Could those leaving China please form an orderly queue...

After two nearly three weeks in the Peoples Republic of China it was now time to leave this sacred land and head south and into, excitedly, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After spending the day in Nanning finding it increasingly difficult, we headed towards the train station and to the open arms of the Chinese sleeper train that would take us on the long track south. Getting there a good hour before the train was due to leave we thought, naively or not, that we would have bags of time to fill before boarding the train. Time that could be spent hunting for food (or what closely resembles it in Nanning)and letting Shell make her tenth stop to the toilet. In reality, after maybe 10 minutes of waiting, the entrance was inundated with literally thousands of Chinese tourists, all being led by very loud, shouty tour guides who waved certain flags to keep the hoards under control. Well if you can imagine say, a bag full of corks trying to fit through a 2 inch gap, then that would probably do it justice. Now I know that us as Brits are mildy obsessed with forming queues but you would have thought that even the smallest piece of human instinct would be to STOP PUSHING, alas, here in southern China, certainly not. After maybe twenty minuntes of pushing with our big rucksacks and LOTS of angry swearing on our part we managed to literally jump through the gate and handed our bags in to be X-rayed. It was at this point, with Shell a few people behind me, that she would be electricuted by a metal fence as she picked up her bag. Stopping in pain, she was then shouted at by a few iritating little Chinese tourists for daring to pick her bag up before theirs. Shell started crying. Bless her.

Wiping away the tears, we realised that due to the mass hysteria of the Chinese populace on the move, we were now only five minutes away from the train leaving. Dashing around like the Chuckle Brothers searching for ladders we accosted an official, stuffed our tickets in his face and demanded to be led the way. Amazingly, he calmly pointed us in the right direction where we ran like the wind and threw our belongings onboard. Having booked 'hard sleeper' we did initially, fear the worst. Maybe a few stray chickens and smell of feet, in reality we got a very quiet, if not very open, carriage. With three bunks in each small compartment we wondered who would be climbing above us but the train was pretty quiet so after playing cards for a while we decided to try and get some sleep before we hit the Vietnamese border. Before that an old woman, dressed in an all in one red tracksuit (think Soviet olympian circa 1984) introduced herself to us but said she only spoke Russian and German, before we could respond- she was off, off into her own world of Communist bunnies.

At about midnight the train abrubtly stopped and on came a very serious looking Chinese immigration official who extremely slowly, no no, painfully slowly, started to take each and everybody's passport one by one. After spending nearly an hour checking every piece of information he returned and repeated the same slow process, checking then double checking each and every photo to our faces. Once he had left and we were on our way we stopped once more and repeated the process just outside the Vietnamese border. This time we were told to get off and wait in a 'holding area' with the walls adorned with Socialist portraits and insignia of their National hero and saviour, Ho Chi Minh. After waiting for a while again we were told to stand up and collect our passports as they shouted. As the scary Vietnamese offcial angrily shouted 'THOMAS!' I could of sworn I was back in Primary school with Mr Reynolds.

An hour later at about 5am we pulled up in the pitch black at a station just outside of Hanoi where a taxi driver would not leave us alone. As we were tired and it was dark in a strange country we went with him, even though deep down we knew he would try to screw us over. In the end he did, only by about a dollar but it could of been worse. After being kindly let in at 5.30am to the hostel and offered a bed early we slept for an hour or so and then hopped back out into Hanoi to explore the city.

After dodging the famous and completely mental traffic of the old quarter we navigated our way down to Ho Kiem Lake, which basically acts as the centre piece of the city centre. Being an extremely characterful city full of French colonial architecture we took an instant liking to the place after the hyper-mordernisation of China. Walking down the narrow streets, smelling wafts of freshly baked baguettes and then turning to be met by a cathedral, you could have been in Paris. Although the choking smog and high humidity definitely suggested otherwise!

The big difference we decided, compared to exploring China, was the smell. Upon walking through the Chinese streets we were constantly met by a very strange smell but we could never figure out what it was. We knew it was coming from the food stalls and restaurants but couldn't quite place what it came from. It was a hideous smell. Thankfully the only thing you can smell here is the vast array of women cooking noodle soup on the pavements. Something which come 8pm turns the entire city centre into one big seated eating area. No space is wasted as people of all ages sit down to eat Pho Bo (chicken noodle soup), Goi cuon (freshly packed spring roll filled with pork, shrimp, herbs, rice noodles and fresh greens) and a multitude of other dishes. Everything looks fresh and smells amazing. A real foodies heaven.

The next day we booked our Ha long bay trip through our hostel, who have been incredibly helpful. I keep telling them they are amazing and they keep responding with a smile by telling me it's thier job. You have to love that. Apparently Monday is Vietnam's 'day of rest' so we explored the streets for the whole day, stopping for noodle soup and 40p Ba Ha Noi beers, the local tasty brew, we explored everywhere, increasing our confidence of crossing the roads as we went. I know we've written about it before but crossing the roads here takes skills that cannot be learnt anywhere other than through experience. It is, without any exaggeration at all, absolutely mental. We have also never been to a place with so many bookshops, which I think says evrything you need to know about he people that live here.

That night we bought tickets for the best and most famous show in town, the Water Puppet Show. Now I know my words will not do it justice in any way but we sat for an hour and watched, in amazement, an array of puppets prance through water, playing out different historial scenes to the backing of an orchestra. Check the photos and the video, it will hopefully do it justice.

After 'forgetting' to eat for a good number of hours we were both approaching cranky territory so decided to quick march it to get food. As we sat down on stools no higher than six inches we were provided with a plate full of fresh beef, herbs and vegetables and a hot plate. After looking at each other I got started to feed my craving of cooking once again, it's been a while! Finishing up after a few too many beers we decided that we would head back to the hostel for our 5am start tommorrow morning, thick heads indeed!

Much love, Tommo xxxxx

Yangshuo to Nanning

After a last day in Yangshuo spent dodging the ever-increasing rain we were both ready for our next stop. After purchasing tickets the day before for a bus to Nanning (via translation help from our hostel), we bumped into our friend, Lukas, from the previous hostel in Guilin. Being Swiss he had a slightly odd demeanour but we spent a good three hours with him talking about our trips and lots and lots of football over coffee. He was here for a couple of months and then was off to Africa, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau no less. Finishing our coffee's we decided to take a walk to the local market, which was supposed to be quite a sight. Amongst the giant cucumbers and numerous butchered dog carcasses you really got the sense that even in the tourist bubble that is Yangshuo, you can be slapped right back to reality within a few hundred metres. After getting incredibly wet walking back up towards our hostel he decided that he was going for a swim in the river so we left him at that point, exchanged email addresses, said our farewells and promised that we would try and meet up if we were in Vietnam at the same time.

After another lazy evening watching films and eating beer duck, very tasty!, we packed our bags once again in preperation to move on after five days in Yangshuo. It would have been less, in fact we would have moved on a couple of days ago, but we found out that the hostel could organise Vietnamese Visa's but that it would take a few days to be delivered. It was either that or go directly to Nanning and wait three days there for the same service. We plumped for Yangshuo.

Waking the next morning we said our goodbyes, left them our blog address and took a taxi to the station. Once on the bus we panicked initially at the thought of an eight hour bus journey stuck in a space no bigger than an open lunchbox and badly dubbed Arnie movies on constant loop but we just got our heads down and got on with it and before you know it we were pulling into Nanning.

After being given directions from the hostel via email we made our way by bus down an etraordinarily straight road through a city of mega proportions. To all intents and purposes Nanning has about as much national gravitation as that of say, Leicester, but to step into it you could be in one of the worlds's biggest metropolis'. With a population of about 3.5 million it is definitely the biggest city in the region but as far as China as a country goes, you get the feeling that it is small-fry. Not that you sense that as you carried on for nineteen stops through almost constant sky-scrapers. As we said in earlier blogs, outside of maybe Shanghai and Beijing, other Chinese cities are virtually unheard of, but this city is massive.

After finding our way to the hostel with relative ease we headed straight back out again with a piece of paper written by the hostel lady to buy tickets to Hanoi at the train station. After arriving at the ticket desks we were confronted by constant hoards of Chinese all pushing, all trying to be the first one to buy tickets. We opted for the smallest queue, unfortunately the one that had the really dodgy blokes selling counterfeit tickets. It also, after waiting 20 mins for someone to appear, meant that we were in prime position to be stared at once again. Anyway, we got our tickets, in 'hard-sleeper' for the 11 hour train journey south to Hanoi. After arguing at the ticket booth amongst ourselves as to whether to get hard or soft sleeper I hope we come out unscathed tomorrow morning as we slip into the madness of Hanoi! From there we went in search of food as both our moods had now dissipated into evil. On the way we stumbled upon a park filled with people of all ages all taking part in what can only be described as line dancing, but without the achy-breaky Country and Western. Instead it was replaced with cheesy, high tempo dance music. Maybe you had to be there to really take it in, but it was one of the most surreal things we have witnessed yet.

Waking the next morning, after a night spent in our first dormitory (only one other person) we decided to head out and at least give Nanning a go before our sleeper train that evening. After only ten minutes we both felt drained. In a way Nanning is one of those cities that just feels suffocating. Whichever way you look, a million bodies seem to stand before you and the exits. On a hot day like today, patience seems to tumble away in a haze of xenophobia only to be seduced again at the sight of another awe-inspiring building. It's just, after two weeks of being stared at, it just feels a little unsettling. In a way, despite heading further south, the look of suspicion just gets worse. You'd have thought that the multitude of McDonald's and KFC's would have brought with it a new global outlook, recognising a world outside of China, not here. Here the looks are no longer that of wonder that we may have had in Guilin but one of deep mistrust, like you are about to steal their dog, which they were going to eat. In one supermarket, after heading in the wrong entrance and holding a half empty bottle of water (how dare we), we were told in no uncertain terms to report to the local police station and present our papers. Or at least that's how it felt. Being escorted out of their premises for entering the wrong way is something, I think, we will just have to live with. It's strange, it's like behind every stare is a disbelief that you, the foreigner, have set foot in their city. What inexplicabe reason could there be for you to be here, with your stupid headband and swollen rucksacks, here in our Leicester...

We haven mixed feelings as we prepare to leave China. On one hand we are pleased to be leaving a land with soooo much happening. Entire cities being built, construction work everywhere and people so unbelievably dominated by money that feelings and common sense seem to be left completely behind. On the other, we have got used to this absolutely huge and diverse country and their constant energy. I guess things won't drastically change as we move to 'Nam but we are definitely excited about our next chapter. Let's see if 'Hard sleeper' is what it says it is...........

Tommo xxxxxx

A place you could call home...

Day three of our time in Yangshuo and I can safely say that this is the most 'at home' I have felt yet of any places that we have visited. As Shell said before, the place we have found to stay in is extraordinarily good. For around £16 per night we are down river somewhat from the main town but are placed in the most idylic and tranquil surroundings. Winding round the Li River out of town, you take a left turn up a small road and there you are, amongst the farmers and Karst Peaks, our home for the next few nights, the Yangshuo Village Retreat. It's actually owned and run by a really friendly Belgian guy who goes by the name of Tripper, who after several conversations travelled for a year, much like us, but never went home. Deciding that the area that in which the hotel stands would make a great base for a hotel, he was not wrong. Although built by the Chinese, who can't seem to grasp the idea of building things properly, it has the look and feel of a Southern French hideaway. It is also incredibly peaceful and have been made to feel like family, being spoken to on first name terms since we got here that I think, come Friday, will feel incredibly difficult to leave. In a way, Yangshuo is probably the least 'Chinese' of the places we have visited, it definitly fits the bill of the 'backpacker' stereotype, lot's of Western food and I guess, 'dumbed down' versions of the Chinese staples but you know what, I love it. It's lively, but not full of teenagers all wanting to get wasted, it's peaceful but not boring and it is also astonishingly beautiful, something which makes you want to linger, I guess this is the reason Tripper and the other guys who run this hostel have stayed, you cannot for one minute blame them.

Anyway, we woke after the previous day's exploits getting to grips with the Chinese roads and it's incessant traffic and decided we wanted more! After paying the 60 yuan to hire the bikes once more we set out on our way and out of the town and onto the open-ish roads. We had spied on the maps a route that would take us slightly off the beaten track, beside the Yulong river and out towards the Yulong Bridge, our destination, we hoped. Minutes later we bumped into a couple on a tandem, inexplicably they said we looked liked we knew where we were going so they would follow, it's probably a good thing that after ten minutes we had left them behind....

If yesterday's heat had seemed too much cycling the 15 or so miles, today would be unbearable. With this in mind, after maybe constant cycling for about 40 minutes we had, unwittingly, left all forms of concreted road. Also, we had started to divert away from the river in a direction that, and I think we both knew but dared not bring up with each other, was taking us completely the wrong way. Just to add insult to injury, just at the hottest point of the day, we hit a big hill. Now Shell, bless her, did not look happy. Knowing that I was going to be in the doghouse, for some reason or another, I peddled on and waited over the brow of the hill in the hope that our destination, or even something resembling civilisation would spring instantaneously around the corner. It didn't come. After another twenty minutes or so we stumbled upon a very big main road where, quite surprisingly, two old girls in conical hats started shouting 'Yulong'!! and pointing to our left up the main road. After riding down the road for a while we came to a busy-ish town and eventually, somehow, found our way to the bridge. After batting back yet more hawkers , we started talking to a couple from Hawaii who were swimming in the river beside the bridge, it looked glorious. Fortunately I had worn my swimshorts that day so undressed quickly and, kind of, jumped in. It was fantastic. We then noticed a couple of people sizing the bridge up, to jump in to the river. After being assured that it was deep enough (close your eyes mum), I plucked up the courage, got Shell to film and jumped for my life. It was a long way down. All I could think of though, was when will you ever get the chance to jump off of a 600 year-old Chinese bridge again on a hot day!

Using the river as a guide we managed to cycle the way back in relatively uneventful circumstances apart from one wrong move where we nearly ended up in someones garage after following what we thought was the right track. After passing numerous villages and towns folk all working together (Socialism in harmony) we meandered our way back to Yangshuo where we stopped for drinks and to dodge the rain, which actually made for a refreshing change to the extreme heat and humidity we had felt earlier on.
That night we ate, yet again, in the hotel restaurant as it is fantastic and never dissapoints. After riding 15 miles the previous day and around 25 today we hit the sack early and decided, quite rightly, that tommorrow we would do nothing. Arhhhh, sweet nothing....

Just another day here where we will wait in anticipation to see whether our Vietnamese visa's arrive in time and then we shall try and catch a bus south to Nanning. If we had known, and had not ordered our Visa's, we would've spent more time and visited many more places in this amazing country.
Much love, Tommo xxxx

Adventures along the Li River.......

After a pretty relaxing few days in Guilin, we decided to travel further south to the travellers Mecca that is Yangshuo. What mode of transport to take.....bus, train, taxi? Why be conventional when you can travel by bamboo raft along the Li River! We were assured that our rucksacks would be no problem and would fit onto the raft too. I'll admit I wasn't convinced and was pretty sure that something dodgy was going on as it all seemed too good to be true. Tom however, was entirely trusting and convinced that everything would be ok. I was most definitely proved wrong! (I hate it when Tom is right!!) A crazy Chinese guy called Harry picked us up exactly on time and drove us and a bus load of other tourists to Yandi town. On the way, we were all given panda stickers to represent the group that we were in for the day in case we should get lost. The lack of enthusiasm from the older members of the group was hilarious and I don't think they even wore their stickers - tut tut! When we arrived, the rafts (which were not made out of bamboo but huge plastic tubes with a wooden base) were all lined up along the river so we clambered aboard with our bags and made ourselves comfortable. We shared a raft with a couple from Sheffield weirdly enough! Tom made friends with the guy as he thought he looked just like his Dad (see the photo on the blog Dave!) The ride on the raft was beautiful and so picturesque! The limestone karsts rose to either side of the river in particular formations that our guide told us to look out for on our way. Apparently the most famous looks like 'Hello Kitty' but sadly we didn't see this one. We arrived at a small harbour called Xingping a few hours later. After the calm that was our bamboo ride, we were greeted by the chaos of small golf style buggies with loud shouting drivers, waiting to drive us to the local bus station. We were crammed into a small buggy with bags on our laps and driven along narrow dusty lanes to the 'bus station'. The collection of buses waiting for us were tiny and yet again, we were all crammed in bags and all. So much so that they brought out small plastic stools to put down the aisle of the bus for people to sit on when the seats were full. Lucky Tom found himself on one of these for the next 45 minutes to Yangshuo!

Finally, we arrived at Yangshuo bus station and we made our way to our hostel for the next three days. After dumping our bags in our amazing room, with mountain views and floor to ceiling windows, we headed down to the restaurant to check out the food. We ordered way too much, typical eyes bigger than bellies syndrome but the food was delicious! The sizzling beef, vegetable noodles and curried potatoes were amazing all washed down with a local beer for 80p and we went to bed happy (sad that we are so easily pleased but hey?!)

Feeling adventurous the following day we hired some bikes from the hostel and set off to explore, map in hand. Yangshuo is well known for its spectacular scenery and we were definitely not disappointed. Our only obstacle - the crazy Chinese roads! Having not been on bikes for a while, we had to quickly get used to riding on the opposite side of the road, dodge the silent but deadly electric motorbikes that creep up on you out of nowhere and the cyclists riding straight towards you on the wrong side of the road. Not to mention the cars, buses and coaches beeping constantly as they swerve around you and each other. There seriously are no rules here at all! Out in the countryside though it was a different story and we were able to enjoy the scenery and even take a video or two as we rode along, wobbly but fun. We passed through numerous tiny villages and passed many confused locals who shouted 'hello' as we rode on by. Then we came to some farm land and stopped to watch and photograph the water buffalo splashing around. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a woman appeared demanding money from us for taking a picture of HER buffalo! We couldn't believe what we were hearing and had to pretty much empty our rucksack in front of her to prove that we had no money to give. She wasn't happy and was muttering to herself as we rode off, cheeky devil!

When we reached the hostel later that afternoon I can honestly say that I thought I was going to die! Riding around in the 30 degree heat was tough going and possibly the most excercise my poor body has had for a while. We had really enjoyed it though and booked the bikes again for the following day as we locked them away for the evening. After a well deserved shower, we ate again at the hostel restaurant, fulfilling our craving for pasta but sadly not the wine we've been craving for the past few weeks now. A cheap glass of wine here costs about £26, so we will be waiting a while before we get any wine I think!

Love Shell xxxxx

Night bus to Guilin...

So the day finally arrived when we would have to cross the border and make our way into the unknown void which would be mainland China. After spending a good hour standing all the way to Lo Wu, the last stop on the MTR network within Hong Kong before getting to Shenzhen, our minds started to race at the prospect of our next adventure.

After a relatively short and unintrusive Customs and immigration process we proceeded out of the labarynth of walkways and into the smog-filled train station of downtown Shenzhen. After briefly checking out where it was we had to catch the bus from later that evening, we immediately noticed just how very different things were than in Hong Kong. Even though in geographical terms we were only a few metres away from Hong Kong, culturally we could have been on another planet. For sure Hong Kong shared big similarities, even more so after the past few years of Chinese dominance, but it was the fact that we now entered somewhere where as we sat whiling away the hours we were stared at by everyone. Not only that but people would try, even though it was blatantly obvious, to slyly take photos with you in the picture. We now know how it feels to be famous. At first a novelty, after eight hours of waiting for a bus in Shenzhen, it became draining. Sat under the dank, urine scented and smog-filled afternoon sky, Bali felt a million miles away. We even had lunch that nearly rivalled the horrific bowl of gruel that we had on Gili T. After ordering something off of the menu (no English translation this time) we ended up with greasy broth soup filled with grissly pork wonton and a round of Dim Sum that, and we are both in agreement here, were filled with tripe. Mmmmm.

After a long day in Shenzhen, our bus finally docked at the perenially urine-smelly bus station, to whisk us off into the night on our bunk-bed filled bus of dreams. To be fair to them they were excellent. The blessing came with the fact that we were the first ones on, which meant that three rows of bunks for the other passengers paled into insignificance as the guy made the bottom three bunks at the back one complete bed for the two of us. As we lay there looking out of the window at the endless city scapes I couldn't help but think how we had travelled for around three hours at that point, a journey from say, London to Manchester, and the whole of that three hours was spent driving at speed through Hong Kong city like skylines. Passing through Shenzhen and Guangzhou, you really started to understand the sheer magnitude of this country. With both populations exceeding that of London and Paris, it is amazing to think that outside that of maybe, travelling businessmen, very few people have even heard of Shenzhen and to a lesser extent Guangzhou, staggering.

Anyway, onwards we went, slipping in and out of sleep but feeling appalingly indulged at such a luxorious ride, even when local Chinese passengers got on, tutted loudly at our scene of Roman luxury and hopped up onto their mobile pig troughs to be tied in for 12 hours, 1-0 us. After a great, allbeit bumpy journey, we arrived safely in Guilin, not completely lacking sleep but feeling mildly disorientated to be met by panic that we had forgot to scribble down any directions to the hostel. In any other place that scenario would be fine but we had just travelled 800 miles into the Chinese hinterland and finding a native who could speak English was proving impossible. It's not as if you could scribble something down that you could concoct out of a phrasebook, no, this would mean mild panic and somekind of plan. After an hour and a half of roaming the streets at 7am in the rain, dodging the traffic and muttering quietly to ourselves like a frenzied Rain Man, we managed to switch Shells ancient phone on, somehow get on the internet to a retrieve the phone number the hostel had sent us and ring them. After startling them with our early troubles they managed to talk to one of the taxi drivers, via Shell's phone, who thought he had just, unwittingly, landed the part in a silly Western wind-up show. If only.
After settling in the hostel, dodging the tuts and unwanted looks from an old American couple (why??) and spending the day catching up with lost food time and planning our assault on Vietnam, we got talking to a great couple called Derek and Yulia. After our time on Bali and then in the bat-cave in Hong Kong, it was great, finally to stay in a place with the opportunity to get to know some more travellers. After spending the whole night with the two of them I think we all realised that we have alot in common and have planned to meet up sometime in the not so distant future in Cambodia or Vietnam. Really good guys.

Waking the next morning and feeling rejuvanated both by a good night's sleep and better weather, we decided to head out after a good breakfast to something called the Reed Flute Cave. After paying the relatively expensive entrance fee of around a tenner each we entered the caves to be met by a spectacular array if stalagmites and stalagtites with every impressive rock formation lit up with lights, all of different colours. A large group of Chinese tourists in front of us had their obligatory tour guide so we took our time, hanging back to make the most of the entrance fee. After a while it dauned on us that as the tour group passed through they were switching off the lights, leaving us in thier darkened wake!
At the exit we had our taXi driver waiting for us, we could have caught two busses but the driver was only 20 yuan for the day (£2) so we thought it would be more comfortablke do it that way. From there we headed for Solitary Peak, one of thousands of limestone carsts that pop out of the ground (or have failed to be eroded like the land around them?, who knows?), but this one was in the middle of the city. Guilin is much smaller than some of the main big cities such Beijing or Guangzhou, in fact it is classed as no more than a large town, yet it's population exceeds that of Birmingham with around a million people! With this in mInd, when we climbed to the top of this extrenmely steep peak we were met with a great view of the city and the impressive Li River, which acts as it's main artery. In addition, after a week of mist, murk and rain, the sun had made a good appearence too, all adding to the impressive sight before us.

Upon leaving, we had to navigate the big distance back to our hostel, on the edge of town. Walking through the throngs of Chinese holidaymakers we finally made our way into the central, pedestrianised area to be met, all of a sudden, out of nowehere, by a small Chinese man who spoke perfect English. He said we was a lecturer at the local university and that he would like us to try some tea in his cousin's shop. After trying some amazing teas, some from the local Esmanthus tree, he then proceeded to walk us round to the local booking office as we had indicated that we were thinking of taking the Li river 'bamboo' cruise' at some point over the next two days. He said he would get us cheap tickets. Being typically cautious Shell was very wary about this man but I thought he was legit, even though he did try to push a couple of things our way to try and buy along the way. To be honest, it seems the Chinese way. Completely and unashamedly dominated by money.

Anyway, after not really eating that day and having already blowing all budgets on extortinate entrance fees we found a woman selling baked sweet potatoes so paid her a pound for a giant one, which we munched down, skin and all, to the horrified look of passers-by. We also, for the very first time really, had to contend with the no-holds-barred traffic rules of mainland China. It is chaos. I think we have put a video up there to show you all but traffic goes anywhere at anytime and is never stopped by the green man! In fact this just seems to be a signal to try even harder to squeeze through gaps of people! After a couple of days experience we started to treat it like walking passed a lion, walk calmly and slowly, never show any fear and never run away.

Back at the hostel that night we were booked in for the BBQ that they provide every Friday night. Waiting for it to start, we were then told that is was actually just to the two of us that had signed up for it! They said they would go ahead and cook it, I think they all wanted to cook and get drunk to be honest, but in the end we managed to recruit some Swedish guys, who although veggies, seemed up for the idea of lots of veg and well, free beer! We were then joined by a weird Swiss guy who I kept asking whether he was obssesed with the cheese or the time the most? We sat there all night, being joined by people from all over the world. At the end of the night we were joined by a massive Dutch guy who shared out some biscuits he had bought from Macau. We all sat there trying not to laugh as every ounce of saliva was drawn from our mouth, absolutely disgusting, he definitely knew about it...

The next morning we rose late, decided that today we would try and do very little as both felt extremely tired. I'm not going to sit here and moan about being tired whilst you folk are all working incredibly hard (most) but after many days of being constantly on the go, it does get quite tiresome this travelling lark. So despite a long walk into the city, dodging the traffic, smell of cooked dog (more another time) and constant stares we had a day of chilling in the hostel and putting our now vast array of photos onto Flickr.

Much love, Tommo xxxx

Hong Kong continued...

After the excitement of the market the previous evening, we woke to the dawn chorus of chainsaws, banging and shouting coming through the air vents into our tiny tiled box - wonderful! So we quickly headed off to the local bakery to get our breakfast fix for the day. The bakeries are amazing here, seriously I have never seen anything like it! You can get any sort of bread, rolls, cakes filled with weird and wonderful concoctions for a matter of pence. The croissants here are also amazing and I've definitely had my fair share of those since we've been here. The bakery has been Tom's best friend during our stay here and he has spent AGES deciding what to have each day (and he tells me that I'm indecisive!!)

We jumped on the MTR and headed for a place called Sha Tin, where we could visit the 10,000 Buddha Monastery. Sitting on the train minding our own business, a group of business students from one of the local graduate schools became very interested in us! It turns out they were taking part in a team building day challenge and had to reach an isolated rural area near Sha Tin using as little money as possible. Two of the students had lived in England, one had even studied at Southampton Business School and wanted to return there for a holiday! Anyway, they tried to sell us most of there posessions to raise some money for their team. We had 10 dollars in change so gave them that and allowed them to keep the multitude of umbrellas that they were trying to give us in return - crazy! We all got off the train at Sha Tin station, having posed for a picture and taken part in their team chanting session we left them planning their next move.

Following my hastily written directions, we made our way to the well hidden entrance of the Monastery. Out of nowhere appeared a steep and winding path flanked on either side by amazing (and sometimes a bit weird looking) gold statues. They followed the path the entire way up to the top and we made the most of taking some pictures for the blog. When we reached the top, the Monastery itself was beautiful and well worth the climb up. Inside is a room filled, on every inch of wall space, with Buddhas (hence the name!) You weren't allowed to take pictures but I honestly don't think it would've done it justice. Outside, there was a typical Chinese pagoda and many more brightly coloured figures and statues, which was a stark contrast to the grey drizzly day. We spent ages snapping away with our cameras (camera wars has officially begun!) and taking in the view before making our way back down the many steps to the bottom. We passed many elderly ladies making the climb up (they must have been about 80) without breaking a sweat. Not bad going!

After an uneventful MTR journey back to Kowloon, we wandered around the University area in search of a cheap place to eat lunch. We came across a noodles and dumplings cafe and were greeted by the loudest Chinese woman ever, who shouted at us to come in and try the best dumplings around. We didn't want to argue! We followed her in and the shouting continued whilst she pointed to different items on the menu. To be fair, it did all look really good but all the shouting, seriously! Evenutally,we ordered pork and vegetable dumplings (chefs specialty!) and vegetable noodles and it was delicious. All the shouting had been worth it after all! With full bellies, we strolled around the harbour area and along the Avenue of Stars, which was full of mental Chinese tourists taking as many pictures as they possibly could of anything and everything along the walkway! Why?! Saying that, we have taken our fair share of photographs so perhaps I'm being slightly mean. After a Skype session home to my Dad and sister, we had our first 'night in' since we've been away. We watched a film a caught up with uploading photos and blogging. All accompianied by some very tasty Chinese style pot noodles and 60p a can Carlsbergs - cheap and a well deserved rest!

For our last full day in Hong Kong, we headed for the 'Giant Buddha' on Lantau Island, one of the last attractions yet to see on Hong Kong's Top 10 list. It was another grey day (so not scorching like when you went Claire!) but luckily the cable car was still running to take you up to the Po Lin Monastery and the Buddha. We queued for a good hour or so before reaching the cable cars and it was one of those really annoying queues that snakes around so when you think you're almost there you turn around and walk in the opposite direction (never again will we come to China during their National holiday - too many queues!) We were eventually crammed into a cable car and posed for the obligitory Kodak photo before starting the 25 minute journey to the top. The cable car runs for 5km and takes you high up into the mountains on Lantau Island - it was well worth the queue for the views here alone, let alone what waited for us at the top!

Once past the gift shops, we climbed with many other tourists and Chinese alike to the base of the Buddha. It was huge and amazingly impressive to look at, despite the sea of multicoloured brollies in the way of our pictures - damn the rain! Then we headed down towards the Monastery, being drawn in by the sound of monks chanting. We made our way through waves of incense and found ourselves surrounded by huge golden shrines to Buddha. I got snap happy and Tom sat himself down and lost himself in the chanting and incense! Then we joined the masses and bought some incense sticks to light and add to the hot pots. We split the pack and set about lighting them. When mine were lit I looked up to see Tom holding a mass of burning sticks asking if they were supposed to look like that. The answer was very much no - he had lit the wrong end and was just burning wood not incense! Thankfully we were able to blow them out and light the correct side before adding them to the huge piles of smoking sticks.

For our last evening in Hong Kong, we headed back to Temple Street Market to properly sample the food and atmosphere. We picked the busiest looking place and sat ourselves down on one of the many tables on the street. It took forever to be served but we were rewarded with huge bottles of Yanjing beer and the spiciest singapore noodles and beef dish ever. My mouth was officially on fire by the time we finished! We've officially mastered the use of chopsticks and their tiny bowls though which I'm pretty impressed by!

All in all, we've had a fantastic time in Hong Kong and I'm actually sad to leave, even our tiny box room. We've the pleasure of crossing the Hong Kong - China border tomorrow and then we will be officially surrounded by people that speak no English at all. Scary but exciting, let's see what happens!

Lots of love, Shell xxx

Sumpi jumpa Bali, Néih hóu Hong Kong!

So after a hop, skip and a jump across to Singapore for a night of bunk-bed loveliness, we landed safely in the hustle, bustle and and downright craziness of downtown Kowloon. The stereotypes were well and truly answered right from the get-go with ultra-modern technology and short-sharp answers from all manner of people that kept everything completely to the point. We'd already booked our accommodation over the internet for Hong Kong a couple of months ago and although we were warned about the size of Hong Kong hotel rooms, nothing, I mean absolutely nothing could have prepared us for the size of our room. Sometimes people can exaggerate by exclaiming they could touch the walls with both hands, well I could...with ease. Not only that but they are windowless, which kind of gives you the impression you are living in a rather large tiled wardrobe. But, you know what, I really like it. Much like anything we've experienced in Hong Kong over the past two and a half days, it takes a bit of getting used to but once you adapt to your surroundings, it is seriously impressive. The room is ultra clean, has a powerful shower, a flatscreen tv on the wall and air con. Not bad for the location, which really is in the centre of all the action.

After pretty much a full day of flying, waiting in and transiting to and from airports we pretty much went straight to sleep on our first night but not before we got our first taste of Chungking Mansions, the building that houses our guesthouse. Not knowing the history behind this block was probably a little bit of a godsend as I think if we knew, Shell would have never even thought about stepping in through the 'lobby' downstairs. In essence, the block is huge and is placed at the bottom of Nathan Road (the main thoroughfare) and has a history of complete depravity, unclaimed dead bodies, triad controlled and extortion are just some of the things it has been famous for in the past but it has now, apparently, cleaned up its act. To walk through it to find your elevator is a challenge in itself. As me and Shell bombarded our way through the throngs of African and Asian groups of men we got our first taste of the welcome as a grubby bloke with a mask told me to' fuck off' whilst waving the jacks. I said hello and moved swiftly on...

Our first full day was spent in awe looking at the throngs of people all gathered in Hong Kong for Chinese National Day.It was just our luck that the whole time we have in Hong Kong will coincide with Chinese National Day, which is what it is called. In reality, China National Day actually extends for seven days, being that any travel anywhere is seriously doubtful, so we have booked an extra day! Not the worst place to have to spend an extra day!

Despite the crowds, our first day was spent climbing the outside elevator, that elevates you all the way up through Hong Kong Island, across the water from Kowloon. It is another exceptional feat of engineering (and indulgence) that Hong Kong commuters, and tourists, get to ride an elevator non-stop for a mile through some of the most impressive skyscrapers in the world. You can get off at any point but we decided to go to the top and then walk down to the Peak Tram terminus, to take us to the top of the hills to take in that most-famous of views from the top of the city skyline. When we got there, the queues were massive, snaking back upon itself and up the road. We decided, quite foolishly really, to return tomorrow. In the meantime we got our first taste of Dim Sum, the famous Hong Kong filled dumplings. They were astonishingly beautiful. We opted for the steamed pork variety. We would have more!

From there we took a tram into Causeway Bay, got off, spent five minutes feeling bewildered and bemused at the sea of people (sea does not do it justice) all buying stuff. Everyone in Hong Kong spends their time buying stuff, millions of them. Once back on the meticulous MTR, we got off at Tsim Sha Tsui, our local stop and headed back to our room to calm down before the onslaught of the nights light show and National Day firework celebration. To call it a firework 'display' has got to be one of the most criminal understatements you are ever likely to come across. True to form, for the pathologically patriotic Chinese, the fireworks were as if the world were ending. Basically every firework was in comparison to that last big one they save for the end on Bonfire Night. Despite the hoards of people and lack of chivalry, something which is hard to get used to, we had a blast, literally, and headed back to our room with noodles in hand to get over the days exploits.

The next day we woke early in readiness for a full day exploring Hong Kong Island, the opposite side to Kowloon and home to the Gotham City-esque skyline. As our rooms are windowless we had no idea of the weather and as we got outside we were punished with solid wind and rain. After three weeks of almost constant sunshine it comes as a bit of a shock but it's still 29 degrees! To be fair to Hong Kong, it's as if they have built a replica of their city underground, with all mass transit systems, walkways and malls beneath your feet. So as it was raining we made good use of all these amenities and got all the way to the Peak Tram, a good way, before even contending with any rain. Once we had queued for an hour and paid the fare and up we went to the top of Victoria Peak to take in surely one of the worlds best and most famous views. Its says everything about it that even on a day which was wet and quite windy, it was still beautiful. We met loads of people at the top and we all helped each other take photos of each other. Even two English old girls carrying, remarkably, Marks and Spencer bags!

From there we walked for about three hours, all over Hong Kong island. We really took in all of the amazing sights, smells and sounds that this part of town had to offer and we both agreed that we have never ever ever seen so many mall and shops in our lives. Every space, both underground and overground for maybe fourteen floors is filled with designer shops. Maybe if you'd put the X Factor on in the background I could quite possibly have been in my own very personal hell.

From the borderline purgatory of shoppers delight to the ultimate experience of Temple Street Night Market. After a quick skype session to Kyla and Graham (Skype is amazing-we miss our friends and family like mad) we headed out to the market in hope of an authentic Hong Kong experience. We wouldn't be disappointed. Apart from the multitude of stalls selling cack, there was a few selling remarkable items and if we had both more money and indeed a home then we would really splurge and buy some great items. The most amazing thing about the market was the food. The abundance of it, the plethora of canteens, the atmosphere and the smell was unbelievable. It's probably the highlight of my trip so far and you could see Shell was getting slightly worried about how excited I actually was. But hey, this is it, this is what all that saving was for. For experiences such as this.
Much love, Tommo xxx