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Published: June 28th 2007
Ten days in the Hong of the Kong is enough to send you doolally. We took care of some administrative tasks on arrival i.e. I had to apply for a new passport - set us back a cool 150 notes - as the current one was all out of blank pages to accommodate those big-sticky-visas that every country we're visiting wants to give you. Recently, I'd been specifically requesting that immigration officials do NOT stamp one of the few remaining blank pages.....which is of course what they proceded to do regardless, total nincompoops of the highest order.
We stayed in Kowloon in a tiny room in a rabbit warren on the 14th floor of the Chungking 'Mansions' - rather similar to the flats at Red Road or Sighthill - with a bunch of Nigerians, Tanzanians and Kenyans for (close) company; apparently they're all business men who utilise cheap Chinese labour on mainland China to churn out African garments before shipping then back home.....and I came up the Clyde in a banana-boat. Still, the Filipina gaffer was spot-on and sometimes even let us power up the air-con outwith the 9pm-6am window, perhaps she didn't like mopping up puddles....
Still,
Cometh the hour, cometh the man....
DOM nails the double three and the $HK100, guinness all round...in true spur-of-the-moment-style, we were gabberflasted to find out that two good mates from Glasgow - Stuart (for a month or so) and Steve (for a week) - had decided to pop out to visit us in the Far East for a spot of adventure; they made the decision, booked the flight and were at Gatwick approx 48 hours later, hardcore. That was when they kicked-off their week-long boozing session - getting 'panelled' in their vernacular - but people have to let their hair down sometimes eh?! Naturally, we were more than happy to board the 'Gravy Train II' until it ran out of steam....
Anyways, to give you a wee flavour of our late-nite shinduggery, tomfoollery and jiggerypokery, I'll regale you with a few choice highlights: beating some daft Engerlund punters at darts - with me securing a nailbiting victory (and $HK100) with a glorious double three - watching Steve eat a chicken kebab then a Big Tasty and McChicken Sandwich thirty minutes later - that's what I call the munchies - and then yours truly demolishing all-comers on a delightful ten-game winning run on the pool table, superb. Last - but by no means least - Stuart
picked a winner at the Sha Tin races, otherwise it would have been an expensive day out.
Unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs virtually the whole time so we didn't manage to notch up all the usual tourist sights, although we did catch the tram up to Victoria Peak - alas the harbour was obscured by clouds - and the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. And then it was time to bid farewell to Jom (Bali) and Steve (London) as Broon et moi were mainland-bound.
Yangshuo is perhaps the best place in the world to see jaggy karst peaks towering into the sky - we'd seen similar rock formations in Thailand and Palawan - which combined with the lush green rice paddies and the Li River make a stunning vista. A decade ago, Yangshuo was a real backpacker's mecca but those days are long gone; it's now swamped with masses of Chinese tourists who outnumber the foreigners by at least 20:1 - a distinctly new experience in nine months of travel - but perhaps inevitable in a country of 1.3 billion souls. Takes a wee while to get used to all the same. Still, it's
FA Cup final beers
Spot the retro Scotland top, quality.... a great place to wine and dine and play pool (are you detecting a trend here??) and go for leisurely cycles whilst gawping at the otherworldly topography. And talking of the green baize, Yangshuo marked the second legendary pool performance by D-O-M in China; by the time I'd notched nine scalps in a row I was getting more than a tad bored....so was happy to see my reign ended by A.N.Other westerner who teaches english to locals and thinks they're Johnny Cool.
Our zig-zagging around the country then took us to the boomtown that is Shanghai, a metropolis which doesn't offer too much, other than a splattering of shiny skyscrapers and the impressive Bund, an eclectic collection of architectural styles from the days when the town was just a smelly staging post on the infamous opium route. And how could I forget the legions of touts who pester you incessantly to buy watches, bags and T-shirts?? Even worse than Hong Kong. However, Shanghai did have one redeeming feature in the shape of the first O'Malleys irish bar we've seen on the trip, so naturally we popped in for a pint of the black stuff (4.50 a go, ouch) and
What's a guy gotta do to get some peace to apply eardrops??
Spot the Buckfast screwtop, you can take the boys out of Glasgow.... the biggest burger I've ever seen, happy days.
Our soft sleeper compartment on the train to Beijing was comfortable enough but our two Chinese companions were hardly inspiring, never mind even remotely friendly. I'd have to say that the Chinese are probably the least expressionate people I've encountered so far - they're decidedly stony faced - which is no mean feat when you've interacted with locals from the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. I'm fully aware of the language barriers - getting anywhere in a taxi can be a real headache unless you've got a scrap of paper with your destination written in Mandarin - but isn't smiling hard-wired into human beings from baby-age?? I'm sure they teach you that in first year psychology. Anyways, don't expect many welcoming grins if you're going to the Olympics next year, it ain't gonna happen.
Beijing is certainly more cultured than Shanghai and is packed with sights which have seeped into western consciousness in recent decades; unfortunately several of them (e.g. Forbidden Palace) are draped in scaffolding for restoration work so everything looks pristine for summer 2008. We didn't get to see Chairman Mao's ugly mug either
- the mausoleum was having a face-lift - so his portrait in Tiananmen Square had to suffice instead. The Square itself looks rather benign given it was the backdrop for the cataclysmic events of 4th of June 1989 when hundreds (if not thousands) of students were massacred; is there any more vivid image from the last 50 years than that of the sole Chinese student deviantly staring down the barrel of that tank? Big
cojones as they say....
Against all the odds, somehow we survived our trip to the Great Wall, our driver was ducking and weaving like a nutter, but I'll take near-misses over long delays any day. The wall itself was shrouded in mist as it snaked off into the distance, hugging the contours of the surrounding mountains, not too shabby. The rest of our time in Beijing was spent cycling around the
hutongs and ascertaining that our proposed trip to Tibet was a non-starter; in recent weeks it's been impossible to get your paws on independent travel permits due to the American protestors who burned some Chinese flags at Everest Base Camp, how brave eh?? Consequently, the only way in is to join a (verry expensive)
tour, so that got the rubber ear, Everest will have to wait for another time, don't suppose it's going anywhere in a hurry....
The hard sleeper which trundled us along to Pingyao was fairly 'entertaining'; we got to see an innebriated local get a hefty beating from one of the train cops - he was a tad sweaty after meting out the punishment - we witnessed smokers in the (non-smoking) buffet car stub out their butts on their messy dinner plates, and we were rudely awoken at 5am by the locals in the lower berths. Stuart was more than a tad perplexed by their sleeping routine - lights out at 10pm, gabbling at dawn - as he likes to go to sleep when he's "tired'', often in the wee small hours after muchos reading, but then who said travelling was glamorous?? The new phrase of choice when faced by such tribulations is: ''This may be bad.....but it beats work!''. Quite.
Pingyao was by far the least touristy place we visited in China (only two hostels) and hence the most relaxed. It's a historic walled city with loads of temples and impressive ancient architecture, red lanterns galore, very pleasing
on the eye. We wandered the cobbled streets checking out the locals as they went about their daily routines and formulated a plan for our last two weeks together.
So to Xian, our final port of call in China, and home to the famous terracotta warriors, accidently discovered by well-digging farmers in 1974. The 8,000 soldiers have been in situ for more than 2,000 years and were buried along with the Emperor Qin, who wanted to take an army with him to his next life. The figures are life-like and life-sized and vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with their rank. The army was fairly impressive but it didn't blow me away - for example there are no weapons on show - and it definitely doesn't merit its billing as the "8th wonder of the world", more like the 88th....
China was an interesting place to travel in but it didn't live up to all the mysterious images I'd nurtured over the years, and in that sense was a disappointment; the country is (and has been) modernising at such a phenomenal pace that it's difficult to hunt down authentic Chinese culture unless you have a lot
The Wild Bunch
Suzanne (a Dubliner) and two Duuuudes (from Colorado) going laarge in Yangshuo.... of time to venture way off the beaten track. For example, hardly anyone cycles anymore - it's all mopeds and cars - and it's tough to spot traditional architecture - concrete is in fashion - and then you've got a Starbucks at every corner, so it looks like we missed the boat by a fair while, not too worry. Apparently, China will be THE number one tourist destination in the world by 2020 - the pain is in the post for France and Spain - so I'd get there sharpish if its on your hit-list, or you'll probably feel like you've wandered into a 'Disneyfied' China.
One more thing, the air pollution really is as bad - if not worse - as the western media portrays; I think we saw a faint blue sky a couple of times in four weeks - its smog galore throughout the day - and our nostrils were raw for the duration, like living with post-nosebleed symptoms 24:7 whilst camping out on Hope Street, yuk.
Still, after much head-scratching we came up with the perfect tonic to clear out the sinuses: a week of hedonism on the beach on Ko Phan Ngan, genious.
Moon Hill, Yangshuo
Despite being pursued up 800 sweaty steps by some granny chirping "You want mango juice?", the panorama was special....and Stuart even made a purchase, good lad.... Our beach bungalo was in a primo position right on the sand but I only managed two hours of sunbathing in a week - Stuart did ZERO! - so I look decidedly pasty-faced compared to Jom, she's obviously been working it big style in Bali. In our defence, it was super toasty and I'd rather forego the tanlines than have to sit and watch the sweat pool in my bellybutton, not pretty. KPN is now full of young holidaymakers - most of the backpackers have moved on since I was last there in '98 - who have a penchant for sooking vodka or whiskey mixers out of ice-filled buckets til they feel the need to go paddling, rebels. Anyways, the local fire dancers are awesome entertainment - some of their moves are unbelievable - and we weren't shy when it came to skipping over the flaming rope, still got the knack from primary school!
Dom n Jom are now back in Glasgow for a ten day 'holiday' enjoying the fresh air (read ski-jacket required) and catching up with friends and family; I had my first bath yesterday in nine months, superb. Heading to London in a few days to Moon Hill (the other side)
Alas, Stuart didn't realise that he'd left his new-bought-that-morning sunnies at the top until we were back on the road, that'll learn him.... catch up with the big-city pals and then it's back to India for some serious perspiration.
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Margaret Ward
non-member comment
ships passing... again
Hi Guys, It looks like we just missed each other again, rather like Trivandrum! I was in Beijing and Shanghai about three weeks ago - until the 2nd June Probably passed you in Tiananmen Square! Must look closely at my forbidden city photos, other tourists managed to get into most of them.. I'm heading off to Chad to do some aid work, I guess that's one place I won't meet you, not a lot to see I believe Am enjoyng the blogs, have got a bit lax myself.. Regards Margaret ( Konya/Aleppo train, Krak/Palymra/Damascus)