Not Approved by LP

Tomorrow take the overnight bus to Hong Kong so have to face another city.Would be easy to stay here longer if I wasn’t so lazy to find a better hotel as I like the place. Very laid back and plenty of charm and must be doing something right as certainly pulling the tourists in even in mid winter.  Just nice to wander around getting lost.  With its old buildings in varying states of repair, ancient trees and colourful gardens its kind of cute, a few degrees warmer and even the beach would be tempting.  Theres even a few sites to see but I am a lousy tourist and ankle giving problems so easier to just relax and watch the world go by.  And don’t they love doing their wedding photos here, someone is doing good business.  Mao mustbe turning in his grave, all these girls in western flowing white wedding dresses with a backdrop of the old british consulate.  All a long way from the cultural revolution !.  The place has a good future and as more buildings are restored will surely only improve. Good place and good seafood.

Now in Gulang Yu, Xiamen in Fujian Province,  in my younger days referred to as Amoy.  A long slow train journey to get here and about 26 hours.  No fast train this one, would have done British Rail proud and food to match. At least few people on board and there were only a few of us in the carriage so all friendly enough.  Little in the ways of views except the usual non descript Chinese towns which one would hope they never have to visit.  But the usual road, railway construction going on and probably won’tbe long before a new high speed railway line completed.  Given how slow it was coming into Xiamen I think they were laying the track as we were going along.Arrived Xiamen and first sight was a TESCO, nearly tempted to go shopping !. From th erailway station to here no major hassles, the locals friendly and soon got me on a local bus and to the dockside for the quick crossing here.  The big downside is that for the first time the tourists have been out in force, I guess being further south a tempting location for Christmas/New Year  and finding an available room hard going. Probably for the first time ever had to pay full rack rate for a room so expensive and not even nice with no hot shower. Like so often with Chinese hotels the foyer looked really smart so you think the room must be good only to find they spent all the money at the entrance !.Also one other big downside, its rained since arriving.  Not cold, I am in a t shirt but just wet. And this place must be a big wedding photo destination as there are lot of couples having there wedding photos done and white flowing wedding dresses don’t like the wet any more than in the west.Anyway Gulang Yu. Nice place, another China lite destination.  A small island with lots of old colonial buildings, a few churches, very clean and kind of chic.  Wandering around the small alleys pleasant enough and some good seafood so no complaints.  An historical aside. Like Shanghai it was a treaty port which basically meant we turned up with our gunboats and threatened to flatten them unless they gave us some of their land and traded with us.  So Gulang Hu like the Bund was for our sole use and under our control.  We were then able to use the concessions to push opium onto the population. Then when they objected due to them all becoming heroin addicts, we flattened them until they gave us more concessions – the 2nd opium war saw us doing an excursion to Beijing to totally destroy the original Summer Palace, which they remind everyone on entry – still a sore point in history.Next plan was to go to Hong Kong for New Year but might go sooner. 

Yesterday did a day trip to Shanghai just to get a glimpse.  Early morning train and about 1 and a half hours so nothing too difficult even if train station ticket offices are a bit like facing NHS doctors receptionists ... [Continue reading this entry]

Been a hectic few days since leaving Wuyuan.  What I planned to do in 10 days somehow got narrowed down to 4. After leaving Wuyuan took the bus to Tunxi and then to Xidi. Some pleasant scenery on the way ... [Continue reading this entry]

Have to be on my best behaviour and not saying anything bad as the internet cafe copied my passport and took all my details, lot of hassle at 9am just to check my email !. Anyway now in Wuyuan in north ... [Continue reading this entry]

Rain stops play so a chance to catch up on the internet.  Now in Liulian, a small village near Yonding. Despite this area being on the UNESCO world heritage sites and the Chinese give it a AAAA tourist award, tourism ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lot of hassle trying to access my blogs site so if the Chinese are trying to block me , there wasn't really a lot of pollution yesterday ( only normal levels !) and it was a HSBC ATM machine that ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tonight arrived in Chaozhou in Guandong Province.  Been a long day as too lazy to get out of bed so missed the early bus.  The ticket clerk was on about going somewhere else first as it was a long wait ... [Continue reading this entry]

All being well will get my passport back tomorrow with a Chinese visa and then fly out Thursday night.  Look forward to getting out, here is very good but after a bit you need a break.  Too many late nights ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Saturday night is probably not the time when I should be updating my blog but today is a special day, the revered Kings birthday.  So the Thais are all wearing pink to show allegiance to their monarchy and doing ... [Continue reading this entry]