Water, water everywhere!

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"From there we are looking into entering Guizhou province the hard way (fancy that!) - how this actually pans out, remains to be seen!"

...well, it didn't!!

That's not entirely true. We started out in the right direction, we just didn't get very far! There were early signs that things were not going to go to plan. North of Yangshuo, we arrived in Longsheng in the dark and brandishing a youth hostel flyer at all and sundry. Eventually we were ushered into a taxi mini-van which took off into the night at a terrifying pace. It soon became clear that our agreed 6 Yuan taxi fare was most definitely a 60 Yuan one after all. Longsheng Youth Hostel clearly had a bit of the Ryanair airport about it - i.e. it was nowhere near its namesake! We climbed high into the mountains and eventually found ourselves parked outside the entrance to the mega-posh Longsheng Hot Springs Hotel while a heated debate raged as to whether our hostel was open or even existed. Fortunately, out of the blue, the phone call came and we were led along a high path up through a ravine to a wooden bridge/hostel straddling the river. Inevitably, we were the only patrons that evening, ... or ever perhaps?! We're sure more will follow however, as the place was fantastic and even had its own hot-spring hot-tubs outside.

The next day it was off to Pingan and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. Unfortunately, at this point we had to say our goodbyes to Carrie who had been taken down by a dodgy egg (or perhaps a rogue corn-on-the-cob?) and was making her way back to Guilin for some recuperation (and maybe the odd milkshake!) at the Flowers Hostel. Pingan is a minority village, and although quite touristy, it retains its charm and has an amazing setting, nestled high in the hills amongst rice terraces. We spent two days exploring this marvel of agricultural engineering, which included a ten-mile trek hanging on the coat-tails of our super sprightly (and unbelievably tiny) sixty-year old Zhuang guide. Having seen what a huge number of people in China must go through in order to sow, grow and harvest one of the world's largest commodity crops, was a revelation. The entire place is naturally irrigated. The only mechanical intervention being water wheels and bamboo viaducts.

From Pingan our plan was to head though Western Guangxi and into Guizhou along less-travelled routes. We were slightly anxious and apprehensive about the practicalities and logistics of this journey but we had a huge slice of luck when we ended up in the same bus as a lovely French couple, Jean-Jacques and Bronwyn, and their able and experienced friend and guide, Nico. The five of us suffered without a doubt our worst bus journey to date: five hours of bum-busting offroad safari from Longsheng to Sanjiang. Sanjiang itself is pretty grim however nearby Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge definitely took the edge off the pain. Nico took us on an impromptu tour through the minority villages beside the bridge - absolutely fascinating to see life being conducted in such a primitive way yet with smatterings of modernity. There were similarities to being at the Jorvik Viking Centre with the juxtaposition of basic amenities and ice-cream wrappers! The main attraction of the bridge is in itself very impressive - it looks sort of like those wooden bridges you see on the Dukes of Hazard, except adorned in a style only the Chinese are capable of producing. Very big, very ornate, and all in all very impressive.

We rose at 5am the next day to trudge wearily to the Sanjiang zhan to catch a bus north. "Mei you! Mei you!" Nico looked worried, we were concerned. He broke the news that the tractor path roads that lead into Guizhou had been washed away in the night and, more worryingly, the road we had taken into Sanjiang had suffered the same fate. No going forward, and no turning back! Another night stranded in Sanjiang was a fate not worth contemplating. Undeterred we tried the other bus station (for some reason this tiny town has two!) and frustratingly, despairingly, but still mercifully one road had survived the onslaught of the previous night - back to Guilin. The long way!

Without an attempt at pun or prose, we had to abandon ship, and give up on the idea of adventuring up into Guizhou, or anywhere for that matter. It seemed all and sundry were on flood alert, or mid-flood. I'm sorry, how hot is it in the UK at the moment? So we did the only sensible thing we could, and headed to the airport - no chance of flooding up there! Instead we hit thunderstorms and turbulence.

Having fled the far south we touched down in Hangzhou, two hours south of Shanghai - "China's capital of Tea and Leisure"; nice. Like arriving in Hong Kong from Kunming, the difference between this coastal region of China and that of the more inland provinces was immediately striking. To give you an idea, our hostel was situated inbetween the posh cafe bars and the Ferrari garage. We only spent a day in Hangzhou, but that was ample time to cruise around its beautiful West lake, take a trip to Carrefour(!) and enjoy an evening of fine dining and cappucinos! The only really bad thing about our time there were the angry and persistent mosquitos, who were delighted at the arrival of fresh meat!

We had seen little blue sky over the past weeks, and were desperate for some sun and clean air. This in mind, we were intrigued by the Lonely Planet's recommendation of the island resort of Putuoshan, a short boat trip from the east coast. So we packed our buckets and spades and set sail... in the pouring rain! We not sure what we were expecting, but in our minds we had conjured up images of palm trees, pina coladas, crystal clear waters, and wall to wall blue sky. Au contraire - it was dank, reaking of fish, infested with tour groups, not to mention cockroaches, and smothered by a blanket of cloud. Did we mention it was also hugely expensive? So... being the hardy travellers that we are, we picked ourselves up and attempted to make the most of it. Then came the next problem, there wasn't really very much to make the most of! We exhausted the island's "must-see" (cheers Lonely Planet) sights in one morning, which left the afternoon free to attempt some sunning on the beach, which you had to pay for; despite the fact we had already paid to get on the island. Aaargh!! However, our two hours on the beach were both fascinating and hilarious as we surveyed the wonder of Chinese tourists encountering sand and the sea! Fully grown men reverted to behaving like six year olds as they smothered their pals in sand, and scarpered into the sea, each one safely encased in his own giant rubber ring. All this before another section of the beach was literally invaded by an army battalion who marched onto the sand in formation, half of whom broke out into a mass game of football, whilst the others did laps of the pitch - bit of an unfair deal for the latter!

Gladly we boarded the boat for Shanghai the next day. We had a bit of a scare when we arrived and initially couldn't find a hostel bed, but we rode our luck and have ended up in a great place just off the Bund - Mingtown Hikers Hostel. Its greatness is possibly linked to the fact that it doesn't feature in the Lonely Planet! Shanghai has been a perfect place for our final destination in China. Many people grumble that it is not Chinese enough simply because, unlike Beijing, there is not a Temple of Longevity or Pagoda of Good Harvest round every corner. What there is instead is a cosmopolitan world city, which is still very much Chinese in flavour and design, but familiar enough to travellers from the West to offer up comforts from back home. Westernisation of China is inevitable, so why try and stifle it? In some parts of China the government is literally turning people out of their homes in order to preserve its past culture and heritage, so a city that aspires to become a beacon for international standards of living should be welcome in this corner of Asia. We're sure there are lots of nasty side effects that go hand in hand with this kind of development and urbanisation, but from the superficial level we are studying it from, it has plenty of advanatges.

We have unashamedly embraced the perks of Shanghai! Including a gorge-fest at the all-you-can-eat Brasil Steak House. For five pounds we had unreserved access to a buffet bar including salad, pasta, vegetables, fruits, and pudding whilst waiters roamed the aisles with every cut of meat imaginable and baskets of french fries! Alasdair was fit to burst, and Alison was still munching away... wait until you see the pot-belly! This place is a red meat lovers dream, and we rolled away all the happier for it.

Strolling around the beautiful architecture of the Bund and old Shanghai is a pleasant experience, and we're never far from a dark mocha milkshake or a vanilla cream puff. There are few real sights in Shanghai, but the best way to see the city is from the observation deck of the Jinmao Tower, the world's fourth tallest building. We were fortunate enough to go up at sunset which was dramatic, if not a little smoggy! The real highlight of Shanghai for us has been our trip to The Hongkou Stadium to see Shanghai Shenhua take on Shenzhen Kingway in a mid-table clash of Chinese footballing might... maybe not. Hearts would destroy them! We picked up some dodgy tout tickets, and fortunately they weren't bounced at the door. For three pounds each it's definitely the cheapest game of football we've ever been to, and when we saw the calibre of play, we could understand why! Still, 1-0 including a penalty and three red cards is still good entertainment, and their was a lively carnival atmosphere in the terraces - we never thought we would see a Chinese brass band!

So it looks like this is it from us in China, we leave tomorrow and return to Aberdeen on Saturday evening (hopefully with all our luggage), and depending on the whereabouts of the latest typhoon from the East China Seas! It's been a phenomenal trip, but we are both very excited about the thought of returning home. See you all soon!

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Comments

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Chubi
Good to see the Polaris T-shirt made it to the other side of the world! How many more weeks do you have? Sweltering in London. a