Dynasty Warriors: Tales From The Land Of China

Sweet And Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style...

Arriving in Hong Kong from Vietnam was a step back into the modern world again. All we had seen was quickly forgotten as we sat aboard a super-duper high speed train whisking us from the airport into town. The language barrier had disappeared and prices had risen astronomically but it was a city I was excited about visiting. Of course we could only afford supremely basic accommodation which turned out to be quite nice but situated in the not so nice 12th floor of a grotty apartment building in the heart of Kowloon. The weather was drizzly and the famous Hong Kong skyline was wreathed in mist. At night it turned into a landscape of blazing neon lights which looked spectacular reflecting off the waters of the harbour. We only spent three days here as we knew we would return at the end of our China excursion to catch our next flight. We had a merry time catching MTR(underground) trains around, exploring Hong Kong island and even finding time for a trip to the cinema. Kowloon is a place of contrasts. First you are wandering past the grimy 'mansions' of Nathan road crawling with Indian men trying to sell you watches or inviting you into their curry houses and turning the corner you find yourself walking along a quiet tree lined street that leads to a nice water front promenade and posh new shopping centres. I think it is still an area of Hong Kong very much in transition.

We managed to find a couple of great places to eat including a fast food style place where you can get all manner of Chinese style soups, meats and rices for bargain prices. We also found a great local restaurant which is always packed and it was here the great moment occurred. When my sweet and sour chicken arrived at the table I was delighted to find it had been cooked in my favourite way -Hong Kong style- it took me a full second to realise the reason behind this and then it dawned on me and a smile came across my face-a beautiful moment I think. Top Draw!


Beijing...

Leaving Hong Kong we crossed into China at Shenzhen before flying up to Beijing. Although it was a sizeable expense it was something I had always wanted to do. An opportunity to get an insight into the historical China if only for a few days.

The first night we wandered into the almighty Tian'amen square which is opposite the forbidden city and just absorbed a phenomenal sunset. It was one of those really nice evenings where it was still warm with a slight breeze in the air and crowds of Chinese people were gathering and just sitting around the square-a nice atmosphere and a promising introduction to China's capital.

The following morning we set off to explore the Forbidden city. An enormous walled citadel that sits in the heart of Beijing. It is a little difficult to describe but it is a vast space filled with courtyards and pagoda style buildings of varying magnitude. The largest of which are the so called gates which run through the centre. It was a hot day and there were many tourists but strangely I still found it easy to imagine emperors of old keeping court imperiously. I think that was largely due to my penchant for the great Dynasty Warriors playstation games set in the three kingdoms period of Chinese history and featuring vast armies and similar settings. After an ice cream and several hours exploration it was back out onto the extremely wide streets of Beijing and a trip to a roast duck restaurant to sample the famous Peking duck. Sam of course is vegetarian but seems to make an exception for amphibians and needed little encouragement to partake. It was indeed pretty special with crispy skin and tender meat but no more amazing than the trusty Fu Ho restaurant back home.

We also found time to visit 'silk street', a huge indoor clothing market where it is a haggle and hassle frenzy. Sam managed to find a nice dress (surprise, surprise!) but it was hard to maintain the constant energy to haggle any more bargains. On route back to the hotel we walked past the night market which runs almost an entire street length and is packed with food stalls selling all manner of deep fried delights including snake and insects. Sadly we had eaten but did sample some deep fried ice cream which was odd to say the least!

There are many tree lined streets and nicely landscaped park areas to stroll through in Beijing and it is often hard to believe it is amongst the world's most polluted cities. We found it an enjoyable place to explore on foot and the city is very spread out so we did a serious amount of walking.

The next day we awoke and set about venturing outside of the capital to the legendary great wall.


The Great Wall...

After a little trouble finding transport to the particular part we wanted to visit we settled for a place on a Chinese tourist bus to the heavily visited wall section of JuYongGuan. I was a little concerned that we wouldn't be able to move for tourists and this would put a bit of a dampener on things. Thankfully I needn't have worried and it turned out to be a real highlight of our trip to China.

It didn't get off to the best start however as the Chinese tour guide managed to speak on the microphone for the full hour or so journey, seemingly without drawing breath and at a surprisingly loud volume. Thankfully upon arrival we separated from the group and the relentless drone of the tour guide and set off on an epic ascent to the summit. The wall had been restored from it's original state but if anything that made it even more impressive as it wound it's way up and across the steep mountainside. We spent around an hour climbing countless steps to reach the top. All along the route we had amazing views of the surrounding countryside and the further you climbed the fewer people you saw. There are many who say it is just a wall which of course is right but I found it an astonishing achievement when you consider how far it stretched and how imposing it is, even now. Again I was transported back in a Dynasty Warriors style flashback to almost 2000 years ago at the walls inception-standing as part of an armed guard on a watchtower amidst spectacular mountain scenery. The trip was awe-inspiring and far more impressive than I had anticipated.


The Charming Tourist Hot Pot's Of Yunnan...

From Beijing we flew to Kunming to explore Yunnan province. Dali was our first destination and it was a really nice place. The old town was enclosed within city walls, a massive lake to the east and a mountain range that dwarfs everything. After spending our first day exploring the cobbled streets of the old town we got more adventurous on the second. Taking the chair lift to the top of the mountain we embarked on a walking trail that wound around the mountains with great views and precarious drops. The frequent falling rock signs and rails crushed by landslides were a slight concern but it was a thouroughly enjoyable day. The sun was popping it's head in and out and the trail took us over some nice waterfalls and streams affording some great views over Dali and the lake beyond. After a 15km stroll it was back down on the chair lift which I must conceed I didn't feel totally safe on but I managed to enjoy the views. Also I was surprised by the amount of seemingly respectable middle aged women in Dali who approached us and asked if we wanted to go and smoke ganja or go to the hashish house, it happened at least 10 times a day. I guess it brings in some extra pocket money for them. So from Dali we took a bus through some more amazing scenary to Lijiang.

We arrived in Lijiang determined to find our own accomodation - we had recently had several disapointment's after following the Lonely planets recommendations. I'm not sure that their definition of friendly and good value really matches ours and we seem to get a much better deal striking out on our own. We somehow managed to walk right through the old town avoiding every single hotel and were getting ready to give up and get out the guide book when we were approached by a Chinese girl, offering help. She seemed very keen on practicing her English and not much like a tout so, with no better options we accepted her kind offer. She showed us a couple of guesthouses and we settled on a lovely one at the top of the hill with a fantastic view out over the city. It turned out she was from Lijiang originally and was back visiting family for a while. Her English name was Mai and I can't for the life of me remember her real name! Anyway, we were very pleased with the room we had found with her help and after a short rest in it, we took to the streets to explore.

Lijiang seems like a bigger, busier and prettier version of Dali and we enjoyed our time there too. We found a great restaurant which served the most delicious curry dumplings and had cosy sofa's near the windows which we positioned ourselves in to watch the world go by.
On our second day we went for an explore outside the old city and came to the gardens we had wanted to visit. However on seeing the price (which was insane!) we decided to give it a miss and walk around the outside of it. We wandered over a bridge and after 5 minutes strolling through the trees and quite a few cobwebs in Jed's case, we walked past a sign saying we were entering the gardens so we should kindly purchase a ticket. Being a little cheeky, and completely appalled by the price we decided to try our luck and sneek in. We succeeded and had a lovely walk through the gardens which were quite pretty but definitely not worth the asking price. We would have been very annoyed if we had paid as 20 minutes later we had walked through it all.

During our time in Lijiang, we enjoyed lots of little strolls through the old city and saw many a cute little puppy. There are loads of tiny little dogs and puppies in China and they are so adorable! They seem to be small enough to be good pets as I assume they don't have much meat on them. Anyway after a relaxing time in Lijiang we were off for another adventure, this time in Tiger leaping gorge!


Tiger Leaping Gorge And The Crazy Walnut Lady...

When we decided to do a hike at Tiger leaping gorge I must say, I was a bit apprehensive. I had read that this is the most dangerous time of year to do it as there is more rain, which of course leads to more landslides. That combined with the information that 5 or 6 people have died whilst doing the hike and my ability to trip over even when on flat ground, made me feel less than confident. However when we arrived in Qiaotou where we would begin our hike, the beautiful surroundings combined with the brightly shining sun wiped any worry from my mind and I started to feel excited! We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chilling out at Jane's guest house in Qiaotou which as the evening went on became filled to the brim with people coming to and from the gorge.

Bright and early the next morning we headed out carrying our relatively light day packs. Not long after our keen start we ran in to our first problem when we realised that we had somehow taken a wrong turn and walked for half an hour off into the wilderness in the wrong direction. I think we must be the first people in history to get lost, especially since we hadn't even made it to the official trail yet! Shamefaced, we did an about turn and corrected our path. From then on we were vigilant about finding the red arrows to follow! We still maintain that the first bit is not as clear as it could be and I was still a little distracted from my encounter with a rather large bull on the path!
When we did make it on to the trail, we knew we had made it. The views were spectacular and the sunny day made it all the more beautiful. We walked on for a while before stopping at the first guesthouse on the trail for several cold drinks each, before heading out to do the 28 bends. If you ever do the bends, I'm sure you will understand why halfway through I decided a more appropriate name for them was the never ending bends! The climb combined with the heat of the day made for very hard work but the view from the top was amazing, well worth the trouble!

You would think that the more treks I do the more nimble and sure on my feet I would get at moving around and over stuff. In fact it seems I'm getting even more clumsy if that's possible. If I'm not tripping over loose rocks, I'm falling over my own feet! This is not a habit you want to have when the drop is so significant!

Anyway, we decided that we would push on to the halfway point on the first day. We were shocked as we got closer to find a road had been built which joined up to the trail. When you spend a whole day walking off in to the wilderness, the last thing you want to be confronted with is a car. We felt like we had earned our right to see the view from so high up and that those people in cars had no right to be there. Hurumph! Sulk over. We were a little worried that the guesthouse would be roadside but after a short time we passed the road and headed back along the deserted trail. As we finally neared the guesthouse, tired and dirty, we were approached by a little old lady. As she got closer she pulled from her pocket a hand full of walnuts and began waving them at us with her filthy hands. Her palms were black with dirt and she only had a couple of teeth to call her own. "No thank you" we told her politely as we tried to pass. Unsatisfied with this answer she waved them up and down at Jed before coming up to me and grabbing my hand. She was surprisingly strong really and we had a bit of a struggle as she tried to push them in to my hand. At one point it occurred to me that she might just really want me to have her walnuts so I started to take them, before her hand, swift as can be, came up, palm outstretched asking for money. I tried to say no thanks again and push them in to her hand but she was having none of it and in the struggle all 3 walnuts got dropped to the ground. Quickly before she could pick them up and begin her attack again we dashed off feeling somewhat bewildered and harrassed at the craziness of the situation. We really didn't want any walnuts! We spent the night at the halfway house where we enjoyed uninterrupted mountain views from our bedroom window before heading out in to the thick mist the next morning. As we left the guesthouse we passed a little old man with a handful of walnuts. Having learned our lesson, we passed by quickly, heads down, as we felt unprepared for another attack of the walnuts.

The walk the second day was not as strenuous as the first but there were a few scary moments. A little way in we turned a corner to see an enormous waterfall rushing down the mountain in several veins. As we approached we saw that we would have to cross through it to get by. The drop over the edge was so far down that we couldn't see the bottom with the mist surrounding us. The rocks were loose and slippery and some were quite far apart. As we crossed, far too close to the edge for my liking I was terrified of slipping. There would be no coming back from that! We made it across finally, very relieved. However we did have to repeat this several times, although luckily the rest of the falls were considerably smaller than the first. The second day involved a lot more climbling over rocks than the first and we passed a number of landslides reminding us just how dangerous the trail can be. We passed several rocks with huge cracks, hanging over our heads and looking at them you can see that it wont be long until they break off and crash down in to the gorge to join the others.

When we came to the end of the trail which joins on to the main road we stopped for a cup of tea in a guesthouse before joining a couple of other hikers in a car back down to Qiaotou. The road has been built in a place where it has no buisness being and it was a bit of a white knuckle ride as we crossed areas covered in rocks from landslides, avoided oncoming trucks and splashed through falling water. I was very pleased to have survived the hike and the ride back! Hiking the gorge was an amazing and very memorable experience. It was great to be able to see it whilst it's still there in ever changing China.

A Quick Note On China's Public Toilets...

China's public toilets came as a bit of a shock to me. I consider myself quite adaptable with toilet situations and have long since mastered the art of the squatting pan. However my first experience in a Chinese public toilet took me by surprise. You see there are no doors and to add to that there are also no toilets, rather a trough that runs around the edge of the building and is all joined together. There are partitions that separate it out to give the illusion of privacy but it seems wasted as anyone queing (which I know is unlikely in China) or walking in or out or even using the trough opposite you, can see everything that goes on. It may surprise you to hear then, that is is not just number ones that go on in these toilets! I have seen girls chatting, smoking and just watching the world go by as they do their business without a care in the world. I suppose it's very natural but at first, this kind of openness was hard for me to handle. We just dont do stuff like that in England - except maybe in prison but I don't know if it happens even then. Anyway, I was just starting to get comfortable with these doorless toilets until we reached Tiger leaping gorge. There we found that the guesthouse had unisex doorless toilets. Of course they had a small brick partition between them but if you were to stand up you could look right over it in to the next. This discovery co-incided with an unfortunate incident with dodgy ice cubes which made me less than well. I shant give any more detail but there was a lot of me trying to block off the door and go in record time before I should recieve any company! A fun time indeed!

Yangshou And It's Many Mounds...

We left Yunnan via Kunming(which is nothing of note), catching an overnight train to Guilin. The train, which we very nearly missed due to bad planning on our part - we forgot about rush hour! - was very swish indeed. We had opted for hard sleeper, the cheapest of the sleeper classes and were pleasantly surprised to find it very similar to the top class in India. We had air conditioning, sheets and pillows and even carpet. 19 hours later, after quite a comfortable nights sleep we arrived in Guilin to find it was exactly the same as Kunming! A bit peeved we decided to take a bus to Yangshou an hour up the road which was supposed to be a bit more rural. We spent a pleasant few days in this bustling tourist town, re-aclimatising as we were back in the heat again and enjoying strolls around the town.

We left Yangshou on a sleeper bus, our first experience on one of these. The inside of the bus is carpeted and has narrow beds along either side and through the middle, directly on the floor as well as ones above, in bunk bed style. The night didn't start out too comfortably as we seemed to get thrown around a lot more laying down than we would on a proper seat. Also, the driver kept smoking in the closed off, windowless air-conditioned space which made for less than pleasant breathing. However after I had a travel sickness pill and we moved on to a smoother road we managed to get a bit of sleep before arriving in Guangzhou. Here we tried to find some reasonably priced accomodation before giving up and deciding to take the bus to Macau. This was somewhat surreal as we were the only two passengers on the 2 hour bus trip and we couldn't understand why the driver was bothering. After a bit of a brawl in the ladies toilet midway through the journey, we pushed on and made it to the border, officially leaving China behind, although Macau is still a fairly Chinese place to be.

The Las Vegas of the East...

After crossing the border we spent four nights in Macau. Here gambling is legal (unlike China and HK) and mega casinos are springing up everywhere. We spent some time taking a look at the new Venetian resort and casino which is a copy of it's Las Vegas counterpart. It is both luxurious and enormous with life size indoor recreations of the streets and canals of Venice complete with gondoliers. A little over the top some might say!

We stayed in the central area of this former Portugese colony and the European influence is everywhere from the catholic churches to the quaint cafes amd bakeries. We also spent some time enjoying the fountain, light and music show at the Wynn hotel and casino, which is surprisingly fantastic. The shows are amazingly well choreographed and include bursts of flames as the music reaches it's peak. We usually found ourselves gravitating towards the Wynn, to enjoy the show after our dinner each night.

Return To Hong Kong...

We returned to Hong Kong on the very comfortable "turbo jet" ferry from Macau. After settling back in to our tiny cubicle of a room in the 'classy' Mirador mansions we headed out to re-discover our favourite restaurants. We also had an impromptu trip to the cinema which was very enjoyable after weeks of crazy Chinese T.V! A good finish to the end of our time in Asia.

Next stop Australia!

Sam and Jed xxx

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Part of trip: Asia

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