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Published: April 7th 2009
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The Journey
Together in red before Brent leaves for Hong Kong and Rich continues to Fuzhou then makes his way to Beijing Preparation for the trip
Well it seems that we have been preparing for China for over 6 months now although the past few weeks have been the most productive. I have left all the important stuff up to Rich. He is packing the first aid kit (which from all reports has led to a shortage of Imodium and band aids in Wellington) the toilet paper and wipes and of course the camera accessories. Me, well I have responsibility for...actually I don't have responsibility for any of the packing so all I have to do is to make sure I escape from work on time and commit to the trip. That and starting a travel blog.
Our planned itinerary looks something like this...
Wellington - Sydney - Shanghai - Chengdu - Emei Shan - Leshan - X'ian then it's Hong Kong for me and Sydney while Rich visits Fuzhou and then makes his way up to Beijing and then back to Sydney for a weeks relaxation and mountain biking.
From all of the research we have done I am looking forward the most to Emei Shan. I knew nothing about it before we started planning this trip but
Kiwi No1
Not sure the hat is the ideal fashion statement for China but it may protect Rich from a fall from the carrying chair to Emei Shan thanks to the brilliant blogs on this site by Legend Kung and Coles and Clayts (and the accommodation and travel advice) I have become quite inspired. That said, I am not sure the legs or lungs will carry me the 10,000 steps to the top so I may either be taking the Cable Car (although my fear of heights will probably stop that one) or being carried in a chair by 4 porters. That option is probably the most frightening given the number of stairs, the snow and how small these guys look. Still if it was good enough for Sir Ed to have Sherpa Tensing carry his pack then its good enough for Rich and I.
Leshan, on the way back to Chengdu, also looks awesome and worth a stop to see the worlds largest Buddha (although I have heard this claim a few times around the planet but also find it a little ironic that a Buddha would want to lay claim to being the biggest or best of anything!).
The intention with Chengdu is to take in the city and its people. The tea-house culture looks truly unique. I know Rich is personally looking forward
Kiwi No2
Brent looks better behind the camera... to sitting for hours drinking hot tea and contemplating life. Me, well I will probably amuse myself with photographing the action and taking in some street Opera. Also on the agenda is a Sichuan cooking course...
X'ian is on the tour so that we can take in the Terracotta warriors and walk the wall surrounding the city.
We don't intend to blog every day but if you drop by every few you should see a bit of an update and a couple of new photos. For me the objective of the trip is just to get lost in China for a couple of weeks and hopefully in doing so end up with a couple of great images.
Concerns...The complete lack of Mandarin on my behalf, although after 8 lessons Rich can now identify the men's toilet sign but is so far refusing to advise me how...the food and what we are actually eating...and the air pollution. So all in all hoping for a smooth trip and a relaxing and fun time.
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Paul
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Good Luck!
Hi, Hope the trip goes well. It looks like you are going to have a great time and good luck with the loo! Paul :)