat"...they had ordered a spagetti as well and and all 5 were taking in turns copying me eat, they were smiling and obviously liked their spagetti when I gave them the thumbs up....I got a rickshaw home after that, It was a good day, very chilled. 

Day 34 25th July....still raining.....

We had another free day here, it was still raining so I had a late breakfast, I decided it wasnt going to let up anytime soon so armed with a poncho headed to town, it's a half hour walk but after the "rickshaw ride of death" decided on using my own steam. It wasnt busy, probebly due to the monsoon rains, but I reached the pedestrian street eventually. I sat in a cafe called Lucys, had an apple crumble......or at least an immitation as to what they think apple crumble should be....an aquired taste.... The rain eased off slightly eventually so I thought sod it and  ended up in the Ganges restuarant for another ruby......highlight of the day for sure. ....

day 35 26th July.....Up to the Longji rice terraces.... 

It was still raining when we got up....we were taking a 4 hour minibus ride to the rice terraces where the locals have long hair by tradition. and they grow rice....hence the name.....The journey was great as I got to see the mountains albiet through the rain. We had to take a detour as the rains had washed the mountain away and blocked the road, thank goodness we weren’t there when it happened.  It was a longer trip than expected, but eventually we arrived in a busy bus station. Jane had organised a bag storage for us so we didn’t have to yomp up a mountain with our heavy bags, it was a steep enough climb with just my camera bag, so glad we did. I took  enough skids and a change of clothes for a couple of days......I was already wet through ..doh... The steps were made slippery by the rain and mud, and they were not even steps but rocks, it was an effort for sure but we all arrived at the hostel for the night....It wasn’t the best we’ve stayed in but it was dry....I stripped off and had a hot shower, put my dry clothes on and hung up all the wet stuff.....then had some dinner. As usual we all sat round a big round table, I ordered sweet and sour chicken with rice.....to be honest I’m getting sick of rice and noodles....eating with chop sticks....wondering what meat it actually is, it was great at first, but I miss a roast....meat and potatoes.....veg...food you can identify. The meat you get here in China is always chopped up whole animal, head feet and various other bits.....so it’s a mouth full of bone, Jane says they dont fillet meat, its quicker to hack it into a million pieces and you can pick the bones out with your chop sticks....no bloody wonder all the Chinese are stick thin!!...I finished my what ever it was.....and took a few snaps out the door whilst holding an umberella....yes it was still raining, good job we were on a mountain, I was half expecting the “ark” to come floating by any minute.....the scenery was gorgeous, hope the rain stops so I can see it properly. 

It didn’t let up but I went up the mountain anyway, took some photos and came back.....wet....my other clothes were still wet as well....doh. After another shower, with the biggest cockroach youve ever seen, I went to bed and hoped it would dry out in the morning.

Day 36 27th July.....any one seen the Ark?????....

It was still raining, and today we had to trek 4 hours to the next village, worst of all none of my stuff was dry, so I had to wear wet stuff, I’m sure i was going to get wetter anyway. The going was tough, water was cascading down the mountain infront of you, the rocks were slippery, I couldnt even see the rice fields as it was cloudy as hell. We did stop a few times, and met some of the locals selling postcards and crafts of some sort, no tshirts though. Most of the women we met looked to be in their late 40’s....but had long long thick black hair wrapped in a bun, some wore hats some didnt but I took some photo’s ,they didn’t mind. Eventually we reached the other hotel, it was ALOT nicer than the last one and the place was set in an old world village, it was like you was back in time, I loved it, the hostel was run by a young couple, they’d make “doogey Howser “look old....but had a great set up, he was however a “Manchester United “ fan....wore the top, the emblem painted on the walls....so obviously quite mad, but at least he’s happy ;-) 

Finally the rains stopped.....yey.. I got my clothes washed and dried, and headed out, I saw old ladies sitting working their stalls, villagers at work, and some gorgeous scenery. There was alot of Chinese tourists as well, all stopping infront of you, or walking at 0.00001 mile an hour.....some obviously telling their relatives in the UK how great and peacefull this place was without the use of a battery in the phone....but unphased I resisted the urge to push them over the edge into the rice terraces below, and carried on taking photos and taking in the scenery. I came back to the hotel happy as larry and sat with the group as they played cards, pool, and darts. In a few days we will be going our seperate ways, and i’ll be flying solo again. 

Day 37 28th July.... Onwards to the city of Dazhai 

I woke up early and looked out the window half expecting it to be pouring down, but to my relief it wasn’t....I grabbed my bag and went out, I climbed to the top of the “dragons back” so I could take some photos of the whole of the Rice terraces, the view was amazing, and I was in my element. It was still early so no Chinese tourists were in the way with selfie sticks, or phones without a battery....i was virtually alone....there were a few western tourists, mainly Dutch, but politley waited while you took a photo and wished you goodmorning. I came down the mountain after a couple of hours I was getting hungry, but walking around the village which was coming alive I had to keep taking photos, I loved it....Eventually I got back to the hotel, the others were just getting up so we had breakfast together, luckily there was no rice or noodles in sight.....”doogey” and his wife did us a fry up......ish, washed down with a cup of tea. The rain was still holding off so I finished up and packed. We were heading off again at 2pm down the mountain, to get in a minibus for an hour and a halfs drive back to the bus station, pick our packs up, and then a 4 hour drive to Dazhai where we will be spending our last night in China. 

No wonder I’m knackered......We had lunch at 1 and then we all shuffled off in single file down the steps....it wasn’t raining the the going was alot easier, until you got behind a group of neon clad Chinese tourist waving selfie sticks around like a ninja sword ( honestly they are more vain than the Cardishians) We made it down and onto a minibus, just managing to get in with all our stuff, the driver was having a fit and Jane was having a hard job negotiating, but she did bless her. It was a long day, eventually reaching the city early evening, we checked in and went out for the last Chinese supper......we walked along the river, it was quiet a modern city, still busy but not as mental as Beijing or Xian....after the meal we went back to the hotel knackered.

Day38 29th July....Hong Kong on the bullet train..

We were all up early, some anyway, there was always one member of the group who was constantly late, I shall refer to them as “Yoda in drag” I wont be sad to see the back of Yoda....I’m quite a patient person but if you can imagine an accordian player and a flute player playing a duet thats how this person grated me ( and you all know how much I dislike accordians and flute)  It could be the 20 odd years in tourism, I could have become less patient with age but Jane had alot of patience  good on her as there could have been a murder. We reached the station, only had a short wait as we were running late....again....and boarded the train. Hopefully this train will be faster than the last one and I dont have to sit next to Yoda....We did actually get up to 300 klm and hour....owz that...I wasnt quite pushed back in my seat, far from it, to celebrate I got up and made a cup of tea....at 300 klm an hour....beat that PG....;-) 

It was only a 4 hour trip to the boarder, it really did go quick. We got off and trundled through the station, jumped on a metro ( we are now pros) and reached customs. I still get anxious at customes, overthinking all the scenarios, seeing the signs about medical conditions, the immagration staff all wearing surgical masks.....is there something that I don’t know about???? Thankfully it was easy, a far cry from Russian customs...we were clear. Up the stairs, and into Hong Kong customs, again effortless. I couldn’t get over the signs were all in English, from bus tickets to shops to everything. Even Daniel the Aussie said you did a good job here, it was like a different world. We were now in HongKong.....the wifi hotspots are all over the place, I signed on one on the metro and immediately my phone chimed pinged, blinked and wirred.....all my facebook, instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, and everything else came through from the past month....heaven.......how did we survive with out internet?????? I’m back on the grid...:-);-).....

We were in downtown Kwaloon, right in the Temple night market district. it was buzzing but less busy than the Chinese cities, there was a really big UK influence still. It was so so different from mainland China. I love it. The sky scrappers are huge, new, modern. The old city has a real character, the restuarants....and there is ALOT of them............. have a completely different menu....still rice and noodles but alot of “whole” meat or fish as opposed to bone and nibbles....maybe it’s just me, i’ve been withering away for the past month eating with two sticks trying to get at least a bite sized morsel into me gob. Hello HongKong.......

The hotel was clean, the room was tiny......but the location was spot on. We got changed and headed out for dinner....our last one.......... as a group.....believe me I am planning to eat again.....ALOT!!!!!!!!. without bloody chop sticks....without rice....noodles.....Tofu....or chopped up ducks. I’m talking FOOD. I must confess I may have gone a little over board on the food front, I had a Burger and a spagetti in the same couple of hours.....they drink tea here like home......real tea with milk....heaven. 

We had our dinner in a street restaurant with everyday working HongKong people....next stop was the Avenue of the stars it’s right on the corniche and the skyline of Hongkong is just lit up infront of you, really amazing to see........I had a picture of me kicking Bruce Lee’s ass......believe me he never moved again after I finished with him ;-) ...After that we went to the bar district for a celebration drink, It was packed, people from all walks of life. This was our final night, there was short speeches, thankyou’s and a sense of relief......well for me anyway as I hadn’t killed “yoda” .....Deirdra was leaving at 4am, it was already midnight so we headed back. I was happy as I no longer had to zig zag my way because no one spits on the floor..... and everyone queues......queues.....sometimes I think they queue just because there’s someone in front of them, it’s brilliant very civilised. 

Day 39 30th July.....The End.....

Today we all said our goodbyes, some were flying off, some staying on, myself I was checking into the “harbour view” hotel on Hong Kong Island....very posh, a little treat for me. I got the metro and found the hotel no problem, checked in and had an explore. I wanted to see Victoria hights...they have a tram that goes up to a great vantage point overlooking the coolest skyline on the planet. The queue though was enormous......bloody queues.....I waited patiently, sweating all over....we were moving agonisingly slow.... I think it was two hours later I boarded the tram for the 5 minute ride to the top.....:-/ I did see Daniel Joshka and Melenie briefly as they were queueing to go down........we waved and thats the last I see of them .....hopefully they are reading this, I just want to say good luck, it was great travelling with you’s and happy travels. .....

The views were spectacular, I got up there just as the sun was going down and took photo after photo as the city just came to life below me, each click was a different photo, I loved it. Hence I posted aload on the blog....just think yourselves lucky I didn’t post more ;-) ......Some had selfie sticks or heads infront where I was photo bombed....but got alot of good ones so can’t complain. I eventually packed up all my gear and tripod and headed for the exit. It was coming up to 10 pm, and there was still alot of people about, restuarants were still open....shops....you name it. I got to the terminal for the tram and the queue was huge....again....I waited an hour but got down and got back to the hotel with my nice comfy room overlooking the harbour ....what a day. 

Day 40 31st July .....hotel change.....

I decided to only book one night in this hotel originally, I’m on a budget, so every now and then I like to treat myself. Next day I was booking into another hotel in Causeway bay, I love all the English names, everywhere you go is a reminder of the former colony. One street I came across a sign “Pennington Street” I kid you not, I posted it on Facebook with a caption “ kicked Bruce Lee’s ass , now they name a street after me “ ....The new hotel is great, half the price but clean, friendly and central. It was a chill day to get some bits, namley a new tablet as my last one comitted harry carry if you remember, and writting this blog on a phone is not funny. I got a good deal on one and loaded it all up so working a treat.....and I’m writting on it now.....happy days. I repacked, ate.....drank tea....wandered about....ate....drank tea.....so nice. I love how the people are so friendly here, all speak English, there’s so many expats here as well. I like the place, it’s London in the sun. 

Day 41 1st August.......Thailand here I come.....

Today I’m off to Thailand. Originally I was flying into Vietnam but couldn’t get my visa in time so decided to spend some time in Thailand, get my Visa for Vietnam and take a look around. I’ve been here before, I came in 1997 for a month so it will be nice to see the places again.....with a camera. 

I have to check out at 12 so put my bag in storage and went out. My flight isn’t until 9:30pm so had a bit of time to kill before heading to the airport on the metro. It took half hour to get to....under the sea to Lantau island....millions of tonnes of water over me head......hope it doesn’t spring a leak.:-) 

I survived, got to the airport in plenty of time, had a wander around.....proud that my bruv helped build this thing.......good on you bruv. I cleared customs, went to departures and waited.....and waited..... The flightboard didnt seem to want to tell you what gate number the flight was leaving from, it was now 8;30pm all the other flights had a gate number so I just headed for the gates.....there was loads of them..... so many a train had to take you to them.....I waited patiently....others seemed to be waiting as well looking at the board expectantly...it was now 9pm.....still no number.....At last the number appeared....gate45...we all jumped on the train....up the moving walkway...running to to gate. made it.....the numbers on the screen .....but no plane .....9:10pm....an anouncement comes over the tannoy flight to Bangkok air asia change of gate it’s now 40.....so off we all dash to gate 40....9:30pm.....We all had to wait before they let us on board, Ryan air seem like customer service gods compared to this lot. Eventually we were let on board, took off albiet half hour later but on my way to Bangkok Thailand.

I’ll end this China blog here, as well quite frankly it’s no longer China..........I had such a great experience, ticked off my bucket list the great wall of China, the Terracotta warriors, Shanghai, Rice Terraces, and Hongkong. Met some great people, seen some gorgeous scenery, had my patience tested and survived. It may seem I was negative about the people, food etc.....but each country is a different experience culturally .......I love travelling and always have, and loved my experience of China both good and bad.......  this has been a highlight for me especially after the stress of my last job.....I feel alive again, I would recommend anyone to come visit China it’s an amazing place.......but bring a pair of wellies ;-)