Blogs from Fenghuang, Hunan, China, Asia

"First Lone Train Ride" I have mentioned before the timelessness of a place, but a night time train rides are more like a stagnant time period. Seating in an aisle seat with only a few more words added to my Chinese vocabulary scared me. This was unfortunately the adventure I had agreed to take by accepting my friend's invitation. It was like the times I had walked alone on the streets of Paris or the streets and parks of Jinhua because of the freedom it gave me. Unfortunately, the language barrier seemed more heavy on my shoulders in this confined space in time. The lack of my heavy suitcase was the only boon I received during this first lone ride. I travelled much lighter this time with only my courier bag, black trench coat, and my ... read more

http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite/China-Hunan-2012/ ….. the continuing story of a journey across China in search of balmy weather, sun, golden sand & a swim in azure waters. We've given up that idea, given that it's the middle of winter, has led us to Hunan province, about halfway back to Yangzhou & where there is no hope whatsoever of any of these things. To recap from last week's blog we finally arrive in cold, grey, wet & miserable Changsha, Hunan's provincial capital, more than 4 hours after the appointed time, about 20 hours on the bus. However we need to be in Jishou, about 400km west, where we would have ended up IF Sunshine could have bought train tickets in Beihai. My friend from the small Hunan city of Jishou, Mr. Xiang Kuan Yu, has send a friend to ... read more

Fri 22 / 10 Apologies for the delay in this blog as we has an early night (8:30) to pick up the spirit of the holiday. Rice and clear soup has been the order of the day and something to sooth the persistent cough The itinerary told us this was to be a 4 hr drive to Fenghuang Ancient Town so we were expecting a long drive. Toda was a visit to Furong Town - and old laneway area of old China then onto the ancient village including a boat ride through the area View many of the old buildings with a lot of walking - Yang's ancestral home, Xiong Xilings former residence amongst others All very interesting The stomach issues and coughing with some in the group taking all forms of 'recommended' Chinese remedies. It ... read more

Day 21 - 26 April Unknown to our little Kiwi crew, (and I am guessing all of you) there exists a Southern “Great Wall of China“. Dwarfed in comparison to the Great Wall up North, it is never the less, another massive piece of Chinese historical infrastructure. Seemingly abandoned in the local countryside, we stop there, en-route to a local traditional Miao Village. A lone guard, left behind by the Ming Builders, bars our access when we clamber to the top of this stone structure. Something about “National Monument being protected” our guide tells us. I muse over the protection afforded Fenghuang old town from the modern Mongol hoards from the North that invade every day, and decide the argument is not worth having as the others have all followed “the flag“. This outstanding monument is ... read more

We left Zhangjiajie village in the morning with the minibus and once again took the road to the town. This time we found the center of the town, because this is where the bus station is. It wasn’t that we had really missed much on our previous visits as the centre was fairly uninspiring, although there were signs that the town will improve during the next few years, with buildings being torn down and lots in the first stages of construction. Vivian had told us that there were only two buses a day to Fenghuang so we immediately bought our onward tickets, which turned out to be very wise as the bus was more than full. We walked around the town while waiting, and as the bus trip was four hours we looked for somewhere to ... read more