Blogs from Guangdong, China, Asia - page 20

Hey Everyone, Well I finally made it to China. I mean real People's Republic of China not Hong Kong quasi China. I tried about two weeks ago and was turned away at the border because I had the wrong visa. We had taken the train up to the border and then I left my cohort there and returned to HK where I went up to Victoria Peak, but that's a different story. So for this trip, I left my hotel yesterday morning on the DB02R bus that takes me to Hong Kong Int'l airport. Having done a bit of research I found a "limo" service that takes the road route to Shenzhen and feeling like a new view, I decided to take it. That cost was considerably higher than the train as one may expect HKD ... read more

Summertime and the weather is hot… Any more songs I can throw in for good measure? As you can tell, the weather has finally turned from the freak wet weather we had in April, and although this is now the ‘official’ rainy season, it seems to have brought mostly sunshine and heat along with it. When it does rain, thankfully it only lasts for a few hours rather than for days on end, and brings with it some pretty spectacular thunder and lightning shows (it's like Singapore on steroids). Temperatures are on average about 35 degrees so surely we can finally ditch our pasty white skin and look exotic and tanned again?? We do get some strange looks from the locals though who have an adverse fear of anything to do with sun, so while we ... read more

Hi All, Not a lot of help in the hostel this morning as the guy pointed for me to head off in the wrong direction. on my hired bicycle, which was compounded by a lady who also told me to keep going in that direction. It only took me about 20 kms in the wrong direction. It didn't matter as whichever direction you go in it impossible to not find these incredible buildings. They are almost everywhere. So a diaolou. these buildings were built by coolies who had been working abroad in the Americas, Indonesia, Malaysia. The forceful opening up of Canton by the British in the Opium Wars created famine and destitution due to a high influx of migrants looking for work and the destruction of lives due to the opium trade. A high percentage ... read more

The fast train from Wuhan to Guangzhou averages about 300 km/hr. Clean, cool, comfortable, even in 2nd Class. The trip takes 4 hours and costs about half of what it would cost to fly. Best of all, it gets me right into the area where I'm staying, while the airport is over 1 hour away. I'm here in Guangzhou, the third largest city in China. Added this city to my travel plans to accept an invitation from a student, William, from my last trip to HUST. Wouldn't have thought of visiting here otherwise, since it doesn't have much to offer tourists. It is China's major city gateway to Hong Kong and it has been a major port for Southern China for centuries. It is home to more migrant workers than any other Chinese city and was ... read more

Woweee what a crazy couple of weeks. So much has been going on since I moved from Hangzhou to Guangzhou. My flight down was fairly smooth. I had to pay some money towards excess baggage having already sent 4 large postal bags worth of stuff down ahead of me. I’ve only been here 6 months and arrived with just 2 suitcases and my laptop and left with so much more. I hate to think what the situation will be like when I eventually leave China, I’ve picked up so much stuff. I’ve found a DVD shop near my work place and have already amassed a collection of TV series, the ladies are lovely and get me what I ask for if they haven’t got it by the next day. So I’d best fill you in from ... read more