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Published: November 14th 2010
We all loved Shanghai...after the first full day of sighseeing another 2 full on days were had and enjoyed. We went to the Yu Yuan Gardens and markets which were packed full of tourists. The markets were the first place where Hayley tested her bargaining skills only to realise that the shop she was in only had set prices..ooops! But she got herself a bargain scarf for less than a pound so it wasn't all bad! After walking around the markets we headed into the gardens trying to avoid getting our pictures taken by strangers! Once inside it was really nice to be able to walk around without being hasselled...or so we thought. Charlotte and Danielle sat down for a picture and out of nowhere came a family with a camera and the mother was placed inbetween them both. It's just so odd! The gardens were typical of China, ponds, fish and trees. They also had a Chinese "orchestra" playing christmas songs which was a tad random. We then headed down to the Bund, which is the business district on the river front, to take advantage of the great views of the other side of the river.
Our last full day in Shanghai and we went to the World Expo. Lucky that we did as it finished 2 days later!!!
The Expo is an opportunity for countries to showcase what they are all about and our first stop was of course the UK. The best thing was that we didn't have to que as we took our passports with us to show that we were British. The UK pavillion was called the Seed Cathedral, a massive building made from fibre optics each one having a seed inside it. As you walked around the outside, it tried to show how we in the UK are green but the only thing is that the pavillions are mainly aimed at the Chinese so we couldn't quite understand what was written!! For all of us, the favourite of the day was the Italy pavillion, well worth the hour wait and the constant stares in the que. As soon as you went in it felt like you were in Italy. They had a massive orchestra on the wall, two men making cellos which Danielle was quite interested in, huge designer dresses, a shoe where the heel was made up of shoes, a room dedicated to wine and pasta, an italian restaurant and a lot more! Some of the more random ones were Egypt which was basically a black room with a huge white cloth around it. We only managed to see about 10 of them which was pretty good going. Afterwards it was back to the Bund to get a picture of the lights and time for Hayley to finally buy a camera...
The journey from Shanghai to Hong Kong was the best yet, even with the slight mishap of us going to the wrong gate as we weren't told we had to go through immigration before getting on the train. At the time we were quite stressed AGAIN but looking back it's quite funny! We had hard sleepers and although it was quite small and difficult to sit up in the bed...it was 100 times better than the sleeper bus!!! 17 hours later and we arrived in Hong Kong!
The first thoughts of our accomodation were...what have we done! But we then came to realise that all the hostels in Hong Kong are the same! We were satying on the 15th floor and the reception was on the 5th, quite a strange set up but once we settled in it wasn't all that bad. We went and got the ferry to Llama island and were very pleased to see that it was 30 degrees when we got there. Hayely couldn't wait to catch a bit of sun..I think she's been having withdrawals!! Going over on the ferry was really strange. the further away from Hong Kong Island you got, the more it felt like you were heading towards Greece! There were little fishing boats and the sky and sea were blue and once in the island there were little alleys and pathways full of shops and restaurants..mainly seafood..not to Hayleys taste!! We ended up eating in a vegetarian cafe which was one of the best meals so far. We finally got some veg that we had been craving.
Back in Hong Kong and it was our first night out in Wan Chai....the red light district. Quite an experience but suprisingly we all felt very safe. The rest of our days in Hong Kong were spent sightseeing. We headed over to Lantau Island by cable car to see the biggest outdoor seated Buddha in the world, got a bit lost trying to find the tram to get up the peak where you get some good views of Hong Kong, walked along the Avenue of Stars which is a bit like the one in LA and went to see the light show on the river front which was a little disappointing before heading out to Wan Chai again!
And so the epic journey to Hanoi in Vietnam began. We had to get 2 trains and 2 buses. Something that we were all not looking forward to after a late night in Wan Chai for ladies night (free drinks)!! All in all the journey was no way near as bad as what we had thought it was going to be. The sleeper train wasn't as great as the last but at least we had a bed and after eventually getting to a bus station, the bus that we were on was quite decent. Just before the boarder crossing we stopped for a free lunch...rice, veg and meat...again! Crossing the boarder was pretty painless. You basically fill out the form, hand it to the officers and wait for your name to be called. We cleared the health check and off to the second bus we went where we were told we hadn't actually bought a ticket to Hanoi but somewhere completely different. But the woman was kind enough to let us get on the Hanoi bus...it wasn't very full!!! So 4 hours later we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere and were being harrassed by taxi drivers all wanting us to go with them. We did the sensible thing and went into the nearest cafe, got a map and got someone who worked there to get us a taxi. The hostel we stayed in was right by the old quarter and as we had got there pretty late...2 girls from our dorm...Sadie and Vicky...asked us if we wanted to go with them for some food. Compared to Hong Kong, Hanoi is CHEAP!!! We got a meal and drinks for about 2 pound each...i think we are going to enjoy it here!!!!
Our first day there and we headed to the old quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, all the time having to risk our lives to cross the roads. The mopeds are crazy here...you basically have to start walking and don't stop otherwise you won't get anywhere! Later on we were convinced to go on a trip to Halong Bay for 3 days and 2 nights. This was the best thing we have done. We got picked up on Sunday morning and headed to Halong City where we got on a little boat to take us to the boat that we would be staying on for the night. The boat had bedrooms on the bottom, a dining room in the middle and a sun deck at the top. After a feast for lunch, we headed to a huge cave and had time for kayacking. Danielle and Charlotte opted out of that but Hayley was right in the Kayack and headed off into the open waters with Emily (a girl from our dorm back at the hostel). That evening we stayed on the boat around the isles and watched the sunset before having another feast for tea and eventually having a mad night of drinking games with the rest of the group. The next day we had to be up at 7 for breafast and off to Cat Ba Island where we had a trek up a mountain...Charlotte, Danielle, Sadie and Vicky all went the wrong way up which took them the steepest way...Charlotte gave up half way and headed back down....not wise to trek in flip flops whilst hungover!!!
We stayed in a hotel for the second night and a look around the water front whilst trying to find a bar to go too. An earlier night was had as the journey back the next day was all day!
Once back at the hotel we had just enough time to get food and re packed with our clean clothes (wooooop) before heading off to Hoi An on yet another sleeper bus...better than last time but still we would all rather do the train than a bus!
So we are now in Hoi An...there isn't a lot to say about here other than it has rained pretty much the whole time, it's a bit flooded and the town centre is VERY small. Danielle and Hayley are getting some shorts and trousers made as its quite cheap and every other shop is a clothes shop. There is also an old town and market here but thats pretty much it. Hayley and Danielle have joined the other girls to go to My Son today...I am sat here with a hangover and decided it was about time this blog was written!!!
Tonight we are heading to Nha Trang, which is famous for its beaches, where we are meeting up with a few people from our Halong Bay tour...but the bad news is that its raining there too!!!!
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Baba
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Rain
Don't want to gloat Lottie but the weather is perfect here - lots of sun and the trees are amazing!!!!