I know I know, I've hardly given you time to recover (for those of you not glued to your screens I flat out have given you NO time to recover) from my last onslaught of gibberish, but as I said I have had soo many amazing experiences here ALREADY (it is day 7...I sense this wont be a peaceful month for you all).
We headed straight to Halong Bay almost as soon as we could for a trip consisting of a night out on a Junk boat followed by one on Cat Ba island, which was just amazing, and action packed. Day one was fairly relaxing, really just trying to absorb the beautiful scenery, it was quite misty which may've been a shame but it was warm and so it just added to the romance and mystique of the 2000 islands (or "Little Dragons") we were soon surrounded by. We sailed to visit one of their most famous caves "Surprising Cave" (sounds far better in Vietnamese funnily enough, though can'tremember how they say it, sorry!) and were guided through it by our local tour leader. Now I must admit these were some how less impressive than Yiling Cave of Nanning, though it was very interesting to note the structural differences between fresh water and sea water caves (no really it was), until we approached one particular rock. This particular rock has great acclaim in the lonely planet, it is so renowned that it has its own name and in the cave its self, its own glowing red light. According to our guide this rock bares many resemblances, a banana, a pistol (Libby clearly agrees with this theory, noting the hole in the ceiling about it must be where it "shot its load." Quite.), a finger, an elbow, to name but a few...funnily enough, despite all the blushing, he never quite brought himself to give the Lonely Planet's name! Then it was back down the the beach to relax, wander or swim before boarding the boat to our overnight anchorage, for more swimming, jumping of the side and sea food dinners!
Next day we set off for the absolutely idyllic Cat Ba island, most of which is a nature reserve. It is just stunning. A bit like Lantau Island, but so many times lusher, greener- just magical, all enhanced by a sprinkling of local dwellings-some what more modest than those found in the island off Hong Kong to say the least! We set up for a leisurely 2 hour stroll...well I suppose they sell more tours telling us that...what we actually did was a trek, a REAL trek, half of which consisted of rock climbing, so taxing that even our guide did not make it to the top...needless to say my assent was not speedy, or with out complaint-in fact the phrase blood, sweat and tears became quite literal!
But WOW it was worth it when I eventually clambered to the top to join the rest of the group (except the local guide-remember!). The afternoon was also miss sold, a leisurely spot of kayaking from the beach was actually a 2 or 3 hour race to catch our (clearly some what fitter than the last) guide from a water village. Yes there are literally villages set up in the middle of the bay, groups of houses etc anchored together into place, with bustling life, pets etc, served by and serving the floating/boat markets. So we got on the kayak in the middle of no where. I have never kayaked before, but was reassured when we were told they were two man vessels and Libby had done it plenty of times.
I have reason to doubt this information.
We got off to a rather painful start...middle and finish, including one rather hair raising moment when, attempting to reach our guide in a lagoon we were swept in the opposite direction (the one heading either to rocks or sea...not my favourite direction). A rather squealed change of direction (the noises help I tell you) saw us manage to make our way into the entrance of the lagoon.
Of course in said entrance was a group of local fisher men, two of their boats and a lot of rocks. It soon became clear that they don't mind if you hit their boats. Actually it seemed to make their day...specially when we ricocheted off one into the other and ended up having to be bumped through the entrance by another member of our group, who'd taken rather more pity on us than the locals, who were far too busy enjoying the show!!!
Against all odds we made it back to Hanoi (and I think I'd like to take up Kayaking...with out Libby!!) and prepared to venture up to the hill town of Sapa. This place, or more the people actually blew my mind. On arrival, things looked grim. We arrived at 6am all prepared to get the bus to a small village near the boarder with China, it wasn't until we'd waited an hour and a half and loaded up our bags that it became apparent that our Lonely Planet (aka, our bible) had made a typo as the fare was 4 times what we expected- not including Westerner's tax no doubt, and as such way out of budget; so we settled on a bus for Sapa instead- again not before providing a good show for the locals.
We arrived to be greeted by a cold, wet, damp cloud. No it was not foggy, we were in a cloud- we could not see across the road so could only assume the Lonely Planet was not also lying about the beauty to be seen in Sapa. We found a room, also freezing and damp, and attempted to relax there for a while, whilst wondering what the hell we were going to do for the next three days-other than catch phenomena. Step one was to stumble (literally given the weather) across an oasis...a cafe that while it didn't perhaps have the most authentic Vietnamese character, did have a roaring log fire and cake...lots of cake! So there we sat, book in one hand, cake in the other, until close!
The next day we took a tour to some local villages, happily below the cloud. This trip was just awe inspiring. Children as young as 4 were teaching themselves English...as well as Vietnamese...as well as their own tribe's dialect. School is a relatively new development and from what I can ascertain children only attend a few days a week (when not working) and it is for half a day. As such this English is learnt from tourists. Not only have these amazing people taught themselves new languages, but also an incredible amount of world knowledge. Some were asking about our travels and where we were from, bearing in mind they'd never ventured further than Sapa its self, it is amazing to me that they know not only exactly where England and London is, but also where all the stops on our tour are- I'd like to hear me try and tell a tourist where Aberdeen is.
Conversation then moved onto way of life. Our guide, and the many that had joined us along the way, were telling us how they tend to marry at about the age of 14/15, though the younger girls now dream of marriage at 18/19. Marriage is not arranged, partners choose each other (seemingly more initiated by the husband) and will come from the same village, though not necessarily the same tribe. Our guide was 18 and 5 months pregnant, we befriended some other girls, one of whom was 25, been married since 14 with 3 children. When asking about us, they asked how old we were and if we had boyfriends. When we joked about being old spinsters the reply was simply, "Not at all, that is your culture, this is ours. They are different." Gob smacking, despite little or no access to education or sources of media these people are so self sufficient, not only in terms of material good but a wealth of knowledge. We seem to find it far easier to comment on another culture as being, weird and strange because it does not match our own, than it is to simply accept, unquestioning, the fascinating cultural differences which make us all unique- even with an abundance of information at our fingertips.
Here is a link to come photos of Sapa and the villages we saw and amazing people we met, I couldn't resist demanding you all look!-
http://www.truprint.co.uk/share/p=406131166006067421/l=224994378/g=31854125/cobrandOid=1006/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Off to Hue on a no doubt fun filled 14 hour bus journey tonight. Hopefully I wont find this so fascinating that regale you with more endless tales quite so soon....
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The mightly have fallen...but laughing cow reigns supreme
Well it was back through China we headed, when we eventually left Hong Kong (only about a week late) to go sit it out until our Vietnamese Visa's kicked in and we could pass over the border, it became fairly evident fairly quickly that times were a changing for the two surrey gals....
For our example, our last meal in Hong Kong consisted of a fabulous dinner in a restaurant owned by the father of one of Lib's uni friends, helping him to choose a menu for an upcoming Oxford Alumni event he was hosting. Unfortunately this meant trying all the best wines and dishes on, and off, the menu. At one point as we were all chatting a way I noticed the nightly light show had started across the harbour, at which point with all the sophistication we all know I don't posses I squealed out, er, politely, mid conversation, "Oooh ahhh look at the pretty lights"..before I knew it (and anyone could see the incredible shade of red I'd turned as I awaited the ground's swallowing me whole) all the lights had been turned out for, "The Lady's pleasure." I'm sorry who...? Our first meal back in China, however, consisted of...well...(don't read this bit Romeo) accidentally eating dog. We knew our days as Surrey Gals were numbered at this point.....
Our base in China was a place called Nanning, which I would love to describe to you now, but to be honest I cant remember it. Nanning's charm was not helped by the fact that it was "off season," so what little there was in the way of things to do and buses to catch were closed. The people of Nanning however were just amazing, as before still had the shovers, the smokers, the hockers and the slightly intimidating stares, but this time the people (ALL of them, not just those with which you were doing some form of business) were incredible and went out of there way to be friendly and helpful...though often with the appearance of being very angry and telling us off:
-Trying to find a room at 4am was proving difficult as the hotel (or hostel of death as Libby fondly refers to it) wanted payment upfront, though all our money had been spent getting to the joyous city. On or third attempt to speak to reception and or find a bank we ascertained there maybe one across the road....the uncrossable road (subway (which are actually mini shopping malls!?!) was closed and there is a big fence running along the mid section). So we had no choice but for me to watch our huge rucksacks we were STILL carting around and Libby to scale the fence...at which point a rather shouty truncheon wielding guard, spotting the apparently suicidal westerners came marching over. Rather afraid and rather sleepy we tried to explain to him we needed money as he seemed to be shouting at us to get back to the hotel. It wasn't until he frog marched us back there and started actually shouting, at the receptionist, we realised he was actually lovely and on our side. He even waited in the hotel, until he'd seen us safely enter the lift on the way to our room, having arranged for us to pay in the morning. Contrary to popular belief he expected nothing in return.
-Trying to find something to do (other than email) for the duration of our 2 days stop we decided to head out of town to visit Yiling Cave. This little expedition involved drawing a crowd at the local bus stop, attempting to converse in our English and their Mandarin, then one woman getting fed up of the farce and our inability to understand the little game of charades that was occurring and walking us, across the town to the bus station, putting us on the right bus and telling the driver to get us off at the right stop.
-Which turned out was a bus station. Back into headless chicken routine, we find a guard to engage in more charades with. Again in a rather shouty, and scary but incredibly helpful way, he lead us straight to the head of the ticket queue, ordered our tickets lead us to the waiting room then called us, again to the front of the queue, when our bus arrived. Again non of these people wanted or expected a thing, they were juts being lovely. How many of us, when confronted with a foreigner speaking gibberish would stop what we are doing and walk across a town to help?
The caves were awe inspiring, though we suspect were actually the secret layer of the Phantom of the Opera-complete with lakes. Fantastic. And we managed to get a free ride home...which was lucky, as, being off season it soon became evident that there may well have been no other way home- another day out executed with military precision!!!
Finally the 5th of December rolled round and we could board our 8 hour bus journey to Vietnam, crossing the boarder at Friendship Pass. An ironic name if every I heard one. Not only is it a chain of randomly arranged buildings (set in a mass expanse of...the middle of no where, fairly spread out, probably stretching about 1 or 2 km, all of which you have traverse through), it is a ghost town (adding nicely to the eerie effect) and it is the place where Libby got smacked in the face by a guard...probably because she seemed strangely deter mind to return to China. Actually we think it was her medical check. In only of the many buildings, whilst filling out one of the many forms, a guard thought an appropriate way of shooing her out of his way was to nudge her in the cheek. Then passing through one of the many windows we had to pay a 2yen medical fee...to the very same guard. That seemed to be the extent of the examination...perhaps he was confirming that she was in fact not a hologram?! I managed to slip through the net.
And onward into Vietnam!! We only had about two hours of light left for the portion of the trip that side of the boarder, but already I was falling for the country, with its lush green landscapes and amazingly colourful- and COMPLETE architecture. Despite the Lonely Planet writing reams and reams about all the deception, theft and treachery we are to come up against here (followed by a short sentence reminding us not to be paranoid) we have been greeted with nothing but smiles and had some amazing experiences here already. We were also very excited to hear that there have been many souvenir's left behind by the French such as baguettes and amazing cheese....so far we have found Laughing Cow...everywhere...on ward with the hunt then!
For our example, our last meal in Hong Kong consisted of a fabulous dinner in a restaurant owned by the father of one of Lib's uni friends, helping him to choose a menu for an upcoming Oxford Alumni event he was hosting. Unfortunately this meant trying all the best wines and dishes on, and off, the menu. At one point as we were all chatting a way I noticed the nightly light show had started across the harbour, at which point with all the sophistication we all know I don't posses I squealed out, er, politely, mid conversation, "Oooh ahhh look at the pretty lights"..before I knew it (and anyone could see the incredible shade of red I'd turned as I awaited the ground's swallowing me whole) all the lights had been turned out for, "The Lady's pleasure." I'm sorry who...? Our first meal back in China, however, consisted of...well...(don't read this bit Romeo) accidentally eating dog. We knew our days as Surrey Gals were numbered at this point.....
Our base in China was a place called Nanning, which I would love to describe to you now, but to be honest I cant remember it. Nanning's charm was not helped by the fact that it was "off season," so what little there was in the way of things to do and buses to catch were closed. The people of Nanning however were just amazing, as before still had the shovers, the smokers, the hockers and the slightly intimidating stares, but this time the people (ALL of them, not just those with which you were doing some form of business) were incredible and went out of there way to be friendly and helpful...though often with the appearance of being very angry and telling us off:
-Trying to find a room at 4am was proving difficult as the hotel (or hostel of death as Libby fondly refers to it) wanted payment upfront, though all our money had been spent getting to the joyous city. On or third attempt to speak to reception and or find a bank we ascertained there maybe one across the road....the uncrossable road (subway (which are actually mini shopping malls!?!) was closed and there is a big fence running along the mid section). So we had no choice but for me to watch our huge rucksacks we were STILL carting around and Libby to scale the fence...at which point a rather shouty truncheon wielding guard, spotting the apparently suicidal westerners came marching over. Rather afraid and rather sleepy we tried to explain to him we needed money as he seemed to be shouting at us to get back to the hotel. It wasn't until he frog marched us back there and started actually shouting, at the receptionist, we realised he was actually lovely and on our side. He even waited in the hotel, until he'd seen us safely enter the lift on the way to our room, having arranged for us to pay in the morning. Contrary to popular belief he expected nothing in return.
-Trying to find something to do (other than email) for the duration of our 2 days stop we decided to head out of town to visit Yiling Cave. This little expedition involved drawing a crowd at the local bus stop, attempting to converse in our English and their Mandarin, then one woman getting fed up of the farce and our inability to understand the little game of charades that was occurring and walking us, across the town to the bus station, putting us on the right bus and telling the driver to get us off at the right stop.
-Which turned out was a bus station. Back into headless chicken routine, we find a guard to engage in more charades with. Again in a rather shouty, and scary but incredibly helpful way, he lead us straight to the head of the ticket queue, ordered our tickets lead us to the waiting room then called us, again to the front of the queue, when our bus arrived. Again non of these people wanted or expected a thing, they were juts being lovely. How many of us, when confronted with a foreigner speaking gibberish would stop what we are doing and walk across a town to help?
The caves were awe inspiring, though we suspect were actually the secret layer of the Phantom of the Opera-complete with lakes. Fantastic. And we managed to get a free ride home...which was lucky, as, being off season it soon became evident that there may well have been no other way home- another day out executed with military precision!!!
Finally the 5th of December rolled round and we could board our 8 hour bus journey to Vietnam, crossing the boarder at Friendship Pass. An ironic name if every I heard one. Not only is it a chain of randomly arranged buildings (set in a mass expanse of...the middle of no where, fairly spread out, probably stretching about 1 or 2 km, all of which you have traverse through), it is a ghost town (adding nicely to the eerie effect) and it is the place where Libby got smacked in the face by a guard...probably because she seemed strangely deter mind to return to China. Actually we think it was her medical check. In only of the many buildings, whilst filling out one of the many forms, a guard thought an appropriate way of shooing her out of his way was to nudge her in the cheek. Then passing through one of the many windows we had to pay a 2yen medical fee...to the very same guard. That seemed to be the extent of the examination...perhaps he was confirming that she was in fact not a hologram?! I managed to slip through the net.
And onward into Vietnam!! We only had about two hours of light left for the portion of the trip that side of the boarder, but already I was falling for the country, with its lush green landscapes and amazingly colourful- and COMPLETE architecture. Despite the Lonely Planet writing reams and reams about all the deception, theft and treachery we are to come up against here (followed by a short sentence reminding us not to be paranoid) we have been greeted with nothing but smiles and had some amazing experiences here already. We were also very excited to hear that there have been many souvenir's left behind by the French such as baguettes and amazing cheese....so far we have found Laughing Cow...everywhere...on ward with the hunt then!
Monday, December 11, 2006
And of Christmas cheer...
I nearly forgot, we just came home from panto!! (singing show songs at the top of our lungs as we drove back, windows down, through Hong Kong, of course), best night!!
The Festive Spirit has finally found us, well what with the cold and rain catching up to us so soon I knew it couldn't be far behind! It was in the National Arts Centre and the cast were clearly having a great time which was infectious...of course thanks to Martin and Lisa and my brief dalliance back in the wonderful world of theatre my initial, un-am dram panto-forgiving reaction was:
"wow amazing set great costumes and make up....now where was the sound check- who did those levels, if you're on CAMS use them- that cue was all over the place, who is operating those flies, stage crew use your lighting cues, lighting crew use your script cues, PROPS...blablabla..."
NIGHTMARE. So thanks for that guys.
IT WAS PANTO, CHEESY ENERGY FILLED PANTO AND YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT FOR THAT!!
Now to find snow.........
Also a quick note about photo's, if you want to see any from our trip so far, it seems Libby has been quite snap happy with her selection and is putting most of them on facebook, on both our pages I think; mostly hers, but feel free to peruse, I'm sure I'll sort some out to...eventually
The Festive Spirit has finally found us, well what with the cold and rain catching up to us so soon I knew it couldn't be far behind! It was in the National Arts Centre and the cast were clearly having a great time which was infectious...of course thanks to Martin and Lisa and my brief dalliance back in the wonderful world of theatre my initial, un-am dram panto-forgiving reaction was:
"wow amazing set great costumes and make up....now where was the sound check- who did those levels, if you're on CAMS use them- that cue was all over the place, who is operating those flies, stage crew use your lighting cues, lighting crew use your script cues, PROPS...blablabla..."
NIGHTMARE. So thanks for that guys.
IT WAS PANTO, CHEESY ENERGY FILLED PANTO AND YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT FOR THAT!!
Now to find snow.........
Also a quick note about photo's, if you want to see any from our trip so far, it seems Libby has been quite snap happy with her selection and is putting most of them on facebook, on both our pages I think; mostly hers, but feel free to peruse, I'm sure I'll sort some out to...eventually
Happy in Hong Kong!!
The city itself is very hard to describe, it is awe inspiring, everywhere you turn is a post card skyline, but even in amongst all the sky scrapers (which REALLY do scrape the sky, many are as tall as, and soon to be built taller, than Victoria Peak its self!) you still find butterflies and hawk-like birds circling and navigating the air currents. The buildings are all interlinked so that in the summer the streets are literally deserted, everyone fleeing to air conditioned havens. Everywhere is an air conditioned haven- even the tube has air con...and mobile phone reception!!
What I find even more amazing is every single building and business, from government offices, to banks, to supermarkets and 7-11's...probably EVEN Starbucks (of which there are MANY) are all designed and merchandised according to the strict principals of Feng Shui... except one large building with koala like features built into its glass face, which has never managed to house a successful business. Interesting to note whether that proves Feng Shui as a valid science, or a self perpetuating cycle, in that is is so ingrained into the psyche here....?!? It certainly involves some very interesting principals and processes.
We seem to have really gone down hill with our attempts to rough it though...still protesting that we really REALLY will by the time we hit Vietnam, we have engaged in a day of pampering, a dinner cruse, a champagne brunch, a girls night out at the races and an other one at the rugby and a day lounging at the cricket club. You can take a girl out of surrey......
Of course, while that does all sound rather nice and laa-dee-da, you can never underestimate the charm of calamity Carys, who seems to have cunningly forgotten to mention things such as Ladies Night in the bar district, where EVERYTHING is free... which is resultant in Carys being poorly and so banned by her liver from Disney land- BOO!! Followed by an insistence on a visit to Ocean Park the following week to make up for it!! ( -:
Or that the trip to the rugby actually reduced Darragh to attempting to explain the game to us in terms of the pink side and the sparkly side, while Libby and I had far more fun analysing potential college cliques, a la Americaan Teen films!! Hey look I know Hong Kong won't be in the the wold cup- if that's what it's called in Rugby, which is way more than we all expected me to by the endof the match...I also think I know who's up for prom king and queen!
Our sophisticated night out at the races involved my usual betting form of, "oooh that's a pretty out fit and a nice name" and my favourite trick of changing my mind on a bet at the last minute, only for my original horse to win- probably trampling down my second choice in the process!! It should also be noted that names of racing horses in this country are even more bizarre than in England, so it is only unfortunate that the race where I bet (a WHOLE pound) on Dashing Champion, Storming Ball and Perfect Feelings made for some rather glare inducing dinner table chat in our box. We were strictly discussing form I tell you!
But I have been (a little) serene to...
One of my favourite days so far has been a day trip I took to the island of Lantau. Libby and Darragh were meant to come, but, shall we say, their livers were not receptive to the early start on the day so they went a few days later. We went to some very peaceful and spiritual destinations so it really was rather nice to do it all by myself. I spent the day being thoroughly unsociable to the rest of the tour group, so very happy in my own little world, taking in all the amazing sights. The island could be a tropical paradise; undulating terrain, lush with banana and papaya plantations, certainly not the type of scenes I was expecting to find the the region of Hong Kong! Our first stop was a very secluded sandy beach broken up by dotted boulders and rocks, I took a short wander then proceeded to sit on one such rock, with my feet in the bath warm water and just take it all in, beautiful.
We were then taken to a small fishing village were, despite having been provided new high rise housing by the government, the locals all live in stilted houses, and sell any thing from dried duck egg yolk to a complete shark's skin! We were then taken to the great Buddha, not before seeing it in the sky line, amongst the mammoth hills before us. It is beautiful, a reclining Buddha, of bronze, surrounded by maidens bringing traditional offerings, inside it encases a museum to its creation, and Buddha himself, and also the opportunity to buy memorial spaces for loved ones. Another very poignant destination...despite the inevitable shops and bus park 250 steps down from its base.
We then had lunch at a monastery and I went for a little wander to the Wisdom Trail, a beautiful monument I can only liken to Stone Henge, but each inscribed with a fable or Profit's preaching and forming the symbol of eternity. The day was ended by a 35 min ride back to Hong Kong island by cable car, offering some of the most breathtaking views of the Island, and again the Buddha an ominous feature in the sky line. Wow, what a day!
Everyone has been so incredibly generous and helpful during our time here, hence our ability to live the high life...coupled with our inability to leave! We were intending to leave Tuesday....we are now aiming for tomorrow...though earlier today were hatching plans to rent a flat until march when we fly to New Zealand!!! We shall see.....
If we do finally make our clean break tomorrow we have 5 days in which to travel to Vietnam......
What I find even more amazing is every single building and business, from government offices, to banks, to supermarkets and 7-11's...probably EVEN Starbucks (of which there are MANY) are all designed and merchandised according to the strict principals of Feng Shui... except one large building with koala like features built into its glass face, which has never managed to house a successful business. Interesting to note whether that proves Feng Shui as a valid science, or a self perpetuating cycle, in that is is so ingrained into the psyche here....?!? It certainly involves some very interesting principals and processes.
We seem to have really gone down hill with our attempts to rough it though...still protesting that we really REALLY will by the time we hit Vietnam, we have engaged in a day of pampering, a dinner cruse, a champagne brunch, a girls night out at the races and an other one at the rugby and a day lounging at the cricket club. You can take a girl out of surrey......
Of course, while that does all sound rather nice and laa-dee-da, you can never underestimate the charm of calamity Carys, who seems to have cunningly forgotten to mention things such as Ladies Night in the bar district, where EVERYTHING is free... which is resultant in Carys being poorly and so banned by her liver from Disney land- BOO!! Followed by an insistence on a visit to Ocean Park the following week to make up for it!! ( -:
Or that the trip to the rugby actually reduced Darragh to attempting to explain the game to us in terms of the pink side and the sparkly side, while Libby and I had far more fun analysing potential college cliques, a la Americaan Teen films!! Hey look I know Hong Kong won't be in the the wold cup- if that's what it's called in Rugby, which is way more than we all expected me to by the endof the match...I also think I know who's up for prom king and queen!
Our sophisticated night out at the races involved my usual betting form of, "oooh that's a pretty out fit and a nice name" and my favourite trick of changing my mind on a bet at the last minute, only for my original horse to win- probably trampling down my second choice in the process!! It should also be noted that names of racing horses in this country are even more bizarre than in England, so it is only unfortunate that the race where I bet (a WHOLE pound) on Dashing Champion, Storming Ball and Perfect Feelings made for some rather glare inducing dinner table chat in our box. We were strictly discussing form I tell you!
But I have been (a little) serene to...
One of my favourite days so far has been a day trip I took to the island of Lantau. Libby and Darragh were meant to come, but, shall we say, their livers were not receptive to the early start on the day so they went a few days later. We went to some very peaceful and spiritual destinations so it really was rather nice to do it all by myself. I spent the day being thoroughly unsociable to the rest of the tour group, so very happy in my own little world, taking in all the amazing sights. The island could be a tropical paradise; undulating terrain, lush with banana and papaya plantations, certainly not the type of scenes I was expecting to find the the region of Hong Kong! Our first stop was a very secluded sandy beach broken up by dotted boulders and rocks, I took a short wander then proceeded to sit on one such rock, with my feet in the bath warm water and just take it all in, beautiful.
We were then taken to a small fishing village were, despite having been provided new high rise housing by the government, the locals all live in stilted houses, and sell any thing from dried duck egg yolk to a complete shark's skin! We were then taken to the great Buddha, not before seeing it in the sky line, amongst the mammoth hills before us. It is beautiful, a reclining Buddha, of bronze, surrounded by maidens bringing traditional offerings, inside it encases a museum to its creation, and Buddha himself, and also the opportunity to buy memorial spaces for loved ones. Another very poignant destination...despite the inevitable shops and bus park 250 steps down from its base.
We then had lunch at a monastery and I went for a little wander to the Wisdom Trail, a beautiful monument I can only liken to Stone Henge, but each inscribed with a fable or Profit's preaching and forming the symbol of eternity. The day was ended by a 35 min ride back to Hong Kong island by cable car, offering some of the most breathtaking views of the Island, and again the Buddha an ominous feature in the sky line. Wow, what a day!
Everyone has been so incredibly generous and helpful during our time here, hence our ability to live the high life...coupled with our inability to leave! We were intending to leave Tuesday....we are now aiming for tomorrow...though earlier today were hatching plans to rent a flat until march when we fly to New Zealand!!! We shall see.....
If we do finally make our clean break tomorrow we have 5 days in which to travel to Vietnam......
The unintended new look
http://www.truprint.co.uk/share/p=287291164830007466/l=224835680/g=31854125/cobrandOid=1006/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Hear is all the current, and vaguely acceptable evidence of my new hair. Er please dont be fooled by all the super imposed make up and back ground that may look like cocktails and hourse races because it really is tough roughing it quite so much as we have been forsed to my Libby's friends in HK. Tough tough tough.
mmm
Now, ok PURLEEEASE will someone tell me what they think, instead of just requesting more blackmail worthy photos-which I supply quite happily anyway!!!
Hear is all the current, and vaguely acceptable evidence of my new hair. Er please dont be fooled by all the super imposed make up and back ground that may look like cocktails and hourse races because it really is tough roughing it quite so much as we have been forsed to my Libby's friends in HK. Tough tough tough.
mmm
Now, ok PURLEEEASE will someone tell me what they think, instead of just requesting more blackmail worthy photos-which I supply quite happily anyway!!!
Calamity Carys hits Hong Kong...and goes Goth?
I'VE BEEN MUTILATED, MUTILATED AND VIOLATED AND BRUTALISED!!!!!!!!!!! Its worse than the cupping (that was baaad...http://www.truprint.co.uk/share/p=128181163913228088/l=224711783/g=31854125/cobrandOid=1006/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB )!
Its my own fault really, when someone professes to the world that they are going off to be a rugged traveller for a few months and "rough" their way around the Far East, whether they are a girlie girl from Surrey or not, their account of the trip should NOT include words such as, upgrades and pampering seshes. Up until now we could blame all that on our tour guide, but now we are on our own to face the consequences......
We have arrived in Hong Kong!!! Made it to the end of the tour, said our....rather anticlimactic...goodbyes, and wandered off into the streets to find our hostel.
Hong Kong is amazing, I really like it here, but can't quite put my finger on why...maybe because I don't want to admit that the reason is probably because it is a lot more western and easy to feel at home here...well it's either that or the pretty bright lights!
In China a lot of the cities we visited were seemingly half finished, or half destroyed (providing a rather si-fi film, creepy effect), the streets were lined with..erm..."hairdressers" basking in red lights (especially in Yichang) and spit marks, and the people, as we've established, could be less than friendly, and the atmosphere was fairly grey and at times manic.
From the moment you step out of the train station, the other side of customs, the desire to point out, just how, NOT CHINA Hong Kong is, is very clear. Lining the streets were placards of news paper clippings and headlines covering subjects clearly banned in China, such as the Tiananmen Square massacres, smoking is to be banned in restaurants and karaoke bars (apparently as fresh air heightens the karaoke experience so!) and spitters are fined. Everyone is very friendly and keen to help (sometimes scarily so, when you leave a shop and members of staff come streaming out of the woodwork to thank you and say good bye. In unison- where do they all come from?!), though it is a very busy and bustling place, the atmosphere is some how still very relaxed (after China, some times painfully relaxed, people walk SOOOO SLOOOOW and don't look where they are going...kind of like how mum always complains I walk, so sorry for years of torture there Mammabear!!), and yes the prevalence of English signs and speakers does make it an easy destination to tackle on our own.
I am very glad it is this City the Darragh has met us in, though Libby and I are getting on great- in fact being with the tour highlighted just how much we prefer our company to others (its actually a bit sad, not only are we finishing each others sentences, we can start them now to!) but its nice to have the opportunity of my own space (my own bed room!!!...er...the hostel upgraded me, to a double room, free...point one in my demise....) and I feel so at ease, and actually enjoy, wandering around in my own time on my own terms. A reaction to being with a tour I guess- I'm actually so excited to finally be in one place so long I have unpacked. Everything. I NEVER unpack!!!
So to celebrate (...well...any excuse we could think of really, we chose to focus on) Darragh's impending arrival, Libby and I pronounced day one in Hong Kong a day of pampering...well it was meant to be one treatment, and then they were so cheep that we thought it'd be rude not to get two, then I got so over excited by what a good friend I was being, all this moral support helping her prepare for her man's arrival and all, and demanded we get our hair done. This all sounds extravagant...er...for travelling folk...but it really did only amount to about 30 quid and absolute bliss.
This, and Libby's cries of "Hong Kong LOVES us!!!" (there is a Starbucks next to the hostel) should have made me suspicious...but no I went all out, whole hog, and this is where I was punished. About FOUR HOURS LATER, many many people had gone into that hair dressers and been transformed into people with very cool slick black hair cuts and styles, Libby included. Now I don't know if its pure blondest discrimination, or maybe jealousy at my growing fan base I was telling you all about, but what did I get? Little miss blondie?
A BOWL CUT AND HAIR THE COLOUR OF.....well I don't know really its TOO hideous to describe...Libby termed it a dirty blonde/grey... actually...horrifyingly... I....gulp....think it might have been...my....my....my...
...natural...
...hair...
...colour.
In winter.
When there is no sun to aid my cause.
And I remember why bleach is such a happy invention, not just as it gives me soo much of an excuse for soo much!!
So while Hong Kong may love Libby, so far it has robbed me of my claim to fame, and my sleeping bag. Still, with a good head for priorities, I rushed straight out and invested in a lot of die and A LOT of clips, and am now sporting a rather fetching (?) Gothic blackish look. This could be fine had it been voluntary, or aided by the wonder that is hair products (oh the new found respect of the surrey gal). It wasn't and isn't. Humph.
It has however apparently given me a great tan...now I'm sure being brunette now I should know how the hell that works.
Oh dear I have rather buggered on, yet managed to skillfully avoid telling you what I've actually been doing, apart from pampering and pitying myself. Maybe I'll disguise giving you a break as leaving you in suspense, till I fill you in at the end of Hong Kong. Assuming that is that there are no more misshapes in the interim...er...like our booking a sunset Harbour and Victoria Peak tour to celebrate the lovely weather we were having, till we handed our money over, which is literally when the fog set in.
Oooh Aaaah, what a view!
Its my own fault really, when someone professes to the world that they are going off to be a rugged traveller for a few months and "rough" their way around the Far East, whether they are a girlie girl from Surrey or not, their account of the trip should NOT include words such as, upgrades and pampering seshes. Up until now we could blame all that on our tour guide, but now we are on our own to face the consequences......
We have arrived in Hong Kong!!! Made it to the end of the tour, said our....rather anticlimactic...goodbyes, and wandered off into the streets to find our hostel.
Hong Kong is amazing, I really like it here, but can't quite put my finger on why...maybe because I don't want to admit that the reason is probably because it is a lot more western and easy to feel at home here...well it's either that or the pretty bright lights!
In China a lot of the cities we visited were seemingly half finished, or half destroyed (providing a rather si-fi film, creepy effect), the streets were lined with..erm..."hairdressers" basking in red lights (especially in Yichang) and spit marks, and the people, as we've established, could be less than friendly, and the atmosphere was fairly grey and at times manic.
From the moment you step out of the train station, the other side of customs, the desire to point out, just how, NOT CHINA Hong Kong is, is very clear. Lining the streets were placards of news paper clippings and headlines covering subjects clearly banned in China, such as the Tiananmen Square massacres, smoking is to be banned in restaurants and karaoke bars (apparently as fresh air heightens the karaoke experience so!) and spitters are fined. Everyone is very friendly and keen to help (sometimes scarily so, when you leave a shop and members of staff come streaming out of the woodwork to thank you and say good bye. In unison- where do they all come from?!), though it is a very busy and bustling place, the atmosphere is some how still very relaxed (after China, some times painfully relaxed, people walk SOOOO SLOOOOW and don't look where they are going...kind of like how mum always complains I walk, so sorry for years of torture there Mammabear!!), and yes the prevalence of English signs and speakers does make it an easy destination to tackle on our own.
I am very glad it is this City the Darragh has met us in, though Libby and I are getting on great- in fact being with the tour highlighted just how much we prefer our company to others (its actually a bit sad, not only are we finishing each others sentences, we can start them now to!) but its nice to have the opportunity of my own space (my own bed room!!!...er...the hostel upgraded me, to a double room, free...point one in my demise....) and I feel so at ease, and actually enjoy, wandering around in my own time on my own terms. A reaction to being with a tour I guess- I'm actually so excited to finally be in one place so long I have unpacked. Everything. I NEVER unpack!!!
So to celebrate (...well...any excuse we could think of really, we chose to focus on) Darragh's impending arrival, Libby and I pronounced day one in Hong Kong a day of pampering...well it was meant to be one treatment, and then they were so cheep that we thought it'd be rude not to get two, then I got so over excited by what a good friend I was being, all this moral support helping her prepare for her man's arrival and all, and demanded we get our hair done. This all sounds extravagant...er...for travelling folk...but it really did only amount to about 30 quid and absolute bliss.
This, and Libby's cries of "Hong Kong LOVES us!!!" (there is a Starbucks next to the hostel) should have made me suspicious...but no I went all out, whole hog, and this is where I was punished. About FOUR HOURS LATER, many many people had gone into that hair dressers and been transformed into people with very cool slick black hair cuts and styles, Libby included. Now I don't know if its pure blondest discrimination, or maybe jealousy at my growing fan base I was telling you all about, but what did I get? Little miss blondie?
A BOWL CUT AND HAIR THE COLOUR OF.....well I don't know really its TOO hideous to describe...Libby termed it a dirty blonde/grey... actually...horrifyingly... I....gulp....think it might have been...my....my....my...
...natural...
...hair...
...colour.
In winter.
When there is no sun to aid my cause.
And I remember why bleach is such a happy invention, not just as it gives me soo much of an excuse for soo much!!
So while Hong Kong may love Libby, so far it has robbed me of my claim to fame, and my sleeping bag. Still, with a good head for priorities, I rushed straight out and invested in a lot of die and A LOT of clips, and am now sporting a rather fetching (?) Gothic blackish look. This could be fine had it been voluntary, or aided by the wonder that is hair products (oh the new found respect of the surrey gal). It wasn't and isn't. Humph.
It has however apparently given me a great tan...now I'm sure being brunette now I should know how the hell that works.
Oh dear I have rather buggered on, yet managed to skillfully avoid telling you what I've actually been doing, apart from pampering and pitying myself. Maybe I'll disguise giving you a break as leaving you in suspense, till I fill you in at the end of Hong Kong. Assuming that is that there are no more misshapes in the interim...er...like our booking a sunset Harbour and Victoria Peak tour to celebrate the lovely weather we were having, till we handed our money over, which is literally when the fog set in.
Oooh Aaaah, what a view!
The story so far....!
So far it has been amazing, plagued by illness (of course, mostly mine) but amazing. The people on our tour are all lovely...despite first impressions suggesting otherwise. China...well I don't really know how to describe it, it is truly...well...bizarre, as are the people. The mistake I believe a lot of us make when thinking of the Chinese, is, to put it simply, to think of the Japanese. The reputation many of us seem to share a belief in, is that it is a serene, smiley, respectful, helpful race. This is on some parts true...for the most part they spend their time ignoring and insulting westerners (apologising for our presence on tours/boats/buses/etc and calling us "White ghosts"), even if said westerner does speak Chinese, hocking (yes spitting mucus)-anywhere, chain smoking-anywhere and shoving...er....anywhere.
China as a country is a complete juxtaposition, in its entirety. In the towns and cities dwellings seem to be made of apparently near dilapidated buildings, whilst in smaller more rural, out of the way places, buildings are gleaming white. New is always placed next to old, beautiful, next to unsightly, traditional next to modern...actually modern completely bastardising traditional-there was a Starbucks in the Forbidden City for goodness sake, THE FORBIDDEN CITY OF THE GREAT MING DYNASTY HAS A STAR BUCKS IN SIDE IT!!!
There are also very very dark, sinister undercurrents very much apparent in the running of the country, news, TV and internet (and probably now this email) are still very much censored. One of guides told us the story of his wife having to go into hiding for the first 6 months of her second pregnancy for fear of the governmental spies finding her and... eradicating the problem. While they have finally introduced contraception as a means of backing the governmetal regime of one child families (two if you are from the suitable background), which is very much advertised through smiling bill boards (yet another contradiction of the reality of the situation) it is seemingly not free or easy to find.
The government's position on many things such as religion and communism V's capitalism, Taiwan, religion, sexuality etc etc seems amenable, but again is all lead by the steady stream of the undercurrent.
Another of our guides seemed unable to answer many of our questions when she showed us around Tiananman Square...it later transcribed that in fact many of the street sellers with in the square are actually working for the government and a ready to alert the guards if a foot is put wrong, especially with questions regarding Chairman Mao. Dark, all very very dark.
But oblivious to all that, its been lovely!! I spent my birthday up the Great Wall (all be it a bit sickly and sorry for myself), have seen the Terracotta Warriors- all 8000 of them, had crafted in about 200BC. I've trekked mountains to reach monasteries, seen many a temple, been to beautiful parks where people do what they love with the people they love in complete abandonment (thai chi, ball room dancing, other dances, chanting, singing, playing instruments and games; its just beautiful, so atmospheric). I may have plotted the abduction of one or two beautiful panda cubs in a reserve (Er...and children for that matter...puppies, and the occasional kitten), been harassed by monkeys, seen an 80 foot high Buddha, sailed the Yangzi River and its gorges (AGAIN a bit sickly and sorry for myself), bathed in wine (amongst other things) flavoured sulphuric pools and had a session of cupping (OUCH) and massage (YUM).
I am also, unsurprisingly of course, a bit of a celebrity over here. Some, more jealous folk, may try to simplify it by putting it down to the colour of my hair but I know the truth. People do have a tendency to point and stare and take photos (all very well...sort of...except on those days of feeling sickly and sorry for myself, when it seems to be exceptionally rife). I have actually gotten a little too comfortable with it and started, out of the kindness of my down-to-earth, unaffected heart, posing for these photos. This rather bit me on the bottom when it became clear that one guy actually, just wanted the scene behind me....oooops!
Only me!!!
BLUSH
All in all, a non too shabby trip thus far...the only thing that really worries me is, despite booking the "intrepid" tour, NOT the "comfort" tour, we really have been roughing it the way people expect surrey girl to...what happens when we are thrust, blinking into the big wide word on our own....
Wish us luck!!
China as a country is a complete juxtaposition, in its entirety. In the towns and cities dwellings seem to be made of apparently near dilapidated buildings, whilst in smaller more rural, out of the way places, buildings are gleaming white. New is always placed next to old, beautiful, next to unsightly, traditional next to modern...actually modern completely bastardising traditional-there was a Starbucks in the Forbidden City for goodness sake, THE FORBIDDEN CITY OF THE GREAT MING DYNASTY HAS A STAR BUCKS IN SIDE IT!!!
There are also very very dark, sinister undercurrents very much apparent in the running of the country, news, TV and internet (and probably now this email) are still very much censored. One of guides told us the story of his wife having to go into hiding for the first 6 months of her second pregnancy for fear of the governmental spies finding her and... eradicating the problem. While they have finally introduced contraception as a means of backing the governmetal regime of one child families (two if you are from the suitable background), which is very much advertised through smiling bill boards (yet another contradiction of the reality of the situation) it is seemingly not free or easy to find.
The government's position on many things such as religion and communism V's capitalism, Taiwan, religion, sexuality etc etc seems amenable, but again is all lead by the steady stream of the undercurrent.
Another of our guides seemed unable to answer many of our questions when she showed us around Tiananman Square...it later transcribed that in fact many of the street sellers with in the square are actually working for the government and a ready to alert the guards if a foot is put wrong, especially with questions regarding Chairman Mao. Dark, all very very dark.
But oblivious to all that, its been lovely!! I spent my birthday up the Great Wall (all be it a bit sickly and sorry for myself), have seen the Terracotta Warriors- all 8000 of them, had crafted in about 200BC. I've trekked mountains to reach monasteries, seen many a temple, been to beautiful parks where people do what they love with the people they love in complete abandonment (thai chi, ball room dancing, other dances, chanting, singing, playing instruments and games; its just beautiful, so atmospheric). I may have plotted the abduction of one or two beautiful panda cubs in a reserve (Er...and children for that matter...puppies, and the occasional kitten), been harassed by monkeys, seen an 80 foot high Buddha, sailed the Yangzi River and its gorges (AGAIN a bit sickly and sorry for myself), bathed in wine (amongst other things) flavoured sulphuric pools and had a session of cupping (OUCH) and massage (YUM).
I am also, unsurprisingly of course, a bit of a celebrity over here. Some, more jealous folk, may try to simplify it by putting it down to the colour of my hair but I know the truth. People do have a tendency to point and stare and take photos (all very well...sort of...except on those days of feeling sickly and sorry for myself, when it seems to be exceptionally rife). I have actually gotten a little too comfortable with it and started, out of the kindness of my down-to-earth, unaffected heart, posing for these photos. This rather bit me on the bottom when it became clear that one guy actually, just wanted the scene behind me....oooops!
Only me!!!
BLUSH
All in all, a non too shabby trip thus far...the only thing that really worries me is, despite booking the "intrepid" tour, NOT the "comfort" tour, we really have been roughing it the way people expect surrey girl to...what happens when we are thrust, blinking into the big wide word on our own....
Wish us luck!!
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