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Published: March 31st 2007
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Anson's Family
Luke, Jen, Peter, Pavna, Mel, Donna, Jan, Ross Mick, Adam, Liz, T, Rosy, Suzie and Anson China Odyssey Monday 5 March 2007
We left Hong Kong early Monday morning and headed into mainland China. We met our tour leader, Anson, in Guangzhou. He was the best tour leader ever and a great friend too! Our group was awesome - we had the bestest funnest people to hang out with for 26 days - they made it an amazing trip!
We spent our first night in China on an overnight train to Gulin. We stayed in Yangshuo, a touristy town in the middle of the montains filled with pubs and shops. The shops were handy because it was FREEZING!!!! Within a few hours the whole group had stocked up on jackets, gloves and beenies.
That night we went fishing with the birds and ate the fish at a local resturant.
Wednesday 7 March 2007
In Yangshuo we went on a river boat up the Li River. We also hired bikes and rode to Moon Hill. Only 4 of us (T, Mel Donna and I) were brave enough to climb the 800 step hill, but the view was worth it!
The next few nights were as follows... overnight train to Wuhan,
2 nights on the Yangtze river and 1 night in Chongqing. I can't tell you much about these few days because I was sick so I don't remember much.
Ironically, as soon as I statred to feel better
adam got sick.
In Chongqing we had a local dish called 'hot pot' which is a massive pot of boiling stock in the middle of a table, which you throw meat and veggies into and fish them out when they're cooked. It was fun, but not very filling... afterwards Adam and I tried to find MacDonalds.
Monday 12 March
After several long bus journies we finally made it to Chengdu. And we went to see the Giant Budda!!! It was great!
But the next day came my favorite part... the pandas!!! They are amazing animals - so cute - they just sit on their bums and eat bamboo. Except the babies, they play around... and I got to hold one!!! He just slumped in my lap and ate his bamboo. He couldn't have cared less, he was just a happy cute teddy bear😊
That night I went out with the girls
into town. We caught rickshaws to this temple thing with old fashoned streets lit with red lanterns. There were shops, crazy food and shadow puppets.
Thursday 15 March
After Chendu, we caught another overnight train to Xian. Anson walked us down town to see the Bell Tower and Drum Tower and the muslim quater, which was full of markets.
That night we had a dumpling banquet! We ate about 20 different types of dumplings - they just kept bringing them out untill we were sick of them! We also saw traditional chinese dancing.
In Xian we visited the ancient city walls and walked along them for about 3 hours in the rain - I looked like a smurf with my blue umbrella and jacket.
We also saw the terracotta warriors. It was cool, but lots were broken and most of it hasn't been uncovered yet. It was funny to see that some government-important-type people were actually allowed into the pit to walk amoung the warriors and
touch them and have photos with them!!!
Then it was time for asnother sleeper train to Beijing.
Hotpot!!!
Chinese hotpot - throw it all in and try to fish it out with chop sticks - harder than it sounds... Sunday 18 March
Arriving in Beijing we walked down the road to the old centre of Beijing and Tianamen Square. Then we went to the forbidden city where the emperors of China lived. Our local guide told us that only unics and women were allowed in the forbidden city so that the Emperor was the only 'real man' in the palace.
That night was saw the Kungfu monks - it was a show about the life and training to become a warior monk, it was very interesting.
The best thing about Beijing was the shopping!!! We went to the Pearl Markets and another marekt with 6 levels of 'designer' shoes, clothes, handbags, electronics - everything!!! I bought so many pearls!
The next day we climbed the Great Wall of China
and it was snowing!!!. This was the first time adam and I had ever seen snow - we had a snow fight and adam made a little snow man sitting on the Great Wall. We climbed to the 6th tower - what a climb that was! But when we got there it was disappointing only because visability was zero - we could only see about
1 metre in front of us. But it was still a lot of fun! The locals climbed up with us to sell us books, and ended up helping us get down because it was so slippery! In the end we were so grateful that they were there trying to sell us stuff!
We took a sleeper train to Suhou and wandered around Tiger Hill Garden. We also took a boat ride around the canals.
The next morning we got on a short train to Shanghai. I had 2 suits taylor made and we saw Pearl Tower. It wasd incredible to see that most of Shanghai was has only been built on the past 15 years!
While in Shanghai we went to see chinese acrobats - they were incredible! Women juggling plates, balancing on bikes and chairs... and bending all over the place.
We also walked along the river front. It was beautiful to see old Shanghai on one side and new Shanghai on the other side.
The next morning we had a 4 hour journey to Hangzhou. This trainride was definately a highlight of the trip... because our seats were double booked by the train
Tianamen Square
Entrance to the Forbidden City company. So half way through the journey all these locals got on the train and screamed at some people who were in 'their' seats. In the end there were 8 of us sitting on 4 seats! It was a very cosy train ride from there on in...
Saturday 24 March
In Hangzhou we walked along West Lake then Adam, Rosy, Suzie and I got into a taxi. We wanted to go shopping, but the taxi driver didn't speak english, of course. We has the best time trying to comunicate with this guy! Adam did a few mimes, indicating that he wanted clothes. He was laughing at us, it was a great experience! In the end he seemed to understand and took us to these amazing markets were everything was so cheap - even for China!
We took a bus to Yellow Mountain asnd stayed in a small village called Huangshan at the base of the mountains. Our hotel was around 50 years old! Apparently Mao stayed there at some point, but i can't imagine why because for most of our stay we had no electicity and no hot water.
Yellow mountain was unbelieveable!!!! We took a cable car half way up and walked about 20 km up to the peak and down again. It was a beautiful clear day, until it started to rain on our way back down. Adam got soaked and decided to take the cable car back instead of walking. Everyone called him a sissy, but it turned out to be the best decision we made because when we got back
everyone cried that they wished they took the cable car back too instead of the 7km walk down a steep hill.
Wednesday 28 March
Back in Shanghai we picked up our taylor made suits and spent the afternoon dirnking with Jen and Luke. We had our last dinner with the group and hit the town. Adam, Mel, Donna, Rosy, Suzie, T and I danced until 3am with the locals - we had a fantastic time! We stumbled home for 2 hours of sleep before we left to go to the airport.
We took the fast train to the airport - it goes at 300 km/hour!!! Then it was time for the 18 hour trip to Cairo,
via Heathrow.
China was absolutely incredible!!! The highlights for me were the overnight trains, and when Adam tried to talk to the chinese taxi driver! Seeing snow for the first time was just awesome, but seeing it on the Great Wall was something I will never forget. Our last night in Shanghai was a night to remember - all of us dancing on the table tops!
Thanks to everyone in Anson's family - you guys were so much fun and made this trip one that I will never forget! Keep in touch!!!! And whoever would like to come to Perth and Mandurah to visit us would be very welcome xxxxxxxx
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Jan and Ross
non-member comment
Fantastic
Really enjoyed re-living the trip through your diary. We also had the most fantastic time and great memories. We are both still suffering with knee problems after the 7km walk down Yellow Mountain. Should have taken the cable car!!! Enjoy the rest of your travels.