Chickens
Nearby was a tourist market. I bargined with this woman for some batique. I probably didn't get a great deal. But I was happy.We rented some bicycles and explored the countryside. This was a highlight of the trip as the scenery was amazing.
This is second favourite.
Moon Hill
Today we sailed down the river on bamboo rafts.
A guide picked us up at our hotel and led us to the 'launching' spot for the rafts. Here we were accosted by young children saying "water gun, five yuan...water gun, five yuan...water gun, five yuan". Finally, we did give in, and bought a flower wreath for my head, but it didn't fit, so i just held on to it...
Once we got on to our raft, we enjoyed a good 2 hour journey down stream. As you can see from the pictures, we traveled in style. It was kind of like ponting chinese style.
C relaxes in the sun
We stayed in a town called Yangshuo. It's a small but beautiful town nestled amongst the gorgeous Karst mountains. It's a very touristy town and very western friendly. We'd really recommend it for first time China visitors. It was a nice easy introduction for us.
Running alongside the town is the Li River. And some of the most famous scenery can be found along it's shores. So we went on a half day tour up and down this river.
Our first day was spent in Guilin. This is a medium sized city. On arrival we were met by "the blue shirt man". We discovered what a tout is. He really wanted to make money from us and followed us all over the place.
Eventually we organised a 'tour' from another guy, and visited some local sites and tried the local "Li River Beer Fish".
From Hong Kong we travelled through to Shenzhen, just across the border. From there we took a sleeper train to Guilin.
We were quite taken with the sleeper train, it was a highlight of our trip. We decided to be soft and pay a little more for a 'soft sleeper'. This meant our cabin had 4 beds and a door. Luckily for us, no-one joined us at all! And it was the best night's sleep I had!
In May we ventured into the mainland! We had about three days in Hong Kong then four in China then another 2 in Hong Kong. What a fascinating country. We can't wait to get back there!
So first, Hong Kong. There are a lot of shops in Hong Kong. And we did our fair share of shopping. Or at least I did as much shopping as I could without losing my husband!
We stayed at a fun little hostel in Kowloon. Very cheap and very small but very clean. What more could you want? From here we could explore the city quite well.
We were quite taken by this escalator. It is a public outdoor escalator that runs for almost a kilometer up the mountain on Hong Kong Island. In the morning in runs downhill for commuters and then from 10am until late at night it runs uphill again. Just the most fabulous idea. I think Wellington should think about a few of these!
Out on Lantou Island is the world's largest sitting outdoor Buddha. It was big and scarey.
Of course, we checked out the Peak Tram. And it's true. The buildings really do look like they're on a 45 degree angle. The Wellington Cable Car doesn't even compare.
The view from the top of Victoria Peak. We arrived at the top just as the rain clouds came rolling in.
