Categories
Recent Entries

Archives

April 06, 2005

Cityhopping in China / De ciudad en cuidad por China

Our choice of taking a cheap flight from Bangkok to Macau still sounded like a good idea to us until we got a slight shock while trying to get on the plane...

Exacerbated by not having any seat numbers (and a delay of a couple of hours), our fellow passengers were very eager to board. The accepted method of boarding was to get as close to the person in front and push; resulting in a huge melee around the boarding gate. In the midst of all this hustle our concept of "personal space" was crushed and we realised that we were a long way away from home and being able to understand all this. At least, once we did manage to get on board, the plane was comfortable.

When we landed on the small island of Macau, it was a breeze to go through the simple airport, and we encountered a country that fits the "East meets West" cliche. We were able to decipher the signage as it was in both Chinese and Portuguese, and we enjoyed a lovely Portuguese meal while we had the chance. The budget level accommodation was really not up to much here though; so bad in fact that we couldn't bring ourselves to stay in it and had to upgrade to a proper hotel.

The following day,we caught a 2-hour ferry to Shenzhen, a modern Chinese city bordering Hong Kong. Kev's uncle Dan put us in touch with a very hospitable host, Mick, who's been working out here for the last year and a half and his apartment became our home for the next three days. He certainly rolled out the red carpet for us as he helped us figure out things about the culture here and showed us around. The nightlife seemed to be a big part of things for the burgeoning western community here and we were able to celebrate Kev's birthday in style, in a place called the U--Bar.

Realistically, if it wasn't for Mick, we wouldn't have been able to do much here as everything was written in Chinese, and there was little English to be found. When we wanted to go somewhere, Mick would give us a card for a hotel near to the place we wanted to go, and we could pass that to the taxi driver once we flagged one down. Thankfully, the taxi's here were very cheap or they could've been the ruin of us!

In Hong Kong, the story was very different. The British influence (until recently) and the incredibly efficient and economical public transport system made life simple. With these things in place, we had no problems getting around to the tourist sights (The Peak, Big Buddha Statue, etc.) and do some window shopping along the way.

We've officially entered our last month of the journey now! We should be kept quite busy trying to absorb the cities of Tokyo and Beijing on our way back to Europe but we'll use whatever spare time we have to keep you all up to date on things.

**VERSION EN ESPAÑOL**

El hecho de tener vuelos baratos hacia Macau nos pareció buena idea hasta que llegó el momento de subirse al avión. Ni Kev ni yo recordamos haber estado tan apretujados mientras hacíamos cola en todo nuestro año de viaje. La gente (la mayoría residentes de la isla) simplemente empujaba de manera que uno no podía casi respirar. Al menos cuando llegamos al avión este resultó ser cómodo!

Aterrizamos en la pequeña isla de Macau y pronto descubrimos que los carteles están escritos en chino y portugués (debido a la influencia de los portugueses durante cientos de años de ocupación) y que los restaurantes proporcionan comida portuguesa exquisita y muy asequible.

Al día siguiente cogimos un ferry hacia Shenzhen una ciudad cercana a Hongkong, donde un compañero de trabajo (Mick) del tío de Kev nos recibió calurosamente. Su piso fue nuestra casa por tres días, con vistas increíbles a la ciudad y una cama bien comoda! Mick nos introdujo a la cultura china mostrándonos comida china deliciosa. También nos llevó a los lugares frecuentados por la gente de nuestra parte del mundo donde celebramos el cumpleaños de Kev.

Realmente si no hubiera sido por él no hubiéramos podido hacer mucho ya que todo estaba escrito en chino sin tan siquiera una palabra de inglés! Cuando queríamos ir a algún sitio nos daba la tarjeta de un hotel cercano a donde queríamos ir y nosotros se la enseñábamos al conductor con una sonrisa... menos mal que los taxis eran super baratos porque sino, vaya ruina!

En Hong Kong el tema fue muy diferente; la oportuna influencia inglesa (hasta recientemente) y el increíblemente eficiente y económico transporte público nos hicieron la vida fácil. Con este nos desplazamos por la ciudad sin ningún problema visitando lugares de interés turístico y parando de tanto en tanto a ver algunos de los miles de escaparates que hay por todas partes.

Próxima parada, Tokyo; propera parada, Tokyo!



view_from_micks.JPG
View from Micks apartment, Shenzhen / Vista desde el piso de Mick en Shenzhen


Mick_Nate_Kev.JPG
Mick, Nate & Kev in U-Bar / Mick, Nate y Kev en U-Bar


trams_hong_kong.JPG
Streets of Hong Kong / Las calles de Hong Kong


buddha_image_distance.JPG
The 'Big Buddha Statue' at Lantau Island /
La 'estatua del Gran Buda' en la isla de Lantau


buddha_offerings_statues.JPG
Statues surrounding the Big Buddha / Estatuas alrededor del Gran Buda


incense_burning_temple.JPG
Incense burning at the Po-Lin Monastery /
Incienso quemando en la entrada del monasterio de Po-Lin

Posted by Kevin on April 6, 2005 09:50 AM
Category: 15 China
Comments

hola wapos!!!!em sap greu no haver pogut escriure abans xo estic d'examens i m'ha sigut impossible. quina passada els budes...quina sort que veu tenir l'ajuda de l'amic del tiet de kev xq sinó ja hus veig perduts x china jejejejej em sembla que ja keda poket y q aviat ens veiem. (diu el ivan q quan val una catana) un besito molt fort...;)

Posted by: laura on April 18, 2005 06:51 PM
Email this page
Email this entry to:


Your email address:


Message (optional):




Designed & Hosted by the BootsnAll Travel Network