18th May 2012

It was Anna's birthday and we were on a plane to Hong Kong, leaving Australia behind us! What an amazing few months down under. It was a shame to be leaving but we were both looking forward to Hong Kong and our China adventure. When we got to Hong Kong we caught the bus to Kowloon and experienced the sights and smells of the big city. The hotel was slightly better than what we had been used to, in fact much better than we'd been used to and so we welcomed a couple of nights of luxury to recharge before heading to mainland China. Anna put her bathrobe and slippers on and refused to move that evening so I popped out to find some cheap beers to celebrate her birthday - I was not disappointed when I found £1 beers in the first shop I went in - in fact Anna's Corona was 62p! Ahh so nice and so cheap and they got cheaper!

After a lie in and breakfast in bed we decided to explore Kowloon on our first day. We walked for most of the day looking in the shops and walking along the harbour. It was so busy and so many people! I guess 'This Is China' after all! On Day 2 we explored Hong Kong Island and climbed Victoria Peak on the funicular train, the views over the city were impressive even though it was a cloudy/hazy day. In fact I don't think we saw any blue sky in China until we reached Beijing! That evening we met up with our G-Adventures group ready to cross into Mainland China the next day. The group of 15 turned out to be a great bunch so we were all really pleased about that! Our tour leader Dragon Long was fantastic and made the trip! He was a local and knew all the history around China which he shared along the way.

We set off with our backpacks on towards the border and headed for our first overnight train and settled in for the night. The night trains were a hell of an experience, more for the ladies than the men I think because of the toilets! Most of the time they were fine and the beds were ok but the toilets were...well let's just say unpleasant! Anna had a few moments and I think after a few times experiencing them decided to not squeeze her lemon on the trains! Anyway we had Uno to keep us busy and lots of new friends to get to know and share the experience with so all in all they were fine!

Our first stop in mainland China was Yangshuo, a small town about an hour south of Guilin. We got a bus from Guilin train station to Yangshuo and experienced the Chinese roads for the first time! Their driving leaves a lot to be desired - crazy doesn't even begin to explain it! I think getting a ticket for driving offences is near impossible, they really don't care! Wrong side of the road, overtaking on hard shoulders, pulling out of junctions without looking, ignoring traffic lights - the bigger the vehicle the more 'right' of way you have on the road! You need some balls to drive here and it only got worse in the cities! Yangshuo was a really nice traditional Chinese town and we did a lot in the few days we were there including cooking classes, Tai Chi lessons, cycling and soaking up lots of Chinese culture. The cooking class was the highlight - we now have the skills to make Chinese food so we will be experimenting when we get back - you never know you might get an invite!

After a few nights we got our next night train to Chongqing where we stopped to see the giant pandas and caught the boat for the 3 gorges river cruise. Chongqing was China's war time capital and is the largest city in China with 38 million people in total living there - it was manic! The 3 gorges river cruise was a bit of a disappointment as it was very misty so we did not get to see the gorges at their best. Dragon told us that it is misty for most of the year and rarely clears because of the altitude (and pollution we suspected). The boat itself was good though and there was plenty of Karaoke to keep us entertained as we watched many Chinese men and women screech as loud and as horrible as they could - the problem is they thought they were amazing! Even cheap beer was not enough to drown that noise out, I even thought about pouring it in my ears! Ha-ha!

After the cruise we moved on to Xi'an and stayed in a hotel near the south city wall. We explored the city and experienced the markets where we worked on our bartering technique. They sell so much junk in China it is unbelievable - the same stuff is everywhere you go! It gets a bit tedious at times, especially with them shouting at you to buy their stuff - "I'll do you a good price!" Etc, etc! When we visited the Terracotta Warriors it was no different. Our expectation was that as it was a rural location so thought we would be able to see the farming land and the surrounding mountains, however on arrival we were greeted by endless stores selling crap again - the same crap! So sad and how they all make money selling the same rubbish is beyond me! It didn't spoil the experience of seeing the Warriors though - they were pretty impressive! To understand the history and see artefacts so old was fantastic - definitely worth the visit. They say that only a small amount of the army has been discovered with so much not yet excavated, including the main tomb of the emperor. Again like everywhere else there were too many people all pushing and shoving to get a picture - Anna got sufficiently squashed love her, and barged by a little old lady. When they say there are a lot of people in China it is certainly not an understatement! This is something we had to get used to as they really don't have any sense of personal space! On our last day we hired a tandem bike and cycled on the city walls. It was a hot ride but very good fun.

Next...Shanghai and a very quick stop over (just one night) to see the city and go to the acrobatics show. Shanghai was probably the cleanest, most westernised city we visited and it was so different to the rest of China that we had seen so far. The acrobatics was entertaining but not a very professional show - could do with a bit of polishing! We visited the old part of the city where we enjoyed a tea ceremony. We had lots of different flavoured teas and were shown what and how to prepare them - not quite the same as your bucket of tea Marie, no PG Tips here or Glengette Mum!

Beijing was the last stop on our China adventure. When we arrived the weather was glorious and there were blue skies! So we went straight to the summer palace to make the most of it while it lasted. Anna was happy that the sun had returned so we had an ice cream to celebrate. On day two we visited the great wall! It was an early start but we all decided to hire a charter bus and go early as it meant we could be at the wall before the crowds turned up. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived so early to no crowds at all - Dragon was right! I think the Great Wall was the only place in China where we had a bit of peace and quiet (before the crowds arrived) and could walk in silence and enjoy the sights with blue skies as well! However there were the usual stores selling crap again but I could not resist getting a souvenir Great Wall t-shirt for £1.50 - Bargain! The next day we had a city tour with Dragon who showed us around a few of the highlights including the pearl market. In the evening we went to the Kung Fu show which was absolutely brilliant! What a show and the performance was fab! On our final day in Beijing we walked around Tiananmen Square and visited the hidden city before spending the afternoon catching up with our laundry and preparing to fly to Vietnam the next day. We had one final meal with our fab group and a beer then hit the sack.

The food in China was pretty good, I enjoyed most of it but Anna had a few meals that weren't the best - the market in Yangshuo put her off a bit - you're never quite sure what 'meat' you're eating so Anna decided not to eat meat for a while! However with Dragon leading us he did take us to some great restaurants which were cheap as chips! We went to a Peking duck restaurant in Beijing where we had so much food all for £3.50 with as much as we could drink.

All in all, China was an experience - a very interesting place and we're glad we had the opportunity to go there!

We are now in Cambodia after thoroughly enjoying Vietnam - we wish we had more time to see and do more but we only have 4 weeks left now! Time is flying!

Hope everyone back home is ok and are making the most the sunshine that you are having! Make sure you keep it for when we get back!! Not long now!

Love to all,

Dave and Anna Xxx