Hong Kong Express

Another blog - and yes - I have gone Sepia mad on my camera! (Mainly owing to the haze/heat/smog!) Thank you for all your lovely comments - keep them coming - even if it has turned into a chat room for my family!!

Leaving the 5 star luxury at Claire's I joined a tour group to travel from Beijing to Hong Kong - The Hong Kong Express! The only Brit in the group - and therefore the lone Scotswoman - my new Aussie, Kiwi and Stateside friends struggled to understand a word I said, many of them asked the others to translate (apparently we Scots talk really fast!), with others guessing what I had just said and then replying "Yes please," and helping themselves to my cup of tea when I had asked about a departure time or to borrow a book!! That said, it was fantastic to travel with this fun group of people and they prepared me for the Aussie lingo - and various ways that Australians (Simo McGregor!) like to pose for a photo.

My Australian room-mate, Sarah (aka Lady B (due to her prim and proper way and hate of squat toilets!/Birdie (due to the fact that she kept sneezing and therefore possibly has bird flu!), was very quickly subjeted to my funny Scottish (and made up - Kate!) sayings, long showers, repertoire of songs (the tattie soup song was a fave - Joolz!) and non-stop chatter. Despite all of this, and not getting off to the best of starts (picture me with my two huge rucksacks banging on Sarah's hotel room door. Her answering in a towel. Me introducing myself (don't think she understood a word I said!) before leaving her to get showered and dressed - but taking with me the room key which was also the electricity card for the room. Plunged into darkness by a crazy Scottish lass, alone in Beijing on her first trip away from Australia, Sarah was deservedly worried!!), we got along famously well. (Well, at least I thought we did! Sarah was quick to admit that her roommate "could have been worse"!) You learn a lot about someone when travelling with them . . . both the annoying habits and adorable traits (not sure which category a piggy snort comes into!)

Before leaving on an overnight train to Xian we had two days together in Beijing in which to climb The Great Wall and visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. No visit to China is complete without a trip to "The Wall" and as Mao Zedong said: "He who has not climbed The Great Wall is not a true man."

The Great Wall stretches from the Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert. It was started in 221 BC and completed in 207 BC. It was the emperor Qin Shi Huang who joined all of the sections of the wall together to create the 5000km long wall that stands today and that was formerly used as a border between China and Mongolia, but which was never really used as a defence. We climbed one of the steepest sections of the wall at Simitai in the Miyun County. A steep ascent, we began to climb the neat steps as the sun grew stronger in the piercing blue sky. After passing through a few watch towers the ascent lessened and the view grew more and more spectacular. Looking back over the mountains, the wall zig-zagging into the distant haze as far as the eye could see, was breath-taking. The locals walked with us, each assigning him/herself to one of us, giving us snippits of history, hoping to sell us some souvenirs at the end in exchange for this company/information. However, my intolerance kicked in (yet again!) and by the 5th watch tower I was ready to throw my local man, a young farmer, from the wall.

As well as The Great Wall, no visit to Beijing is complete without a wander across Tiananmen Square, the symbolic centre of the Chinese universe, kites spiraling high in the sky, red flags fluttering bold against the grey buildings, monuments and a vast expanse of paving stones. Tiananmen Square is the world's largest public space with Chairman Mao keeping watch over everything, his larger than life portrait (that is currently peeking through the green mesh and scaffolding) on the Gate of Heavenly Peace at the Northern end of the square. The slogans "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and "Long Live the Unity of the People of the World" are written next to him. The Temple of Heavenly Peace is not the only building to be getting work done. With the upcoming Olympics in Beijing in 2008 it seems that the Chinese are full-steam ahead with their restoration work. Entering the Forbidden City it became apparent that all of the main Halls and Gates were a mass of scaffolding, some adorning a cover with a lifesize picture of the given hall on it! Marveling at the terracotta roofs with the carved animals parading down the top (the more animals, the more important the building was) and the brightly coloured eaves, we wandered through the ancient buildings.

Finally it was time to leave China's capital city and head for a more rural area with our local tour guide, Jenny. Time for the first of our two overnight trains. A seasoned pro (Inter-railing/Trans-Siberian) I was excited at the prospect of being lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the train . . . though had forgotten that the less peaceful element of sharing a carriage was that you had to put up with other people! The snoring/grunting/snorting and spitting (on the floor of the train!) were a rude awakening - thank goodness for I-pods! However, this said we did have lots of fun in our 6-bedded compartments, meeting the locals, playing games and hiding Jenny's duck!

The train was an ideal time to question Jenny and I quizzed her about the upcoming Moon Festival. As with the Japanese, the Chinese enjoy celebrating festivals and I saw a lot of advertising about the upcoming Moon Festival (Zhongqin Jie) on September the 18th (that was also celebrated in Japan). While we say we see a man in the moon, the Japanese say they see a rabbit, so I was keen to find out about the beliefs in China. Asking Jenny what she saw when she looked in the moon she told me that the Chinese also see a rabbit, who is sometimes accompanied by a woman. There has been too much smog or skyscrapers in the way - but the next time I see the Asian moon I will look for the rabbit in the moon.

Rain streaked across the windows, fields of corn blurring into the distant mist as our train headed for Xian in the Shaanxi province. Arriving in a torrential downpour, a sea of umbrellas, we paddled through the puddles with our laden rucksacks. Compared to Beijing, Xian was easy to navigate and more manageable as a tourist. We were staying in the Christian YMCA hotel in the town centre, that had sex toys on the bedside table and a dodgy "men only" sauna upstairs. How Christian! In need of relaxation after our long train journey and rainy arrival, but miffed about not being able to have a massage in the hotel, we headed to the Xian Hotel where I had the third of my 3 Chinese massages. . .and my first experience of both a bum and ear massage! Lying in a room with Sarah and Shellee, the three Chinese men assigned as our masseurs pounded us within an inch of our lives! Trying not to get the giggles as they skimmed over our tickly bits, and trying hard to relax (which is hard when receiving what I consider to be torture treatment!) we each experienced our first bottom massage, with Sarah finally uttering the question on each of our lips: "Are you guys getting a butt massage too?!" to which we all once again got a fit of giggles! We had only just managed to control our hilarity and begun concentrating on trying to relax when . . .the masseurs moved on to our face and started massaging our nostrils . . . and then our ears! Hysterical!

Looking for something more relaxing to do we wandered around the back alleys of the Muslim Quarter of Xian, browsing through the market stalls of foods and tourist tat. At the entrance to the Muslim Quarter lies The Drum Tower, a copy of the town's Bell Tower that lies in the centre and dates back to 1384. We explored the Great Mosque, one of the largest in China, that looked not dissimilar to a temple due to the Chinese style of architecture. Muslims in skull caps darted in and out of prayer sessions as we meandered through the gardens and gates, our cameras a rude intrusion in this tranquil religious setting. After this peaceful environment we took a rickshaw ride with a crazy Chinese driver, who wouldn't stop posing and shouting over the street to his friends as we whizzed along on his rickerty ride, getting a glimpse of the city walls and the Bell and Drum Towers. The city walls of Xian are the best preserved in China, dating back to the Ming Dynasty, and strech for 14kms around the city.

No trip to Beijing was complete without a visit to The Great Wall and The Forbidden City, and a trip to Xian is incomplete without visiting the Terracotta Warriors who are standing in battle formation guarding the tomb of the emperor Qin Shi Huang. The three vaults contain the remains of thousands of life-size terracotta warriors and their horses, many of whom would previously have held real weapons. The different poses, facial expressions and clothes can be seen on those warriors that have been excavated and we were amazed to learn that their really was no purpose to this amazing artistic force other than an emperor with a big ego!

Leaving Xian we took a short flight to Guilin and a bus to the town of Yangshou in the Guangxi Province, our guide Jenny's hometown. The town lies near the Li River and is surrounded by rice paddies and 20,000 limestone karsts, and has therefore become a backpacking paradise. We hired bikes and peddled precariously out of the city and into the lush countryside (Brendan and Lady B donning their traditional Chinese hats!). We whizzed by farmers sitting in fields looking after their cows, women watering paddies of rice or struggling along the road laden with bushels of vegetables. We cycled to the Moon Hill, a rocky archway that sits on the peak of a hill. Clambering up the steep steps, a woman selling water by each of our sides (just like at The Great Wall they accompanied us all of the way up, fanning us when we stopped, and then offering us water at inflated prices when we look like we are about to pass out!). The views from the top were outstanding. The limestone mountains, an endless wave of peaks merging into the distance, small villages in the valleys below.

The following day a boat trip down the Li River saw more of these stunning mountains, including the view that is captured on the 20 Yuan note. The limestone karst countryside in the area said to be an inspiration for both poets and painters. 190million years ago this area was part of the ocean, but with movement in the earth's crust the karsts were pushed upwards creating this magical scenery. Today this area is a real tourist trap, with Yangshou being a haven for the backpacking community who comes to the area to climb/cycle/walk during the day, and relax/party in the evenings.

Returning from our boat trip we stopped at a traditional Chinese market, not like the ones in the cities with tourist tat, this one was for the locals. The sights and smells take me on the biggest eye-opening and nostril-cleansing journey as we wander through the rows of stalls. Chickens squawk, ducks quacking, as they are weighed before being dumped in a sack for the buyer to take home, feathers falling on wicker baskets of their friends left behind. Stall after stall of red-raw meat, vegetables piled high, colourful arrays of fruit. Sacks of spices, dried and pickled foods and sweet treats. Dentists hard at work, rusty pliers in their hands. Shoe shine and bike repair stalls, always busy. Women waddle down the aisles laden with goods, the men awaiting their return on the nearby carts. The hustle and bustle of these Chinese markets is fascinating to watch, the smells exotic and potent.

Yangshou was the last stop of our China tour and after another night train we arrived in Guangzhou where we took a ferry over the border to Hong Kong. Jenny, our tour leader, did not continue to Hong Kong with us and so we explored ourselves, with Simo as our guide (as he had spent a few weeks there previously). In the humidity, and inbetween downpours, we ventured up Victoria Peak on a scarily steep vernacular railway! From the top of the peak we could peek out over the city - the skyscrapers below us in the haze. Leaving Hong Kong Island - Central, and taking the Star ferry back to Kowloon we were able to get our bearings and explore the shops on Nathan Road. The last night of our tour had arrived and we enjoyed our last Chinese meal (and a birthday celebration for both Sarah and Carol - Happy Birthday girls!) before heading back over to Central to go out in Lan Kwai Fong. A fabulous way to end the trip! (Although the hangovers the next day allowed us only to wander between coffee shops and market stalls!)

The culinary delights have been endless in China and after the delicious Japanese/Brazilian/Vietnamese foods in Beijing, the more traditional Chinese meals were an interesting feast. With shitake mushrooms, lotus roots, pak choy, beans and broccoli for me, the others enjoyed Peking duck, pork (dog?!) filled dumplings and chicken feet! The bread here is sweet, like in Japan, although for the first few days Sarah and I were happy to live on banana sandwiches for breakfast. However, we soon became more adventurous and enjoyed several different types of veggie jiaozi (dumplings). Jenny, the tour guide, was fantastic at ordering a range of mouth-watering dishes for us to choose from . . . and I seriously was unaware of just how many types of tofu there were! We also tried a traditional hot pot meal where we sat around hot pots with fish heads in broth and added our skewers of veg and meat to the fishy or spicy broths.

While ordering food was tricky, and the English on the signs often hysterical, the language barriers seemed to be less when bartering for goods in the markets as many of the sellers knew enough English to drive a hard bargain (and Claire had taught me the Chinese for "too expensive" which made the stall holders laugh!) Desperate stall holders could be seen grabbing hold of your arm and many shop assistants follow you around, pestering yout to buy their fake designer goods and silk pashminas. In the Silk Street Market in Beijing, Claire took me to the pashmina stall belonging to her "sisters" in order to get a good price, however else where I enjoyed haggling for myself - such a "good hag"!

The "sisters" I mention are what the Chinese girls call their friends. Owing to the one child rule that still exists in the cities (in the countryside they are allowed to have two children) the girls call their close friends their sisters. While it is nice to see that these girls have a bond similar to that of a sibling, I did read that the one-child rule is creating a generation of spoilt children as parents and grandparents worship the single heir to their family fortune (especially if it is a boy!). Apparently if a family has more than one child they must pay for the education/healthcare etc of the other child, and if they are unable to do this they must put their child up for adoption. All families hope for a boy to lead their family name on, and I did hear there was now a shortage of women in the latest generation and that therefore a lot of wife-swapping would be going on! This may just be rumour!

This is therefore the end of the first leg of my "Round the World Tour" and the first of Anna's Adventures Abroad! Thanks to all the gang that made this trip such a memorable one. It was an emotional farewell (especially as it almost looked as if I was staying in Hong Kong after missing my airport transfer!) but I will look forward to catching up with you all at various stages as I continue on my tour. Next stop: Australia. Having been surrounded by Aussies and Kiwis I am now equipped with the Australian lingo for the next stage of my trip. Soon I will be blogging again from Perth, Australia, wearing my thongs, a schooner by my side, and the words "G'day mate, How you going?" ringing in my ears! (PS - Look! The Australians really DO where these hats! Nice one Lady B!)