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Published: September 27th 2009
Hi All. It is Laura so I will apologise in advance if my prose is not publishable like Sam’s. Any how for once I am not snoozing, I really have not been much I promise.
We love China and have had a great time so far. We hit Beijing on the 18th at 5.30 am and were surprised at the heat and the security baggage checks to get into the subway. We stayed at the Flowering House Hostel which was sweet and traditional but best of all in the middle of the non touristy section of the Hutong (the traditional set up of the city with little allies and courtyards).
On our first day the city was rehearsing for the New Year celebrations so many of the sights and streets were restricted but we got over to several of the parks to see the pagodas and views over the city. The pollution is bad as expected and so hinder views but we were lucky in the main with the weather.
After this we obviously went to the major sights. The Forbidden City was vast. I was in disbelief of how long it has been kept in such good condition. The Emperors knew how to live. We did not attemp to go into Tiananmen Square as we would only have been hauding through tourists but from across the street you could see the scale and it was vast. It did make Red Square look smaller in our minds eye. The Temple of Heaven was lovely. On the pics it is the park with the lanterns. It was peaceful in parts considering how many tourists head there. The Lama Temple was intriguing as well. It is the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist Temple outside of Tibet so we did feel like we were intruding a tad on many people who had come for religious reasons. Don’t worry Mam and Dad we have not walked away as Buddhists but I was impressed with the scale of the statues. There are obvioulsy the usual markets and bars with karaoke.
Our favourite thing about Beijing was the Hutoung and the food which as expected has been a lot better than in Russia. With a cold, spice works wonder. The people are lovely, very intigued with us. There were less tourists than we expected, discounting the main sights, which meant that there were a lot of bemused kids and sly photos of us and our pastiness. You would think after the Olympics they would be more used to the sight of Westeners but they obviously are fascinated with us. The old people are cool too. We have seen our fair share of Tai Chi in the parks and they seem to like walking backwards and clapping too. No shame at all. Maybe I will try it aroung Sefton Park one day.
However, our highlight around Beijing was the Great Wall. We went out to trek between Jinshanling and Simati. It took us 4 hours and ended with a zip wire off the wall over a river which my knees were thankful for. It was breathtaking. We were really lucky with the weather. It was clear with sunshine and we could see for miles. I expected to see more modern built areas along it but they have kept it mainly unspoilt. The start at Jingshanling was an older section that was not renovated unlike Simati where the paving was been fixed. We were unsure of how we felt about this. It needs to be kept up but when does it become a new wall where the orginal Great one once stood. We both felt that this day far outshone our expectations. There were so few toursits on it that at times we felt that our little group of 4 Brits and an Ozzy were alone, well except for the usual Tshirt sellers, we even found a bloke in one of the towers with a full bar but we felt this was not the time for Champagne!
That night we went on a search for Peking Duck and failed but had a great meal with a full duck much to the waitresses amusement. They especially liked it when Sam pointed at a random Chinese Liquor expecting a double measure and was presented with the bottle. We were sad to leave as it was a cool city and not as dirty as we had been told to expect. Maybe the Olympics changed it a lot and we have to be thankful for the English subway signs. Our use of Chopsticks is improving aswell but when you need to eat you find a way and eaten we have! We avoided live scorpion on a stick though.
On the 22nd we took a train south for 26 hours. Not the best train; we were unknowingly spoilt in Russia, we did however get to spend time with a lovely Chinese woman who would not let us read and just pointed at things along the way. She showed us photos of her wedding, Yen and Tom I expect you both dressed head to toe in red and gold now, OK? She also introduced us to Fish Sausages and I have to admit I am not a fan.
On the 23rd we got to Xingping after two more buses including a Bourne film, the one based in London which was odd to watch. WE REALLY LOVE XINGPING! You will see the photos on our blog and it really does look that beautiful. It is a little fishing port town on the Li River and is successful for one day trippers so our hostel ' This Old Place' is quiet in the evening with the few tourists who have had the sense to stay here longer than a few hours. It is amongst the Lime stone hills and is pictured on Chinese currency. It is very chilled here and all we have done for the last 4 days is wander, eat the local shrimp and sit and enjoy the view over the river from the roof top of the hostel. We did take the mandatory Bamboo raft trip, the touts are Xingping's only downfall. Plus we hired bikes and went further into the countryside which was very peaceful. Everyone staying here has been cool. No one wants to leave and we are jealous of how long others have spent in China but we will be back.
Unfortunately we are leaving today for an overnight bus to Hong Kong, which will be ace but not quite so chilled.
We will update again soon. Let us know how you all are. For all in Weightmans I hope all is good. I am sure the knew Laura is showing me up already.
Beard update- still here, a little more ginger but doing well. Laura likes.
Sweat update- Laura perspires more than anyone else we have met yet, nice!
Take care all
Much love
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Joey B
non-member comment
Your awake...
Glad to read your both enjoying your travels, and that you have managed to see so much already - even though you have slept a lot! Looking forward to the next photos. Enjoy, enjoy enjoy. Lots of love. Joey xx