Only a 30-45 minutes ferry trip away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong! Lamma Island is like a quiet paradise, especially because it is so close to the big city... [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the night train from Xiamen, I took the bus to the coach station in Guangzhou. That went very well and by that way I had a nice tour through the outskirts of Guangzhou. The bus stopped right at a ticket booth for the bus to Zhuhai, the border town to enter Macau. So within no time, I was on the next bus. Then I had to take another bus to the real border. It was a bit of a search, but finally I found it. Having crossed the border, I realized that I didn’t write anything down of the hotel [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the arrival at the airport, I took the local bus to the hostel. This was also not the quickest way, but I can say I’ve seen a lot of Xiamen at night already. It was a small search for the hostel, because the description they gave on internet was not really extensive. Luckily the location (near the beach) and the people who are working there make up for that small bit of inconvenience. I think I was really lucky, because the last weeks in Xiamen the weather prediction was not that nice. The temperature was high, but no sun. When [View Full Entry]

---

---

The bus ride from Suzhou to Hangzhou went faster than I thought. At arrival, it took a while before I found the right bus stop to the hostel, but when I finally found it, the ride went very well. And then, I have to say, taking the bus is more fun than to get into a taxi that brings you to your destination at once. After having checked in the hostel, I decided to do completely nothing that day. The hostel is located at the West Lake, the primary sight in Hangzhou. I just walked around until I found a nice [View Full Entry]

---

---

I arrived in Tongli about 4 pm and found quite easily the old town and in that part a hotel room. There is an entrance fee for the old town, but luckily I’d got a discount via the hostel in Suzhou. Tongli is one of the famous water towns and there are many tourists that do a daytrip from Suzhou or Shanghai to Tongli. This was the reason I went late in the afternoon to stay the night. Indeed I didn’t see many tourists that day. The street to the old town and the first four streets in the old town [View Full Entry]

---

---

I arrived around 20:30 in Suzhou from Shanghai by train. Therefore, I took a taxi to my hostel. For once it was clear that the Chinese have some idea about efficiency! Everyone had to stand in one line and people who tried to get in front of the line were sent away by two police men. Wonderful! The night of my arrival I didn’t do anything anymore, except for a drink in the hostel’s bar. The next morning, I walked around in the neighbourhood of the hostel. I expected Suzhou to be a big city and it is, but the hostel [View Full Entry]

---

---

The last days in Harbin went very quick. Of course, I had to learn for my exams and next to that we had to develop a game as a final assignment. In the mean time, I've tried to realize that many of the things I did for the last time and that I would probably never do them again. Although I really had a very nice time in Harbin, I did not feel bad about leaving at all. The last Friday night, a party was planned by two of my classmates, but because our Chinese classmates could not enter our dorm, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, I can definitely say that this trip was the most boring and annoying trip I have made in China. Probably Heilongjiang province is just not the best province to travel to and in. On Wednesday night, I took the night train from Harbin to Heihe, a town north of Harbin and border town with Russia. I arrived around 7 in the morning and bought my bus ticket for the next day to Wudalianchi, because that was the main reason of my travelling. Then, I took a taxi to bring me to the only place in the LP which was written [View Full Entry]

---

---

H1N1 flu is serious and dangerous and very very scary. At least, that is how most of the Chinese think of it. Where you already could see people with a mask a few months ago, nowadays they are everywhere. Since a week, even the ladies at the desk of the dormitory are wearing the mask. Sometimes they put it off, but when you approach them, they put it back on immediately. Like you have a deadly disease! When I was in Hong Kong, there were everywhere antibacterial soap dispensers and the elevators where disinfected every hour. I didn't see this in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thursday, 1st October: National (holi)day The reason for the October holiday is the celebration of the National Day. This year 60 years ago, The People's Republic of China was founded. Wednesday evening there was some fireworks at the river, but I didn't see that because I was still recovering from food poisoning. I asked around if there would be some kind of parade or other form of celebrations in Harbin, but nobody knew about anything. So after having celebrated the birthday of one of my classmates with a small birthday cake, I went with the last classmate still in Harbin to [View Full Entry]

---

---