Do you speak english?

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China eh? crazy place.. but perfectly survivable.

Our last night in Hong Kong was a bit of a blowout - great fun but completely ruined whatever there was of the next day. Luckily our flight wasn't till 5pm, no-one was in any state to get out of bed until well after lunch. as it was a Friday and Will could finally have the next day off work he tok us down to the main ex-pat "strip" in the city to catch up with some mates. Once again the unofficial rich tax was in effect and beers over the bar were even more expensive than in NZ (conveniently the "you're a random backpacker, can i buy you a drink" card came into play more than once 😊 ). Where we started could've been any incredibly lit alleyway in any warm European city in the world.. white faces everywhere and totally packed. We moved on from there to some more "select" dance clubs on the other side of HK city, H & I were feeling on top of our game until Will laughingly pointed out we were actually in a brothel and noted that all the hangers-on were Philipino prostitutes... ha ha.. ah :/

Anyway, this all made packing and getting to the airport a little more interesting the next day with H running off to the bathroom every 1/2 hour "just in case". We (well I at least) figured we'd get duty free at Beijing Airport and try for a better deal...

.. The thing with Beijing Airport is that it's different. It's a bit like a big communist chilly bin with mandatory health check cards and the option to declare items on your arrival card, but ominously no option to go through the "red" line if you did accidentally admit to having items not sanctioned by the Chinese gov. And no visible duty free.

We made it through there fine, but when we opted for a taxi to the hostel at 10:30pm made a crucial mistake. The taxi hawker spoke english (we think oh, this may not be so hard), the angry taxi driver that was sprung on us spoke none - nor did he discuss where we were going in his chat about.. the 'Jays season maybe??? with the hawker. we eventually settled on "choo choo toot! toot! Tiunmin! Tiunmin!" and he left us at the tianamen railway station at 11pm 30deg and 100% humid. surrounded by hundreds of hawkers, bums, and everyday chinese lounging on the concrete in the yellow smog.

Our directions were in English, we had no map, and there was no Bus 88. Eventually we found a hostel that sold a map and could translate the address for us to give to a driver who took us on another Tiki tour stopping at random hotels hoping to find someone who knew the street. He was good value though and the fare was reasonable. Sometimes it's REALLY good to find someone who has your name on a list and a cold Tsingtao (for 60cents) in the fridge!

We spent yesterday on bikes riding round the city.. a little scary at times, whosever idea it was to put little green men at crossing signals but neglected to put red lights for the cars is obviously having a good evil laugh at the carnage - from some safe distance. Was good fun though, and a great way to get oriented. The city has some huge edifices and half billion dollar showpiece buildings, but the transport system leaves Auckland looking pretty good - the Olympics are going to be insane!

Had a few drinks ar the hostel last night and a wander round the Hutong.. We're in a very old part of the city, the hostel is amazing. The staff and backpackers are great value... as is the beer! Five more days, I reckon I could stay longer..

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Photos

Fishing
These guys are fishing in the moat of the Forbiden City - perhaps one of the few places the fish get the better deal on being caught, unbelievable anything can live in this water!

"I'll have the girl's bike"
New Olympic cultural centre in the background