China... cont

Next stop Xi’an- and another 16 hour night train…

Xi’an was the former capital of China before it was moved to Beijing during the time of Genghis Khan’s rule.  Famous for the amazing find of the Terracota Warriors -  just crazy to see what was found by farmers while digging for water.. and the restoration of these pieces – one of our best days in China.

We then flew to Kavs most anticipated part of the trip – Chengdu – Home of the Pandas.  We spent time walking around the park – seeing how locals spent their day and learning how to play the Chinese game of Mahjong..

Then Panda research Centre – My (Kav) best day in China – they were soo amazingly cute and cheeky.. think the few picts will show it all..

Eat and Sleep!

Baby Panda venturing away from its friends

(nope - not going to let you take pictures today...)

We then travelled 6 hours to make our way up Emeishan Mountain – for our 2 night stay in a Buddhist monastery.  It was amazing to see how they live. the monastery living condition was very basic,  this had initially been hard to adapt to… however this was soon superseded by the spiritually enlightening surroundings.

We Hiked up the mountain, visting the crazy monkeys followed by time in the hot springs to ease the pain in our legs…Kav spent time sitting in a fish spa.. London you only get to put your feet in..China your whole body!

Next  3 days were spent on a cruise up the Yangtze River – we got the all in package! Drinks and Food- so this was a messy 3 days with only a few pictures as evidence that we ate, drank and saw the 3 Gorges!!!

No further comment on this part of the trip..

...During this boat trip Andy proposed to charolotte... she said yes!!!

Last Stop for China – Yangshuo! Most touristy town in China – Resembling nothing we had seen so far – People speaking English, Menus in English.. Backpackers and Mountain Climbers Haven…

How the town was Built in the middle of over 2000 mountains and there makes for beautiful scenery- we hired bikes and hit the countryside! Having lunch at a local farmers house – seeing  paddy fields, cotton plants and orange trees on every corner…

We again spent 12 hours travelling to last stop on our organised tour – Hong Kong!

Our time here was limited and much about meeting up with a few friends and coming back to a form of reality away from the madness of China… and eating a few Western delights such as pizza and enjoying some red wine..

China... cont

Shanghai – also known as the New York of China - Full of sky scrapers, bustling with people and all the usual shops and brands we are used to at home. Our 2 days were spent walking around the city taking in the many shopping spots, including the Yuan Garden with the Zig Zag Bridge and traditional tea houses. 

We also took a ride on the fastest magnetic train travelling up to 431 km/h ..

Final spot for Shanghai included Cloud 9, a bar on the 87^th floor of the Grand Hyatt hotel which had 360degree view s of Shanghai beautiful by night to see all the lights of the city and enjoy a few all be it expensive but very pleasant glasses of wine to end our time here.

China... cont

Next day we met our tour guide and group to start our real tour of China, starting with an introduction dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Starting with an early morning start and one of the most anticipated sites in China – The Great Wall.

Since our arrival in China there had be non-stop fog covering the city, and we were praying the morning of the great wall this would have lifted but unfortunately we were out of luck and though we managed to achieve the great task of walking to the top, the views were not good and all we good see were thick layers of fog covering the mountains. Disappointed with view but happy with the achievement of reaching the top we all drove back to the hotel with our legs aching.

The evening was spent at another local restaurant specialising in Peking duck recommended by the tour guide. We then continued to walk around town; it was strange to not see the usual host of bars and clubs like in most city centres but a much different culture of eating and spending time with family. We walked past a church were the locals would meet every evening and do group dancing on the streets – this was enjoyed by both men and woman of all ages.

The next day we had a guided tour around Tiananmen Square followed by the Forbidden City.. It is exactly how you imagine Chinese infrastructure to look, full of curved roof tops, wooden buildings and a lot of reds.  

Followed by a walk around the hue ton, this is what is referred to as the area the locals live in, each Hue Ton has its own name closely linked to the beliefs of the people living there. What was amazing to see was how closely the rich and poor lived, but to spot the difference all you needed to look at was how the front door of house had been decorated. The more elaborate the decoration the wealthier the people were living inside

The great find for me was the Chinese Vegetarian restaurant – amazing food and I had the possibility of choosing anything from the menu!!

This ended our time in Beijing. The next day our first over night train to next stop Shanghai!

China...

So the trip begins with first stop Beijing! Landing at Beijing airport first thing you notice is how clinical it looks, White from ceiling to the floors and glass windows all around. It also becomes clear that English is not spoken at all when asking how best to get to our hotel.

 
On arrival at our hotel and first time we'd stepped Outside the first thing we noticed was the smell, chinese food and cigarette smoke lingers on the roads and thick fog filled the streets.
 
After a few hours nap we decided to brave it and hit the streets, walking through Beijing you notice the Chinese have one thing very much in common with the Indians, they love to stare. Over time you get used to this, even having a few people trying to take pictures of us like paparazzi to celebrities. This soon became apart of our new celeb status!
 
First day Ne thought he'd take me right to the heart of it all with a walk down the food street showing off all the typical cuisine you have heard about but have still not prepared yourself to see. First stall selling the likes of live cockroaches, centipedes and scorpions. I was already feeling a bit nautious from the smells and then these sights were abit too much. The Market was also selling the chinese delicacy of sugar glazed deep fried fruit sticks..which again looked interesting but after seeing the deep frying my stomach just couldn't handle.

So after an little stroll around we moved on to a nicer part of Beijing Shishahai Lake  - known to the  locals as where the younger affluent hang out , stroll around the lake and enjoy some dinner and a few drinks in the bars. Ne also managed to find gold, and find a shisha bar with live music which was the perfect way to end our first night in Beijing.

Blogger and facebook blocked in china!

Sorry guys, we can't blog as both blogger and facebook have been blocked by the Chinese government!