Hong Kong day 1&2

Walk and dinner at YMCA
Day 2
Thought about buying a Hop on Hop Off ticket to visit areas of Hong Kong but in the end decided to buy local Octopus card which allowed us to travel on public transport and buy drinks by swiping.
Caught Star ferry to Hong Kong island then bus to Peak but by mistake the bus we caught actually went to top of Peak rather than tram at bottom. The ride on the bus was actually better as you wandered around streets and no queue. View was amazing as the day was only a little smoggy. Caught tram down then went on bus to Repulse Bay and had a walk around. It was very hot but only a few people in water.
Next stop was Stanley Market which Kathy says is completely different from when she visited 30 years ago. Had a drink and then grabbed a bus for Aberdeen. Had a quick look around a jumped on a ferry for a ride around bay. The harbour is filled with large and expensive yachts and fishing boats. Caught bus back to Central and ferry back home. Very tired but went to Irish pub for dinner and walk around harbour to see the light.

Shanghai Day 3

Visited pet and flower markets and poster museum. Pet market sold crickets used for fighting. Some were match head size and some much larger. The locals study them before purchasing.
Then went down to markets at
580. Couple of beers at local restaurant and then out too dinner. Shanghai is an amazing city as much of it is only ten years old and very modern.
Last night in China and off to Hong Kong tomorrow. Dragon Air flight leaves at 1:00 pm and leaving hotel at 10:00.

Shanghai Day 2

Water Town
Jade Budha
Acrobats  ERA
Unbelievable and amazing acrobats. In one section a motorbike rides inside a sphere. This gradually increased to 8 bikes. This was one of the highlights of the trip. Park Hotel is fantastic and in an amazing location.

Shanghai Day 1

Took a walk to local market to purchase new watch fo Kathy who lost her watch at light show. Crossing the road is always a nightmare in China as drivers obey very few rules.  Had to cross ten lanes which can be tricky even with pedestrian lights as motor scooters will still come at you from all directions and cars turning left do not have to stop at crossings. The scooters even use the footpath in the middle of the city.
Finally got the watch Kathy wanted and returned to the hotel.

Yangshuo / Chongqing

Left Yangshuo and flew an hour  to Chongqing. City very crowded with population of 32000000. Boarded our boat the Victoria Grace for 3 day cruise down the Yangtze River. Cabin is compact but very comfortable with small balcony which is just big enough to sit on.

Yangshuo Day 2

Free Day because of rain causing our bike ride to be cancelled. Walked around shops then out to nearby suburb. Suburb was mainly 4 story housing appartmemts. In the markets we saw live ducks, fish, turtles and chickens. Also saw dogs hanging up ready for eating. Others saw live dogs and cats ready for slaughter.

Yangshuo

On ferry on Li River to Yangshuo. This is a four hour journey on a 3 level ferry probably about 30 m long. Lots of large rocky outcrops many 100 s of metres high. At about 9am 7 ferries leave and head up the river. Half an hour later more ferries. All along river are little temporary  shops set up on riverside and boats.
Got some more credit on my phone today from China unicom but had to get girl in shop to put it on my phone because all the instructions in Chinese.
Went to an open air  show  which has about 500 performers. Produced by the person who did Olympic opening ceremony. It was a very spectacular show but very slow. Raining so.had to.wear plastic ponchos.
Sleep in tomorrow as we have a bike ride at 10 and that is all that is planned.
Go the Swans.

River li

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=204517252043754662191.0004ca1ab661474b4afc0 Created by My Tracks on Android. Name: Li River Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 54.57 km (33.9 mi) Total time: 4:04:43 Moving time: 4:04:30 Average speed: 13.38 km/h (8.3 mi/h) Average moving speed: 13.39 km/h (8.3 mi/h) Max speed: 19.80 km/h (12.3 mi/h) Average pace: 4.48 min/km (7.2 min/mi) Average moving pace: 4.48 min/km (7.2 min/mi) Fastest pace: 3.03 min/km (4.9 min/mi) Max elevation: 153 m (502 ft) Min elevation: 70 m (230 ft) Elevation gain: 726 m (2383 ft) Max grade: 13 % Min grade: -14 % Recorded: 19/09/2012 9:33am

Longshen

Drove to Longshen and looked at some amazing scenery. Saw all types of people including minority groups that look quite different in appearance. Some of the women have hair over 2 m long. Had to change buses half way up the hill to a smaller bus for the remainder of the trip up a narrow winding road. It felt a little.unsafe as the driver raced up the road blowing his horn madly at every corner.

Guilin

Because internet is a bit hit and miss the posts get out of order as far as publishing and because of censorship I can't view blog. For some reason the app on my phone allows posting. Unable to post pictures at this stage.
Flew to Gulin. Guilin is very pretty city with limestone peaks sticking up all through the area and lots of trees. Wandered around town most of the afternoon and climbed Fubo Hill which was about 300 steps. The city is relatively new as the majority was destroyed by Japanese in WW 2.
Had a foot massage which lasted about an hour then went  out to dinner.

Overnight train Beijing to Xian

Caught the train at Beijing West Station. Waited in a pay lounge for the train to depart. Cabin is 4 berth and we travelled throughout the night. Space/ is very cosy with  4  bags and assorted backpacks. Ate a lot of rubish on the train. Buying food in China can be a bit of a lucky dip as you are not quite sure what you are buying. The other night we managed to buy aluminium foil instead of small ziplock bags.
Have just woken up and train is heading in opposite direction but we are still travelling southwest. So I guess we are going to the correct place.

Day 3 Beijing

Temple of Heaven.
Lots of people relaxing playing cards, dominoes and marjon. In one part of the park grandparents were sitting around with little signs telling about their grand children. Signs contained info like age, height, salary, car type and apartment size. The purpose was to get dates for their grand children,  mostly male.
Planning Centre.
Olympic Stadium including the Birdsnest and icecube.
Pearl Shop
Could have bought 5 Rolex for 100 yua  ($17).
Summer Palace
17 arches bridge, the long corridor and the marble boat.

Xian Day 3

Up early to depart at 5:45 am for airport.  Breakfast box this morning was interesting. Flying Hainan Air to Guilin. Flight meal was choice of noodles or rice and coffee came only one way, milk and sugar. 

Xian Day 2

Went for a walk to see the damage from last night. Most of the hotels that were damaged have been boarded up and the burnt cars removed. Very few police around.
Terracotta Warrior
Drove approximately an hour into countryside. Whole area of tombs is 56 square kilometres. In one building there are many thousand  of warriors uncovered and repaired. This emperor  certainly had delusions of grandeur.
Muslim Mosque
Muslim Markets
Walked back from the mosque and bought some items in the market. Lots of troups in one particular part of the city and some streets are blocked to cars.
Dumpling Dinner
Went out for dinner but roads were blocked in centre of city. Our guide Julia had to take us through lots of back Syureets to get us to restaurant. For dinner we ate 18 varieties of dumplings including walnut and dumplings shaped like ducks.

Xian Day 1

Wow is this exciting. Guide has cancelled activities because of demonstrations. Japanese cars overturned, hotels trashed and busineses attacked. All this is happening all around us. Decided to go out again once it had quieted down a bit but ran into lots of police, army and riot squad. Lots of cleaning up going on, we were not allowed to go to some areas and we were being moved on by police. Will add more when I get a chance.

Google walk.

I think you might be interested in this track:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=204517252043754662191.0004c99cdf1e920675bfd

Created by My Tracks on Android. Name: Gteat Wall2 Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 0.62 km (0.4 mi) Total time: 12:31 Moving time: 08:51 Average speed: 2.97 km/h (1.8 mi/h) Average moving speed: 4.19 km/h (2.6 mi/h) Max speed: 18.00 km/h (11.2 mi/h) Average pace: 20.21 min/km (32.5 min/mi) Average moving pace: 14.31 min/km (23.0 min/mi) Fastest pace: 3.33 min/km (5.4 min/mi) Max elevation: 658 m (2159 ft) Min elevation: 632 m (2074 ft) Elevation gain: 57 m (187 ft) Max grade: 0 % Min grade: 0 % Recorded: 13/09/2012 11:58am

Great wall part of walk

Not sure how this will go but it should show part of our walk on the wall by selecting the link below. I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=204517252043754662191.0004c99cd1273224a8b41 Created by My Tracks on Android. Name: Gteat Wall2 Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 0.62 km (0.4 mi) Total time: 12:31 Moving time: 08:51 Average speed: 2.97 km/h (1.8 mi/h) Average moving speed: 4.19 km/h (2.6 mi/h) Max speed: 18.00 km/h (11.2 mi/h) Average pace: 20.21 min/km (32.5 min/mi) Average moving pace: 14.31 min/km (23.0 min/mi) Fastest pace: 3.33 min/km (5.4 min/mi) Max elevation: 658 m (2159 ft) Min elevation: 632 m (2074 ft) Elevation gain: 57 m (187 ft) Max grade: 0 % Min grade: 0 % Recorded: 13/09/2012 11:58am

Out of order but part of bus ride to Great Wall

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=204517252043754662191.0004c99cfd2c78c1d46ad Created by My Tracks on Android. Name: Great Wall Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 64.79 km (40.3 mi) Total time: 1:07:05 Moving time: 1:05:43 Average speed: 57.95 km/h (36.0 mi/h) Average moving speed: 59.15 km/h (36.8 mi/h) Max speed: 117.90 km/h (73.3 mi/h) Average pace: 1.04 min/km (1.7 min/mi) Average moving pace: 1.01 min/km (1.6 min/mi) Fastest pace: 0.51 min/km (0.8 min/mi) Max elevation: 305 m (1002 ft) Min elevation: 36 m (117 ft) Elevation gain: 347 m (1138 ft) Max grade: 9 % Min grade: -3 % Recorded: 13/09/2012 9:41am

Google walk

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=204517252043754662191.0004c99ce10503812871f Created by My Tracks on Android. Name: Gteat Wall2 Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 0.62 km (0.4 mi) Total time: 12:31 Moving time: 08:51 Average speed: 2.97 km/h (1.8 mi/h) Average moving speed: 4.19 km/h (2.6 mi/h) Max speed: 18.00 km/h (11.2 mi/h) Average pace: 20.21 min/km (32.5 min/mi) Average moving pace: 14.31 min/km (23.0 min/mi) Fastest pace: 3.33 min/km (5.4 min/mi) Max elevation: 658 m (2159 ft) Min elevation: 632 m (2074 ft) Elevation gain: 57 m (187 ft) Max grade: 0 % Min grade: 0 % Recorded: 13/09/2012 11:58am

Beijing Day 2 - Kung Fu show and Peking Duck

Went to an amazing show. Performers did forward flips across the stage without using hands. They landed on their heads and flipped without putting their hands  on the ground.

Great Wall

Quite amazing to believe I am actually standing on the Great Wall. The sky is blue and temp about 26 c. We arrived at about 11:00 and had 3 hours climbing the wall. The part we climbed had very few people. It has all been restored as the locals pinched all the stone for their own use over the centuries. We used a cable car
to get to the top and were supposed to use a toboggan to come down but it sprinkled with rain so they closed it down. We ended up walking down. I am unable to post picture at the moment because internet is very slow.
Two things I learn today. The great wall can't be seen from the moon and it was not built to keep out the rabbits.

Food market.

Live scorpions, cockroach, starfish and snake were on the menu.
Have discovered that censorship is so strong that facebook, YouTube and blogs can not be viewed. I am not able to view this blog but think it is posting.

Beijing Day 2

Tiananmen Square and Forbidden Palace. The square is amazing and will supposedly hold a million people. Also went to the Drum Tower and watched a drumming display. The tower was used to sound out the time across the city.Stairs were very steep but the view and drumming were worth it.

Beijing Day 1

Went to the Pearl markets today. Bought a genuine leather bag ( the sales girl told me so) and a tripod for the camera. After lunch we braved the subway and went to the Lama Temple which is a Buddhist temple. The sky has been grey from pollution all day and we have not seen the sun. The traffic is madness and the drivers all got horns for Christmas. Out the front of the hotel is 12 lanes wide and we are not brave enough to cross so we go down to the subway to cross the road.

13 hours

Just passed the 13 hour mark on the plane. Think I have had about enough. The Dragon Air A330 is certainly quieter than the last plane.kathy is stretched across 4 seats trying to sleep. There are only about 50 people on the plane so there are plenty of spare seats.

About 20 min from Beijing and the flight is getting a bit bumpy. Captain has told us to buckle up.

Qantas

Plane is half full and left exactly on time. Great choice of movies and think I will watch Hunger games as I have book with me to read. Next stop Hong Kong and then Beijing.

Departure

China 2012

Off  to China in two days. Today we have started packing our bags, mowed the lawns, voted and done all the things we need to do for our trip to China. Flying to Hong Kong Qantas and then Beijing on China Air.
I made the mistake of going to the dentist yesterday who drilled down into my tooth to kill the nerves of a tooth that was sensitive to heat. My tooth feels a bit sore but I hope it will be OK.

Itinerary
http://www.travelindochina.com.au/china-tibet/itinerary/yangtze-beyond/17654.aspx
Map
http://www.travelindochina.com.au/china-tibet/interactive-map/yangtze-beyond/17654.aspx