http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/DantheMan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from DantheMan en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:25:52 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:25:52 +0000 Today was a free day to explore on our own. I had seen a show on the Travel Channel about Hong Kong a few months before and it had mentioned a giant Buddha on nearby Lantau Island. So I decided I would check it out. The previous day our local tour guide gave me instructions on how to get there. I took the subway out there where I then boarded a bus to the Giant Buddha. The bus was a lit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Lantau-Island/blog-217040.html We arrived in Hong Kong in the evening and checked into our hotel the Marco Polo Gateway on the Kowloon peninsula a few blocks from Victoria Harbor. The next morning we went to Hong Kong Island and took a tram up to Victoria Peak for great views of the city. We went to Stanley market on the south end of Hong Kong Island. This was basically just a crowded shopping area. We then took a samp http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-216542.html The next morning I walked outside of the hotel and down the sidewalk across the street. Some people were dancing and doing Tai Chi. We had a great lunch at the Long Ze Tea House and then visited the Reed Flute Cave. It was cool but very crowded in there. As we were walking back to the bus I saw the group of Chinese ladies that I had talked with on the Li River cruise the day before.Th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Guilin/blog-216972.html GuilinWe flew to Guilin today arriving late day and made our way to the hotel the Sheraton. Guilin is an interesting area. One of the reasons I picked this tour over other China tours is because it featured a visit to Guilin which is known for it's unique landscape. I had read where some people had considered it one of the more unique or scenic landscapes on the planet. Li River CruiseTh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Guilin/blog-216535.html SuzhouIt never stopped amazing me how many people were around everywhere even at a train station on a Sunday morning. We got on a train for Suzhou. The trip out there took about 30 minutes. I didn't know it was going to be a fast train until we got up to speed. It looked like we were going almost as fast as the Japanese bullet train. After getting off the train at Suzhou there was quite the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-216530.html Candy told me the people in Shanghai were different. She was right. Read on.When we rolled into Shanghai I couldn't believe what it looked like. There were an incredible number of lit up buildings cars traffic and people everywhere. What an incredibly big city. The tour guide said there were 20 million people in Shanghai. If that's true then that's equal to the total population of the e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-216941.html The alarm goes off at 5 or 6 am and Cindy gets up and says goodbye. Candy and I slept a little longer. I get up and get my bags together and place them outside the door per instruction. Instead of going down and eating breakfast I decide to spend as much time with Candy as I could. We made out for a while. Then I had to say goodbye to her and join my tour group in the lobby. It was an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shaanxi/Xi-an/blog-216528.html Onward to XianWe caught a late afternoon flight to Xian on China Eastern airlines. The flight was roughly an hour and a half or so and it was dark by the time we landed. A lot of the trip was spent in transit. Drive to an airport or whatever wait around fly get your bag travel to the hotel etc. It takes a lot of time to do all that. We had a long drive from the airport to the hotel the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shaanxi/Xi-an/blog-216800.html I had a little scare this morning at the hotel in Beijing. I lost my passport. I searched everywhere and I couldn't find it. I frantically searched the room and my bags and I didn't locate it. The bell man picked up the bags and I went downstairs saw Kevin and told him. He freaked out and insisted that I keep looking. Down in the lobby where my checked bags were I went through them again and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-216685.html I woke up a little early this morning. Around 6am I went down to the steam room in the hotel. I also had a nice breakfast at the hotel. Ming TombsSacred WayThen we headed out to the Ming Tombs. It was a little bit of a drive outside of the city. This area is where the emperors of the Ming Dynasty era are buried. Leading up to the tombs is a path known as the Sacred Way. It is lined with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-216295.html Day 1 Arrival in BeijingOn Saturday morning October 6th USA time I lifted off the ground in Columbia SC en route to Washington Dulles where I connected with my United Airlines 747 13 hour nonstop flight to Beijing. Everything went well. No delays no problems a smooth flight. I had stayed up all night to maximize my chances of sleeping on this flight. I was lucky to have no one in the m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-215796.html Today would be my last full day in Japan. We went to the Imperial Palace a 27 acre compound which was the residence of the Emperor when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The capital was moved to Tokyo in the 1869. On the grounds was a very nice garden called the Oikeniwa Garden. Then we visited the Nishiki Market an incredible collection of alleyways and hallways with shops ranging in size from http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-169775.html We saw some beautiful sights today. We started the day by taking a train out to Kameoka just outside Kyoto to the NW. The train rides through flat city and then all of a sudden you go through a tunnel and emerge on the other side to the sight of undeveloped rugged green mountains and rivers. We got on a boat for a 1 12 hour boat ride down the Hozu river. It was absolutely beautiful. We disemba http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-169635.html We got on a train and visited Fushimi Inari a temple complex and gardens with more than 1000 torii gates. I bought this card there that is supposed to bring you luck in love. Hey whatever it takes. A special moment happened before we left. These very cute school girls in their school uniforms were apparently on a field trip there. They came up to me and asked me questions in English like w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-169630.html Kyoto is a beautiful area surrounded by green mountains with many cultural and historical things to see. It's full of parks gardens temples and shrines. First stop was The Golden Pavilion a beautiful goldcolored temple with surrounding gardens. The place was full of school children dressed in their uniforms some in kimonos. Then it was off to the Heian Shrine a huge shrine complex paint http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-169624.html We piled on the bus and headed towards Gotemba. Along the way you could spot glimpses of the Tokkaido Trail an old trail that people would use to walk from Kyoto to Tokyo. Portions of the trail are still there and are lined by huge cedar trees that were planted a long time ago to provide travellers with shade. Beautiful area. Bullet Train ShinkansenAt Mishima we boarded the bullet train Shin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/blog-163346.html Today we left Tokyo and drove out to Mt. Fuji. The first stop was a rest area near the base of the mountain offering a good view of the mountain. The bus then drove us up the mountain to a point about halfway up at an elevation around 7000 ft. We then went to Lake Yamanaka and had lunch there. I found some beef curry and rice again which was becoming my favorite and most consumed dish in Ja http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shizuoka/Mt-Fuji/blog-163345.html We took a day trip to Nikko National Park north of Tokyo. It was about a 2 hour bus ride up there. It was raining with thunder when we got there. We went through the Rinnoji Temple and Toshogu Shrine complex a collection of beautiful historic buildings on hilly terrain surrounded by huge cedar trees. We had a Japanesestyle lunch in a local restaurant in Nikko which I thought was really good c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tochigi/Nikko/blog-163344.html Ohayo Gozaimasu Good Morning.It started getting light about 4am. They don't have daylight savings time in Japan and they must be just west of a time zone line so it gets light early and dark early. We had a great breakfast at the hotel a buffet with American and Japanese style dishes. Meiji Shrine Imperial Palace and Asakusa Kannon TempleThen we headed out to Yoyogi ParkMeiji Shrine. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-163342.html After 14 hours spent cramped in a coach seat on a Delta Airlines B777 flight from Atlanta I landed at Tokyo's Narita Airport. I felt pretty good I had managed to sleep for almost half the flight. It was exciting to touch down and begin this 10day adventure called Life in Japan via General Tours. Everything went smooth at the airport including the passage through customs and getting my bag http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-163339.html