China 2006

Guilin is hot!

2006-05-06T12:33:00.000+01:00

Well, this didn't turn out quite the way we'd imagined.

As we suspected internet access has been quite hard to come by and quite erratic, and our schedule has not given us much time to ourselves as we would have needed anyway !

This trip has been amazing. We have seen four wonderful sights. The great wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses (we can't forget the horses!), the Li river cruise and the Reed Flute Caves. They were all very different sights but breathtaking in their own way. I am sure we will bore you all with the photos on our return.

The weather is very warm, but there is a lot of air conditioning. The worst has been in Guilin in the south where it is very humid, but it does look like what we expected rural China to look like (very poor but beautiful).

The hotels we have stayed in have been excellent. Really plush and luxurious. I would recommend anyone to take a holiday in China before they catch on that as long as the room is clean we will make do with it.

The only downside so far has been the hassle we have got in certain shops. Shops which are attached to factories or workshops that our guides have taken us to. While it has been interesting to see silk, jade etc. being made, once you get into the shop they see westerner and think big wallet. Of course Christopher has a big wallet but he is also from Aberdeen. They hang at your arm and won't take no for an answer. It is very annoying, because even if you want to buy something you end up not wanting to buy it from them. And the idea of browsing is unknown here.

The food has been very good here. Usually a buffet of some description, which is good as you can try a little of everything and leave what you don't want. Some other meals have been more interesting, in Xian we had a hot pot, which was like a fondue except we had boiling broth instead of cheese and thin strips of beef and lamb instead of bread. It was a lot of fun, but we made a lot of mess. The peking duckin Beijing was very nice, but somwhat spoilt by our guide telling us in detail how they force fed the duck at the farm before killing it.

We are both having a whale of a time - and have not crossed words once! Though Christopher is kept perminantly amused in Guilin by the fact our guide is calle d Ding Ding. TTFN

On to Beijing

2006-05-01T01:03:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post at Hong Kong airport to let you know we're ok. more later.

Almost gone

2006-04-26T14:22:00.000+01:00

Booked it, packed it....only one more thing to do !

Hopefully we will be able to post, and this won't also be the last post.

Comments welcome

2006-04-25T08:37:00.000+01:00

You should now be able to post comments on the blog without having to be a member of anything.

Let's hear it for Mr Lee

2006-04-21T14:42:00.000+01:00

We've just had confirmation that our guide will be Mr Lee. We were told previously that our guide would be Mr Sam. This would have led to the "hilarious" situation of me being Mr Frodo and Fiona being, inevitably, Gollum.

However, this is not to be. Aww.

Further we are informed that our tour consists only of the two of us. I was concerned they may have been people I didn't get on with (groups I basically don't get on with being : children, teenagers, young people, middle aged people and older people). Fiona was concerned about older people slowing us down.

CCB

Trip Itinerary

2006-04-18T15:55:00.000+01:00

26 April
Evening flight Edinburgh - Hong Kong

27 April
Arrive Hong Kong
Family Dinner

28 April - Hong Kong
Pre-wedding Drinks

29 April - Hong Kong
Gavin & Claire's Wedding & Reception

30 April - Hong Kong
Post-wedding Brunch

1 May
Morning flight Hong Kong - Beijing
Acrobatics Show

2 May - Beijing
Great Wall Of China
Ming Tombs
Summer Palace
Beijing Duck Dinner

3 May - Beijing
Tiananmen Square
Forbidden City
Temple Of Heaven
Sleeper train to Xian

4 May - Xian
Terracotta Warriors
Shanxi History Museum

5 May - Xian
Xian City Wall
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Afternoon flight to Guilin

6 May - Guilin
Li River Cruise
Yangshuo

7 May - Guilin
Reed Flute Cave
Elephant Trunk Hill Park
Afternoon flight to Shanghai

8 May - Shanghai
Bund
Nanking Road
Yuyuan Garden

9 May
Morning flight Shanghai to Hong Kong

10 May - Hong Kong
Evening flight Hong Kong - Edinburgh