Apr 28, 2010 - Hongyan

Hello again, Today has been brilliant!!! We awoke early for Tai Chi which was so much fun and really relaxing!!! I definitely has too much of a balled posture though and need to relax more!!! We then learnt how to make traditional Chinese oil tea. It was delicious! After breakfast we had our first Chinese language lesson. We learnt about Chinese names then picked our own and learnt how to write it in both the Pinyin and Character forms! We then learnt how to bargain for fruit and veg and meat at the market and Dora even taught us to...

Apr 27, 2010 - Gongcheng

Hello! Today we went to the small village of Gongcheng where we visited some old Chinese temples. The first was the temple of Confucius which was symbolic of the importance of education, careers and knowledge. The second and third temples were both representative of wealth and happiness and people go there to wish for such things in their lives and pray to Buddha or their own gods etc... There are stages here also where ceremonies and performances take place in celebration of happiness. The temples were beautiful and we took lots of...

Apr 26, 2010 - Guilin, China

Hello from China!!! I made it!!! It was so strange travelling alone without my two trusty companions!!! Miss them both lots!!! It was a long journey but after two trains, a bus, 3 planes and a taxi i finally made it to Guilin China!!! It looks like a beautiful place. There are two other English girls on the same project, Christine who's 21 and from Swindon and Helen who's 33 and hasn't lived in the UK for 10years but instead has lived in Italy and Mexico and has travelled to so many places!!! The night we arrived we met some other...

Apr 26, 2010 - Yangshou

26th April  So TODAY has actually been the best day so far. Got up for an amaIng cafe breakfast in the sun and then uttered the words that could have potentialy made or ruined the day... 'i fancy a bike ride' Karine was thinking the same thing, Louise was not and was actually quite reluctant buy decided she would take one for the team as it is the best way to see yangshou. So we hires bikes and instantly regretted it as we tried to navigate through the busiest street. When people say 'it's like riding a bike' there lying because riding a...

Apr 24, 2010 - Guilin

24th April sleeper train, yes yes yes I love sleepertrains. This one was 25rs long which meant that I could have a lie in aswel. After packed days it was nice to just chill out lie in bed just chatting, snacking and Reading my books. I've started enjoying books again and have been book swapping with the one I aquired from the houton hostel in Beijing. The loitering guy eventually came to speak to me when iwas in bed and the other two were asleep! He wanted to know what free trade was. I said I didn't know, which is half true (without...

Feb 20, 2010 - Off to Guilin, after some panic moments!

Rony was coming over this morning, to collect the jacket for his baby nephew. Imagine my surprise when he arrived, with his sister May, and the baby. So we all had a chance to cuddle and talk with him. He is a lovely little fellow, very outgoing, and ready to smile and chuckle. Rony is obviously very proud of him, and loves him very much!! Today was the first day that the banks would be open, to exchange money for us, so Blue Sky and his brother came around later in the morning, and we all went in to town, to the Bank of China, to get some...

Jan 20, 2010 - Nanning

20 jan: We vetrekken 's ochtends uit Yangshuo en komen 's middags in Nanning aan. Na even zoeken vinden we een hostel op de 11e verdieping van een appartementencomplex.(Oh nee, als het maar geen 'Hong Kong hostel' zal zijn). Het tegenovergestelde is waar, een super ruime en luxe kamer en badkamer, wow! Omdat het voor ons een plaats is om door te reizen naar Vietnam zijn we hier maar een 1 nacht. Nanning bestaat uit een oud en een nieuw gedeelte, we lopen door beide. In het oude gedeelte, op een foodmarkt, zien we een hond en een kop van...

Jan 14, 2010 - Yangshou

Zo, nu een berichtje uit het supermooie Yangshuo! Donderdag 14 jan. 's Ochtends gaan we de boot op, we varen 3,5 uur over de Li- River. Het is mooi om het Karstengebergte vanaf de rivier te zien (foto's). Laatste stukje naar Yangshuo (vanwege de lage waterstand) doen we per lokale bus. Bij aankomst in het hostel is de 4 euro kamer prima! Alleen het bed is in Chineese stijl: planken en een dun matrasje. En: De douche hangt wederom boven de (Chineese, dus gat in de grond) wc, maar daar zijn we ondertussen wel aan gewend ;-) Yangshuo is een...

Jan 10, 2010 - Guilin

Zo hier alweer ons volgend berichtje! Zondag 10 jan. in Guilin! Na lekker geslapen te hebben in de trein komen we om 0700 aan bij het hostel en krijgen een mooie kamer toegewezen. We betalen 's ochtends, maar 's middags krijgen we 1/4 van de prijs terug, om een onduidelijke reden zijn de kamers goedkoper geworden! Dus dat is een meevaller. We boeken alvast het volgende hostel in Yangshuo (volgende plaats) voor 4,00 euro per nacht voor een 2 pers. kamer, tot nu toe de goedkoopste kamer die we hebben gehad. Rondom Guilin ligt het Karsten...

Dec 29, 2009 - Li River -- Guilin

Originated in Mountain Mao'er at Xin'an county northeast of Guilin, Li River winds its way southeast for about 437 km, passing through Guilin, Yangshuo, Pingle, Zhaoping and finally meets Xi River in Wulin. The Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is the centerpiece of any trip to northeastern Guangxi Province. Guilin scenery is acclaimed as the "Best under Heaven" and the most beautiful scenes are found along the Li-River. Gorgeous Karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river under the blue sky. Water buffalo patrol...

Dec 22, 2009 - Day in Nanning

Had a great day here. Thoughts: Getting out of China too soon as it is starting to sink in how great the people are here. If we would have known how hard it was going to be we would not have come. Now that we've been here we would come back in an instant. Big Macs: Nickie brow beat me into going to MacDonalds for lunch, she said I owed it to her as I ate at MacDonalds in Tokyo. My defense is that I had heard that in Tokyo they have to use Kobe beef as Tokyoites would not accept inferior quality meat. I was merely doing research to affirm...

Dec 21, 2009 - Midnight Train to Nanning PRC

As I write this I am laying on the middle bunk, left side of a six compartment sleeper train from Guangzhou to Nanning, China. Nickie is opposite me, napping. The upper 2 bunks are empty so far and the lower 2 are occupied by an older gentleman and I believe, his son (about 40). They are eating boiled peanuts and other great smelling food, Nickie and I have apples and bananas and bottled water, we know how to party. They seem like real nice folks and the distinguished older gentleman tried to strike up a conversation but unfortunately the...