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My original plan to fly to China directly from Laos was a non starter as there were no flights out of Luang Prabang so my only option was to return to Bangkok airport (for the third time in 6 weeks) and take a connecting flight from there. Due to limited flights to Hong Kong, I had a 7 hour wait in Bangkok but at least I knew my way around the place! In addition to the long stopover, I was flying to Bangkok with Laos Airlines who are one of the only commercial airlines who refuse to publish their safety records! I had also been told that they employ pilots who fail entrance tests for other airlines so I was slightly apprenensive as I boarded the plane. Thankfully the flight was very smooth and, apart from the awful decor in the plane, the whole experience was quite enjoyable. The first thing I did in Bangkok airport was to check out the opening day football results and I wished I hadn't immediately! I was amazed to find that Norwich had been hammered 7-1 at home to the mighty Colchester and to add insult to injury I then found out that my flight had been delayed by 2 hours so I now had 9 whole hours to stew on the shock! With the help of a couple of phone calls to my nearest and dearest,a little internet surfing and lots of takeaway food, the time passed relatively quickly and I was soon on the plane and looking forward to getting to China. Since Cambodia my trip had felt a little rushed and my visit to China would be shorter than originally planned so I would have to move fairly quickly through each place I visited. I had two weeks of relaxation and female company to look forward to after China though as Sarah was coming to visit and we planned to meet up in Bangkok and then head to one of the islands in southern Thailand.
Although I was sure Hong Kong would present no problems, I was a little apprehensive as I'd been told that many parts of China have little to no English speakers or signs and there's a big reliance on pointing and gesturing to get by. I'd pre booked a hostel online a couple of days earlier which was in a part of town called Chungking Mansions so I had high hopes for a glitzy place to stay. I called the hostel from the airport and Mr Singh the owner answered enthusiastically with a "Hello Mr Andy Warnes!" He told me which bus to catch but suggested I get a move on as the last bus was due out soon and if I missed it it would be an expensive taxi ride to town. A little stressed, the ATM had dealt me only $50 and $100 notes so I had to buy some water to get some change for the bus. After spending nearly 2 months in Asia where everything is super cheap I was a little shocked when the water cost $12 and then a $33 bus ticket! Once on the bus I did my sums and all was well again as there were about $12 to 1 GBP. It was nice to be in a big city again after so long in less developed countries and I got a good view of Hong Kong by night on the way in. I jumped off the bus and was quickly approached by several touts trying to entice me into their hotels and hostels. I had been pre warned about this by Mr Singh in an email so I kept my head down and walked towards the main entrance. What I didn't realise was that I'd completely blanked poor old Mr Singh who was standing at the bus stop to meet me! It wasn't until I heard a voice behind me saying "Hello Mr Andy Warnes...Hello...Hello Mr Andy" that I stopped. We wandered past several shady looking characters and ladies of the night in the doorway and into a dodgy looking buidling which was anything but a mansion. A security guard guided us into a lift and we went up 13 floors to the hostel. It all looked even more unappealing once we were out of the lift with graffiti all over the walls and lots of Afro-Carribean types loitering around with what I assumed were more prostitutes! The hostel itself was a cramped place and my room consisted of just a double bed,a TV bolted to the wall and what must have been the smallest en-suite in the world. It was clean,cheap and everyone was very friendly though so it could have been worse I suppose!
After a good night's sleep I set off to explore the city and was delighted to find that I was slap bang in the centre of town and close to all the main sights. It was certainly strange being back in a big city again and the heat and noise were a little overwhelming at first. Given the success of the SE Asia version, my first job was to buy a China Lonely Planet and I then hit the sights around the centre of town (Hong Kong Art Museum, HK History Museum and the Space Museum) for a full day of tourism! That evening I took a harbour tour on the Star Ferry and saw the light show across the harbour which is where all the big scyskrapers around the harbour are lit up in multicolours to a classical music soundtrack which was very impressive. A visit to the night market for dinner followed that before my weary feet had had enough and guided me to bed. The next day was a visit across the harbour to Hong Kong Island where I jumped on the Peak tram (which like most large engineering projects in Asia was built in England) which climbed at a ridiculously steep angle to a cracking observation centre at the top of the hill. The centre had brilliant views across the whole of the Hong Kong area and I topped the visit off with lunch at Bubba Shrimp (the fictitious company from Forrest Gump) where the bill came to $230....I still wasn't used to this new currency! I then took in the rather disappointing Hong Kong Zoo and visited the Man Mo temple (yes,more temples!) before heading back across the harbour to book my flights to Beijing and Shanghai for the next stages of my whistlestop tour of China. I was really enjoying Hong Kong and it had a good feel to it which I can only put down to the British influence and how easy it was to navigate and communicate with everyone. I went back to HK Island that evening for some (very expensive) drinks in the trendy Lan Kwai Fon area but resisted the urge to hit the nightclubs and was tucked up in bed for midnight. The last day in Hong Kong was a visit to Ocean World theme park which was pretty cool with the usual collection of rollercoasters and rides. The highlight was the panda exhibits though which was one big box ticked for things to see in China. I hit the main strip of bars that evening which was littered with strip clubs and I literally had to fight the girls off who were intent on dragging me in with offers of cheap beer. They wanted $100 for a drink from me in return though! I eventually managed to find a decent bar and somehow got myself involved in their weekly pool competition. Needless to say I didn't last long but it was still the wee small hours before I got home which wasn't great preparation for my flight the next day.
Next stop was Beijing and after exploring the very impressive Hong Kong airport for a couple of hours, I took the flight North. I had arranged an airport pick up in Beijing and a huge Chinese guy was waiting for me when I wandered out of arrivals. He spoke no English so conversation was a little tricky but he seemed amazed that I was wearing trousers and kept tugging at them as we drove along chuckling away to himself! As we drove along a bus full of schoolgirls pulled alongside and it seemed that I was the first Westerner they'd seen because the whole bus suddenly appeared at the window as they pointed, giggled and waved at me. I smiled and waved back feeling a little self conscious of every move I made! The hostel was a decent and clean with much more room than the last place I'd stayed. I booked a trip to the Great Wall for the next day and also tried to book my back to Bangkok to meet Sarah. This was the one flight I needed for a particular date and time but typically there was a problem with the system! They promised the ticket would arrive the next day though so fingers crossed! I ventured out that evening and took a walk to Tianenmen Square. It was packed with tourists and everyone was very friendly and I was stopped a couple of times and asked where I was from, why I was in China etc etc. I even had my photo taken with one group but I put that down to the fact that they thought I was Dom Littlewood rather than anything else! After a while I was approached by Mi and Alice, two Chinese girls who spoke good English and were very friendly. They invited me for a drink with them so I happily agreed and we ended up in a rather plush looking tea house. We passed a couple of sizeable guys at the door as we went in and thinking nothing of it I settled in for what I was told was a traditional tea tasting session. I was ready for a beer but I gave in to culture thinking this was a much better idea! We had a girl serving us who explained each tea in detail as we drank a multitude of different types and we had all had a good chat about our different cultures. I'd had a great evening until they brought the bill and it came to the equivalent of 150 British pounds! The girls seemed as shocked as me but when I questioned it and asked to speak with the manager I was politely declined. The two big guys from the door then suddenly appeared so I figured it was best to take the hit and we settled the bill and left. I was still a little shell shocked as we stood outside and the girls gave me the tea they had bought in what I initially thought was a nice gesture.We said our goodbyes and halfway home reality struck and I realised I had been totally conned.....b******s!! I have to say that these two girls were bloody good actresses but I was left with a bitter taste from the whole experience and it wasn't just from the tea!
I was up at 5.30am the next day for my trip to the Great Wall. I was still reliving the whole tea incident on the bus on the way there when I read a warning in the Lonely Planet about avoiding people who invite you to restaurants, galleries and, yes you've guessed it, tea houses! If only I'd read that soooner eh!? The day on the wall was superb and it truly is an awe inspiring place to visit. The scale of the structure really has to be seen to be appreciated and the views are spectacular. My group walked 14km along one section of the wall which was one of the hardest walks of my life as parts of the wall were very steep in places and had to be climbed on all fours. The temperature and humidity was stifling again and, as the photos will testify, I sweated buckets! Needless to say we were all very tired at the end of the walk so I took a rather cool rope slide across a gorge back to the carpark to save my legs. I visited the night market that evening which was bustling with life and full of all sorts of weird and wonderful things to eat. Feeling brave I tried fried scorpions and starfish although I drew the line at cockroach and sheep's penis! The next day was another full day of sightseeing and I visited Tianenmen Square, The Forbidden City (which was absolutely huge), The Temple of Heaven and the Olympic Village. I took a tour of the very impressive Birds Nest staduim while I was there too but unfortunately I ran out of time to see everything on my list and it really hit home how big Beijing is during the course of the day. The constant smog was another factor that has to be seen to be believed as despite blazing sunshine, you often couldn't see from one end of the street to the other. When I got back to the hostel, after a couple of false alarms, my ticket for Bangkok had finally arrived so I celebrated with yet another romantic meal for one and had the renowned Peking Duck which was delicious. I'd been brave and booked a dorm room in a hostel in Shanghai too.
Next stop was Shanghai and after a very smooth flight and transfer, I met a Chinese guy called Juliene within 5 minutes of walking into the room. He seemed nice enough and suggested we see the sights together the next day. I was still a little apprehensive after the whole tea incident but agreed and said I'd meet him later. I took the Metro into the centre of town and was immediately met by a very friendly guy who started chatting to me about my travels, where I'd been, football etc etc. Unsurprisingly he then suggested we go for a drink somewhere to 'make friends' so he got a flea in his ear straight away! Once bitten and all that! I'd been recommended a visit to a place called The Bund which was described as a leafy boulevard of bars and cafes right by the river. Unfortunately the whole of the Bund was being redeveloped in readiness for World Expo 2010 which Shanghai was hosting so the whole area (and lots of the rest of Shanghai it would turn out) was a little like a building site. I walked up and down the street but couldn't see a bar in sight so I asked a punky looking girl for directions and she happened to work in one of the bars I'd been recommended. It turned out the several bars were high up in some of the office buildings along the Bund so I walked past a concierge, jumped into an escalator in a very posh looking entrance foyer and walked out into a sumptuous looking bar. I immediately felt very underdressed in my shorts and t-shirt but decided to have a beer anyway and settled down into a huge sofa overlooking the river and business district. The views were brilliant and I waited for the sun to set to get a few shots of the area at night. I was also given some delicious mini fairy cakes with my beer which was a first for me but seemed to be the norm when I looked around the bar. I left and visited another recommended bar after this which had even better views (and even bigger prices.....8 quid for a small bottle of beer!) and then headed back to the hostel for a beer on the terrace with Juliene. Apart from the touts trying to rip me off along the main shopping street (I was approached 3 more times by people wanting to be my friend), Shanghai was pretty cool and certainly a city which will take off next year with the World Expo. The next day was a full sightseeing day with half a day spent with Juliene taking in the museums and the second half of the day visiting the famous Jinmao Tower (the tallest in China) and surrounding area. I treated myself to a KFC for dinner and then went back to the hostel for a game of pool and a beer with Juliene who depsite my initial reservations turned out to be a genuine guy.
So that was it, in 10 days I'd seen almost all the main places and sights I wanted to see in China and despite the hiccup with the tea ladies it was certainly a place I'd like to visit again and spend more time exploring. Next stop Bangkok and some much needed company..............
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