Hong Kong & China

- Arrival in the Far East

After the stunningly efficient, fast and cheap Airport Express ride in (35 minutes, got on it two minutes away from arrivals and everything brand new) our exit from our hotel for a lazy afternoon's walk could not have been more different - it was straight into a mayhem of open shops, food stalls and buzz, not to mention that fairly distinctive smell that pervades parts of Hong Kong and China.

We'd met Ian and Sheila in the airport, off their Australian flight and had ten days together.  After the initial afternoon's orientation around our hotel, the following day it felt like a starburst, I headed for the Electronics, Mary and Sheila for the jade markets and jewllers and Ian off up some dodgy backstreets to buy dodgy Rolex watch's.  All of us succeeded in our aims, some more than others - I picked up another camera and Ian finished up with at least three watches!

As ever Hong Kong delights in things like the Star ferry (€1.25 for the first class!), vertical monstronsities everywhere, shopping plazas,lights and fireworks and just people ...... masses of them.  All very polite, but happy enough to get on with their own lives and not worry too much about another four foreigners standing looking upwards with our mouths open.

We were back on the Airport Express two days later for our flight to Guilin, due west in China.  Once there and through fairly straightforward passport checks we got a bus ride in to the hotel.  As we got out, we were positive we never be able to cross any roads, ever!  There were bicycles, cars, mopeds, motor cycles and even more scooters going every direction! Admitedly, in town we started to find a pattern to it all, but on the way in it seemed to be every person for themselves!

Our first morning there, we stared in astonishment (as they often did at us!) at the number of people on the river walk opposite the hotel doing their daily exercises, Tai Chai and what looked like ballroom dancing with even many single people gliding around with their arms in the air.  Although we didn't join in, Mary now has a Tai Chai book and is reading (it's history) avidly ...... more to follow.

Our main trip whilst we were in Guilin was a day down the Li river (nothing like Cork, honest!) Photos here   It was obviously a tourist attraction for more than just us westerners and the first class comprtment on the upper deck had some very dodgy looking individuals, who proceeded to play cards through most of the four hour trip! Stakes appeared to be melon pips so perhaps my imagination ran away with me but .........

Following the river trip we were taken to a place called xxxxxxxx which basically means "how much can we sell the tourists before they leave?"  Though they are not too pushy, just get insulted when you don't buy!  Things for sale there were mostly rip off's (ski jacket for Hugh at €20, Back pack for Sheila at €xx) 

They have had very little rain recently and some of the river was impassable, even for their two foot draft boats, so instead we were taken to the Dragon bridge (famous from some film or another) and after having had a wander through the village and being pointed out where the party headquarters were (obviously the best and most modern building there) we were taken out on the river to meet some Water Buffalo who were brought in from the fields though it din't seem to worry their owners - perhaps eco tourism / farming started here long before Dept Ag got the idea!  After that we had a display of cormorant's fishing and the fisherman removing the fish from the comorant's mouth was definately something I won't forget!  He, the comorant got a fair sized reward, a single cormorant can catch up to 50kg of fish a day ........ I wish we even had that left!

The only instance of what we have all been told and read about China was when we noticed a girl being "scolded" by her fellow workers.  For all the rest of the time we were amazed at how well and westernly dressed they all were with everyone going about their business just the same as if they had been in Ireland or UK. There were no signs of government rhetoric, roads were being upgraded (not from single track roads, but from dual carriageways to motorways!) and the airport could certainly beat Inverness .... if not Edinburgh!  Building is going on apace with one new development declaring itself a "New Urbanism living developement" and another declaring itself as a 400,000 m2 Ïnternational New Town"

Quickie link to Guilin maps and website, just right click and 'open in new tab'

http://www.chinahighlights.com/guilin/map.htm

We enjoyed China very much and all of us would like to go back, more perhaps than Hong Kong. As ever costs outside the hotel were quarter inside it it so we found some interesting bars.  People are friendly there but without being Over The Top but will rarely start a conversion with you except in Ian's case -  when a guy called Thomas made friends with him and sold him tea and jade - he said he wanted to improve his english but everyone Ian met through him was family and happened to sell different types of goods ...........

Our return to Hong Kong was only for a couple of days with more trips on the ferry and another netbook for Sheila purchased.  We did do a visit to Murphy's bar, but only because we had to walk by it anyway, you understand .......

Photos from Hong Kong

Photos from Guilin, China

Back to Top