China recap

Well, a month already over and then some. China has flown by me and I'm beginning to realise what it means to treasure every, single, moment. 

I've met some truly incredible people already, seen some fantastic and breathing sights and eaten some of the best grub China has to offer.

So on to my highlights of each place:

BEIJING - 24th June - 02nd July 

Top 5 moments:

- The Forbidden City.

- The Great Wall of China.

- The dumplings and duck.

- The Bird's Nest

- The food.

XI'AN - 02nd July - 06th July

Top 5 moments:

- The Terracotta Army

- The Ancient City Youth Hostel

- The Muslim Quarter 

- The Drum and Bell Towers

- The food!

SHANGHAI - 07th July - 12th July

Top 5 moments:

- The Pearl and Shanghai Towers

- The Shanghai Museum

- The French Concession

- The Chinese Tea session

- The food.

GUANGZHOU - 13th July - 21st July

Top 5 moments:

- The Hutongs

- Guangzhou Tower

- Nànyùe King's Tomb

- Yuèxiù Park

- Tiahe Sports Square

HONG KONG - 21st July - 28th July

Top 5 moments:

- Victoria Peak

- Man Mo Temple

- Lantau Island

- The Star Ferry

- The Space Museum

China was incredible, I'll never forget it. A special thanks to everyone I met and spent time with. People do make the place!

Day 35 - Hong Kong gone . . .

Day 35 - 28th July

So I slept in, ready for my flight to Hanoi but I was ready, showered and checked out before I knew it. I bid farewell to John and Lex and took the hour or so journey to the airport.

The check-in went smoothly and I indulged in some last Chinese noodles before boarding my Hong Kong airlines flight around 3:30pm.

Farewell to China. You have been an epic start to my trip, one country I will never forge for lots of different reasons, some good, some bad.

Zaijian for now.

Day 34 - Lantau Island and John's Birthday celebrations

The Giant Buddha awaits!

Day 34 - 27th July

So it was sunny! At last, yes, wicked, brilliant, fan-dab by-dozy. I could go out to play properly. 

I grabbed my stuff and headed straight out to the Metro, knowing it would take me two hours to get to my destination. 

After an hour bobbing along on the Metro from Tsim Shu Tsui to Tung Chung, I headed to the cable car up. As soon as I reached the top of the steps to the ticket booths, three things deterred me - the queue of about 200, the cost at $160 HK and finally, which should've been factor number one, the heights they reached. They weren't sturdy enough for my liking, and with the weather being the way it has, I decided to bus it.

I felt like Joan Wilder in 'Romancing the Stone' and not because of the romance novelist thing - it was like Cartagena jungle out there!

There's my cow buddy who caught up to us when we stopped.

It worked out better - it was $17.20 HK for the bus and only took 45 minutes. When I stepped off, I was greeted by a cow crapping at my feet. It was a good start.

The entranceway

Selfie before the ascension.

An incredible sight, honestly.

I ran from bottom to top, past mosquito bitten legs and tourists taking selfies in front of the Buddha. When I reached the peak, I took my hat off and slowly wandered around the Giant Buddha, just marvelling at it sheer scale and architecture. It was amazing. Definitely worth the near two hour trip and the cow crap at my feet.

This photo doesn't do it justice.

Picturesque, with the Po Lin Monastery to the right.

I was 9632km away from Big Ben. Ah, home!

I visited the Po Lin Monastery but out of respect for the Monks ritual, that was going on amidst the tourist incense burning, I chose not to take any close up photographs.

When I returned, John was ready to celebrate his 45th birthday in style - with beers with a fellow Dutch friend, Matthijs who was working in Hong Kong, our room mate, Korean man Lex and this English dude!

The large Bitburger.

We headed straight out for Bitburgers, a cracking drop, and hurled insults back and forwards about England and the Rest of the World. I stood my ground and we all laughed and clinked our beers in unity (ENGLAND STILL RULES, LADS).

BBQ pork and Tsingtao

We then stopped for dinner. I had a belting BBQ pork with rice and veg before we moved onto a nearby bar, with peanut shells everywhere. Seriously, it was like Planet of the Apes had actually happened and the chimps had opened a bar to celebrate.

You see!

What a combo.

Yes, we're nuts!

Matthijs and I discussed United, and it turns out he was a big Swansea fan, having lived in Wales for a few years. We became lifelong friends when he bought a round of London Pride Ales. What a guy! This was turning out to be a cracking night.

On the way back, we bid farewell to Matthijs and made our way back. Lex and I bought John a slab of cake to see his birthday out properly. Happy Birthday, John man!

I was going to be sad to leave the guys behind.

Day 33 - Mishaps in Hong Kong and meeting a local for tea and dessert

Hong Kong's 'Times Square'

Day 33 - 26th July

So I decided 'When in Rome,' or Hong Kong as it were, that I'd meet a local to see how they found life in the maze that is Hong Kong.

Enter Cleo, a local business account banker who does her work in the HSBC building (noted for its architecture and design around the world.) I was impressed. 

My attempt to meet her outside exit B of Causeway Bay station ended up in a mishap (of course it did, I'm involved) in which I waited an hour and a half for her to show, yet no appearance was made by my new Hong Kong friend. The Friends quote 'Do you think she came, saw you and left,' ran through my mind as I headed back to Kowloon. Well there were no free crab cakes but there was a lot of laughing to myself.

When I got back to my hostel, my Whatsapp buzzed and a reel of messages ensued in which Cleo had been asking where I was, how I was getting on with getting to exit B, that she was now going for a coffee and eventually where was I again.

It turns out, I was standing at exit D all along. EPIC FAIL! Having to explain we must have missed each other was not washing but she was a good sport, heading over to Kowloon to meet me. What a berk!

It's much better than it looks, especially cold.

We ended up having a great night, wandering Temple Street Market, where I picked up one of those note books for $60 HK, a steal thanks to Cleo. We went for tea and headed to a traditional Chinese dessert place. The red bean dish I had with sesame balls was great.

I was intrigued to know how life in Hong Kong was different to England. She told me about growing up, working in the bank and what movies and books she liked. She told me how mainland China was very different in its ways compared to Hong Kong, and told me I'd been say Xie Xie wrongly when saying thanks. EPIC FAIL TWO.

After walking around, we parted ways and I felt like I understood Hong Kong, and China a little more than I would have done had I been on my own. It was a fascinating insight that almost didn't happen because I couldn't read the difference between B and D, so thanks Cleo!

I was due to head to Lantau and the Giant Buddha the next day, if the rain held off. I was hoping for too much!

Day 32 - Hong Kong Island, Temples, Western Market, Star Ferry rides and beers with strangers

Bamboo scaffolding . . . what is this witchcraft?

Day 32 - 25th July

So more rain, but I wasn't going to allow it to ruin my day. I jumped straight on the Metro and headed for Hong Kong Island. By the time I reached the other side at Admiralty, the sun was out and my renewed energy kicked in.

Here's a pre metro stop at the pier before leaving Kowloon.

I headed straight for the Man Mo Temple, one of the oldest in China and paid my respects to a piece of Chinese history. It was bizarre to see such a tiny building right in the middle of all this high rise and I was glad to have seen it for myself. Definitely one not to be missed.

The Western Market was not what I'd expected, just a few stalls set up with the usual wares. I didn't spend long here, instead deciding to go take a trip on the Star Ferry.

One of the famous tram fleet.

Seven's got to be lucky, right?

One of the cruisers in the harbour.

Look at that stormy sky.

So I hopped on the Star Ferry and off I went from Hong along Island back to Kowloon. As the clouds threatened to give in to more rain, the waves became more 'choppy'. Thè boat moved up and down laboriously and I thought I was going over the side. Thankfully, all was well and five minutes or so later, I was back on solid ground.

There he is!

After behaving like a wally, I headed back to my hostel, stopping for food (of course) on the way.

Pork mince, peanuts and noodles. Not a bad combo.

Around six, I embarked on a journey. Where many dare not go! I went to an underground bar, alone. When I arrived at Delaney's, I met Ania from Poland. We'll just say she's in her thirties, very opinionated and a good laugh.

Then came Peter from Switzerland, around forty odd. He was married to a Hong Kong woman and spoke to us about his experiences travelling and about his time in China. Nice chap but he had to shoot off.

Shortly after, we were joined by an Austrian and two Americans and along with Ania, we had a game of cricket on the dartboard. I don't know if they thought being English was an advantage because I sucked at it. I managed a slight comeback, hitting a couple of bulls eyes but nevertheless, I was crap. Hey, you can't win 'em all.

It turned into an eventful night, with me and Ania running around Chung King Mansions looking for a room, but after haggling, we found one for $300 HK.

Day 31 - The Space Museum and Temple Street Market

What a prat!

Day 31 - 24th July

So they day began as most gave in China - with rain lashing down from the sky. Terrific!

I thought my best tact would be to go somewhere that was predominantly indoors. At the bottom of Nathan Road was my answer. The Hong Kong Space Museum. Now anyone that knows me will know how much a geek I am for space. I love everything about it from the stars to black holes and beyond (if there is!)

More crystal domes!

I met an old couple from Melbourne, Australia who told me I should go to Oz to experience it. They told me I could fruit pick, work in bars etc and warned me about scams. I was grateful for their advice and bid them farewell as we went to explore the museum. I was pleased that they shared their info with me and I will definitely consider it. The museum was awesome, as expected and I lost myself for two hours just wandering around and learning about space. Great times.

The foggy pier, again!

I then moved to the pier to get some good shots of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon side. Again, I was  left thinking how small I am in such a big city! It was incredible.

The famous pineapple bun!

The rain lashed down further so I had to retreat for my hostel (looking back at pictures of my habitat here you'll know how desperate I was!) but not before I picked up a pineapple bun, a specialty in Hong Kong, I'd been told. It was pretty tasty, despite me hating pineapples and butter which was smothered inside. It had a crumbly top and soft bottom - insert your own joke here!

I caught up on some reading which was great, that Alice Peterson is a genius, and waited for the rain to pass.

The ever electric Temple Street Market.

My Dutch contingent, John (who has Chinese descendants so confuses people when they speak Chinese at him and he tells them he doesn't know any Chinese - a lasting memory from Hong Kong) and I agreed to head up to Temple Street to have a look around and possibly catch some dinner. We were met with stall after stall of electronics, books, clothes, trinkets, jewellery, lighters and the finest sellers you could hope to meet. The spectrum of price literally went end to end, as I was offered a 'good deal' of $80 HK for a leather bound notebook at the far end of the market to $210 HK at the other. I left it in pursuit of food.

Ah, those flat noodles were good!

We settled for San Miguels and flat noodles with meat at an alfresco place on a street corner (classy I know, but everywhere in China has a decent eatery on a street corner.) Safe to say, the pork in mine was amazing and left me more than full. John struggled on the way back and we sat for half an hour or so and let the food digest whilst we talked the world away. 

I crashed shortly after, full and dreaming of becoming a spaceman (a cool notion, I tell you!)

Day 30 - Bottoms Up Club. Drenched but you can't dampen my spirits. I'm off to Victoria Peak and Hong Kong Island!

The views were amazing.

Day 30 - 23rd July.

Two great things happened to me in the last two days - firstly I arrived in Hong Kong. What a great place. Secondly, I've had two articles published on an online sports website so I'm over the moon. My dream is finally coming true after 11 years!

So anyway, what better way to mark a month of travelling then heading to a seventies strip club at lunchtime! Of course not, it's the old site of The Bottoms Up Club from The Man With The Golden Gun (007). The club has long since been closed (2004 to be exact, I think) but the building still remains at 14 Hanklow Street, just two streets from Chung King Mansion.

So I headed over to work towards #15 on my bucket list - visiting one Bond location from every film. It was surreal to think I stood where Roger Moore did almost 45 years ago. A definite highlight of Hong Kong for me.

The neon sign was where the 'Bottoms Up' once was!

This is where Bond and Nik Nack checked their appearance in television screens!

And this is where Christopher Lee, aka Francisco Scaramanga, fired his golden gun at a scientist leaving the Bottoms Up!

I then tried to walk to the Causeway again but rain forced me back and I retreated after a couple of hours of wandering around in a torrential downpour. I did find a cool place that was off the beaten track and kind of creepy. 

I saw this in the way down.

Strange place. It was like a jungle.

Nice mountain to urban combination though.

The locals waiting for the rain to pass.

Afterwards, I stopped for a light snack of a BBQ Pork roll, I don't think it was, and then sheltered for lunch just outside Nathan Road, sharing a table with a local. Once done, I headed for Hong Kong Island.

I don't know what that is, but it ain't no BBQ pork!

My table sharer!

I had my new jacket on, ready to go hiking!

I'd decided that I was going to hike up Victoria Peak to get to the Peak Tower to see it by nightfall. I stocked up on water and a can of coke (a caffeine fix for when I reached the top) and set off along the team line. When I ascended I suddenly realised it wasn't going to be easy. I was all alone, getting higher and higher and seeing less path way as I went.

The tram line. Pretty steep!

It was friggin' hot and I was already sopping wet from earlier!

After a couple of wrong turns, I managed to arrive just shy of the two hour mark. I was content with that, despite being sweaty and wet. But boy was it worth it. What a view, a foggy, unclear view. Nuts!

So I waited, I had a coffee and my coke and waited for the fog to clear and the night to arrive. The pictures will tell the whole story.

Worth the rain, sweat and moaning!

I met David from Basingstoke up there, another young one at twenty, but a nice guy. We passed a half an hour or so talking about travels, the Chinese culture and other things. I decided to get the cable car back down, not really fancying a trek back down. I gave up my seat on the tram for a lady (keep up the British etiquette, I say) and was thanked by the woman, her friend and her husband, who touched me and told me I was handsome. When I suggested he needed to open his eyes, with a demonstration because of the language barrier, I think he thought I was being racist. We all laughed together and David and I made an escape.

Incredible.

I headed back and had noodles and a de-brief with John overa Tsingtao, whilst doing some laundry. We were then joined by our new roommate, German girl, Elena who seemed nice and friendly. It's now three to one in Europe's favour in our room. The Korean guy is sleeping with one eye open!