Private: 31st August 2006
August 31st, 2006 - Posted in UK to NZ - by Sarah|
By Brendhan
Back again but don’t get too used to daily updates, there is just easy Internet access where we are for lunch! Went for a really nice bike ride this morning after getting up at 6:30am in order to catch the morning light. The countryside around here is really beautiful and perfect cycling country for a non mountain biker! The roads are all flat but you ride through what are called around here ‘Karsts’ and are really big hills with sheer sides kind of like fingers pointing at the sky. We rode out to one called Moon Hill and I took the 30min hike to the top where I shot off a couple of dozen photos! Of course all the way I was accompanied by a drinks seller twice my age and half my height who was always a few paces in front with plenty of spare breath for chatting – I think she does the climb half a dozen times a day!
We watched some cormorant fishing last night which is basically Chinese fishermen on a bamboo raft who use the birds to do what comes naturally to them and fish. To stop the cormorants from eating all of the fish they catch, the fishermen tie string around their necks and when their throats swell up drag them on board and ‘empty’ them. A strange way of fishing but I guess it works! It was very interesting but I don’t think the cormorants enjoy it much!
Had a fantastic meal again last night at a restaurant called the Green Lotus Vegetairian restaurant. Braised mushroom in bean curd baskets, stir fried cashew nuts on a bed of lily bulbs (lovely and sweet) and steamed brocolli on bamboo skewers. It was all superb in a beautiful restaurant and all for less than a fiver!
Anyway must run, we have a cooking lesson at 3:30pm.
Enjoy the picture of Sarah and I in the middle of our bike ride.
Private: 30th August 2006
August 30th, 2006 - Posted in UK to NZ - by Sarah|
by Sarah & Brendhan
After our last update we took the Star Ferry across to HK island and then spent about an hour walking round in a large circle in about 35 degrees looking for a particular bus stop referred to in our guide book. We stayed friends for about 50 minutes! But we finally found our bus and were off to the funeral market and the dried fish shops. Apparently the HKers are allowed to take stuff to the afterlife but being very practical and it being too expensive to bury plasma TVs with the dead they opt for paper models instead – sold in the funeral market. The dried fish shops sell literally that (along with any other dried sea creature you can imagine and a few you can’t). We also disappointed a tea shop seller by buying the cheap Chinese tea that the locals drink rather than the flashy tourist stuff.
We made it back to the hotel in time to meet the group – a young looking bunch (or are we getting old?) and mostly Swiss for some bizarre reason. This has worked out well for us so far as they just chat away in German or Austrian and don’t bother us! The other 3 are Surrey girls with painted toes.
We all set off on the train to China the following morning and 2.5 hours later we got off in Guangzhou for a brief stop and a great lunch (spicy chicken and peanuts, dim sum etc) before catching the overnight train to Guillin. At Guillin we got straight on a bus to Yangshuo where we are to spend the next 2 nights. We’ve got an action packed agenda but won’t give you any spoilers – wait till we update next time…
In the meantime enjoy this picture of Yangshuo main street with a couple of the famous Karst in the background. If you’re lucky the next picture might include us now we’ve worked out how to upload pictures.
