Hi Everyone

Got a bit of updating to do. There weren't very many good internet facilities in Beijing so we have had to wait till Hong Kong.

Tuesday 7th November - we arrived in Beijing and wandered around the local area. We then went to a Beijing Acrobatics show in the evening. It was really good, the acrobats are really young but very talented, lots of them doing balancing and twisting their bodies whilst holding glass cups and things. The lads were great as well as they did a lot of somersaults and things.

Wedenesday 8th November - We went to the Great Wall of China today with a tour guide. First he took us to the Ming tombs which were really good, he taught us loads of traditions like having to step into the doorway with your right foot first if your female and with your left foot first if you are male. The tour guide then had to take us to some Government shops, its the law amongst tour groups, the government makes them bring people. We don't have to buy anything but they make you stay there for about half an hour. First we went to a Jade factory and then we went to a Pearl factory. The Pearl factory was quite interesting as they showed you how they get the pearl out of the Oyster and also how to tell if a pearl is real or not.

We got to the Great Wall eventually - and what a sight. It is amazing, i can't believe some daft sods actually built all that. We walked up to a thir tower, which was knackering but now means we are 'heroes'!

Thursday 9th October - Today we went to the Forbidden City which is where the Emperor and his many wives lived. This was quite cool, however it got a bit boring after a while because all the Temples are the same. Many of them housed artifacts about the Emperor and his past. Also they had a lot of scaffolding around them due to restoration work, ready for the hourds of tourists in 2008 (Olympics).

Friday 10th October - We went to the Summer Palace today, this was a but of a long subway journey out of the city but well worth it. the Summer Palace is where the Emperor and his Empress would go to get away from the city. There is a huge lake in the middle surrounded by mountains with amazing temples on top of them. It really was amazing and definately my favourite part of Beijing.

Saturday 11th October - We got our train today to Hong Kong, this started in the afternoon adn took 24 hours. The train was quite comfortable and we had a 4 berth sleeper to ourselves. Didn't go very well prepared though and should have taken some cup a soups or some pot noodles as the restaurant cart sold very weird stuff.

Sunday 12th October - We arrived in Hong Kong at lunchtime and immediately notcied a massive difference. It is very westernized. We got some nice food straight away as we were both starving. We arrived at the hostel very easily, the taxi driver spoke English! We did some laundry as we had no clothes and then went for a walk down to the harbour front. This was amazing and i think it has the best skyline i have seen so far. It is massive and nearly every skyscraper has got some massive neon sign on it.

Monday 13th October - Today we got the subway over to Hong Kong Island and walked around the shops for a while. We then walked through Soho which has the worlds longest covered Elevator. It took us halfway up the mountain and from here we got the Peak tram to the toip of the mountain that looks over Hong Kong Island, the views are fantastic. The tram was quite scary though as it goes at quite a steep gradient and if you were stood up you would fall over. In the evening we went to see the spectacular light show that Hong Kong puts on. AT 8pm every night all the skyscapers take part ina brilliant light a music show, flashing light beams from the tops and things.

Tuesday 14th October - Today we went to Lantau Island, here we took a cable car to the Nnong Ping village which is where they have a MASSIVE Buddha. We walked the steps to the base of the Buddha and read about why it was built. I'm older than the Buddha, it was only built in 1989. The cable car was horrid and i was very glad to get off it, it went far too high.

Wednesday 15th October - We fly to Bangkok tonight and i'm not sure what we are going to see today.

Hong Kong doesn't really have that many sightseeing attractions, it is just full of shops and restaurants. It is an amazing place though.

Speak soon

Nic & Ant xx