I’ve had my final BBQ pork roll, my luggage is checked in, and I’m now just having my last HK (airport) meal of Sushi. On the way, here, I thought about my trip a little bit more and some of the things I liked, didn’t like, and that I would change if I did it all over again. First, I would travel for a bit longer - at least 21+ days. 13 days is too short to take in any city properly, much less two. If I were to travel for such a short time again, I would concentrate on Hong [View Full Entry]

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I had wanted to spend my last day in HK checking out the great buddha on Lantau Island. I just had to figure out the best (and cheapest) way to get there. While feasting on a delicious BBQ Pork roll, I decided to take the MTR to Tung Chung and get the no 23 bus to the monastery. People who think that there is nothing to see in HK haven't really taken the oppurtunity to visit the lesser known parts. Lantau Island is beautiful. The bus that took us up to the monastery passed sandy deserted beaches, great hiking spots, and [View Full Entry]

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My last day in BJ was the brightest, sunniest day I had ever seen. At times, you could actually see a few clouds in the sky. It was beautiful, actually, and people seemed a lot friendlier than usual. I went down to ' Panjiayuan market in Chayoyang district. This is, hands down, the coolest market I've seen. It had everything- books, antiques, junk. I found what I was looking for - a Great Wall medium format camera for approx $60. I probably could have gotten it cheaper, but I really suck at the barganing thing. Torward the end of the [View Full Entry]

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I was unable to go to the Forbidden City as planned on the 18th, as they had shut down Tian'amen to rehearse the 60th Anniversary celebrations. I went to the Summer Palace instead (it was ok, but wasn't too impressed, really). I called it an early night and decided to go to Tian'amen on Saturday, Instead. I actually bit the bullet and took the subway (gasp!) to Tian'amen Sq. I figured, why pay 23 yuan when I can pay 2 yuan? Beijing's subway system is cheap, fast, and efficient. It is crowded, though - all the time. I mean standing room [View Full Entry]

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..You know I had to get my jollies for camera equipment, right? Anyway, after I came back from the wall, I decided to check out this camera fair that a dude on Rangefinder told me about. It was located on Malian Dao Road 11, on the last floor of a huge mall that seemed to only specialize in Tea. It took me about 1/2 hr to find it, but when I did, I was in Camera store heaven! Like in HK, the prices for (new) gear are either the same price as Canada or more expensive. Very slick, though. I wasn't [View Full Entry]

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Yes, I know this will be a quaduple entry, but I have a lot of catching up to do. I had wanted to climb the wall on my birthday, but the weatherman forcasted rain, so the dream of hauling my aged body up the great wall was shot. I figured that doing it two days before my birthday would be just as good. I had read quite a bit about the different sections of the wall. Badaling is the most popular, but it is also the most touristed, so that was out. Simitai was another option, but when I realized that [View Full Entry]

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The one shining light in this whole episode has been my hostel. The Red Lantern Hostel is located in an old Hutong off one of the main streets. It is obviously well maintained, and the staff are friendly. It obviously lives up to it’s name. Red is the pre-dominant colour here. I had booked a double room because I had read so much about the small size of rooms here. Well, they may be small in HK, but the bed is a decent size here. Huge, as a matter of fact. The room is very clean. I can see that I’m [View Full Entry]

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Throughout my trip so far, I haven’t really felt alone or lonely. I guess it is because HK was more, as I said a couple of blogs ago, ‘Asia Lite.’ Even though you know it is a different place, you don’t really feel the difference, because enough people speak English there and there is enough there that is familiar. Not so with Beijing. Although the people were reserved in HK, They were still polite, even friendly in some cases. I’ve been here for about 5 hours now, and I must have been stared at 1000 times. Of course, it could be [View Full Entry]

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The same day after returning from Macau (and hosing myself down) I decided that if I'm going to be able to check out Victoria Peak, I had better do it now. There was a thunderstorm that evening, and after it cleared up, I headed out with tripod and camera in hand to take award winning (heh heh) shots of the city while on the peak. Even though it had rained heavily and it was past 9pm, intense humidity still hung in the air. The ground was still wet, but at least it had cleared up enough that I could still get [View Full Entry]

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I checked the weather reports last night, and it seems that a Typhoon warning is in effect - We've already seen results of it, and it is only getting worse. Since that is the case, I decided to see Macau a few days early. I think that if it were not for the weather warning, I wouldn't have chosen to go on a Sunday. Too busy. There were many families with suitcases on their way to Macau - sort of like going to the cottage in reverse. I would have definitely chosen mid week. I went to the Hong Kong-Macau ferry [View Full Entry]

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