We were intending to get the 1105 ferry around Hong Kong harbour, but they sold us some 'special offer ticket' which we found out later means we have to wait for the 1405 trip so we came to an internet cafe so we could hopefully get things up to date.
- I woke up at 1530 feeling predictably shite.
- Fergal had gone to the forbidden city and Tiananmen Square as it is his last day in China. Shane and I decided to leave all sightseeing until tomorrow when we will hopefully be capable of more movement.
- We went to a small but busy local restaurant though I was not hungry at all. It was not great; there were more bones than chicken in mine. It did not help that my chopstick co-ordination had completely deserted me!
- Had a couple of beers with Fergal but was in bed before midnight.
- Up at 0900. Had a very good sleep but will need another such night before I am back to normal I think.
- We went to the Forbidden City (beautiful and interesting), Tiananmen Square (impressive) and Temple of Heaven Park (lovely park, but the exhibits, after the first one, were a bit disappointing) during six and a half hours of nearly non-stop walking.
- I was dripping in sweat and my feet were beginning to hurt by the time that we got back to the hostel, but it was a good day.
- We took our first ride on the Beijing subway today. It is sparkly new and cool (temperature wise that is) and should be a credit to the city when all the lines are complete.
- We relaxed in the hostel for a couple of hours and ordered dinner from there. We then realised that we were too wrecked to do anything else so we had a few beers and spent the evening chatting to two other lads who were staying in the hostel.
- One of them, a Scot/ Portsmouth lad called Doug, had arrived at the UB guesthouse as we were leaving. The old, drunk Scot we had been talking to as we waited for our taxi was one of his travelling companions. The other, a guy from Plymouth whose name I cannot recall, had spent the last month trekking in Nepal and had just arrived from a twenty hour bus journey!
- There was an amazing thunder and lightening storm that began about 2200 and was still raging when I went to bed at 0000.
- Up at 0900 again for sightseeing. We packed up our stuff (we are leaving Beijing today) and headed to the Summer Palace.
- As with the Great Wall, we went by public bus as recommended by the hostel.
- I really enjoyed the Palace as though it was busy, I, at a number of times, found myself the only person on some secluded path. This was peaceful and the fact that it was nowhere near as hot as yesterday made it even better.
- Some of the buildings here (as oppose to the grounds and gardens,which were lovely) were quite disappointing as you could not get in to more than a few, but overall it was a very enjoyable day out.
- I had a quick shower back at the hostel and we were directed to a specific local restaurant with what to order written out in Chinese for us (as they would not have English there) by the people in the hostel. We had no clue as to what food he had written for us! Unfortunately the place was not yet open (or at least the guy lying down on some chairs when we got there was not going to go to the hassle of serving two foreigners this early in the evening) so we ended up ordering the same food in a restaurant around the corner.Twas very good.
- Got a taxi to central station for our train to Shanghai. Found the correct platform without too much hassle- we only had to ask three people.
- The cabins are very similar to the Trans- Siberian ones. We have one side rather than two top or two bottom.
- We are sharing with an (at an estimate) early thirties Chinese couple. Communication will be minimum and I's day cards are out!
- We had a few vodkas (the last of the Russian stuff) and headed to the restaurant car that according to the leaflet in our cabin is open throughout the journey. After our first beer we were told it was closing.
- Our cabin mates were asleep when we got back. The man was snoring up a storm! It was by far the loudest, most irregular snoring I have ever heard.
- Thankfully I was shattered and with the help of my ipod I got to sleep. Shane was not so lucky.
- The train arrived in on time at 0725. We got the subway and walked the remainder of the way to the hostel. It was ridiculously hot, humid and muggy for that time in the morning.
- The hostel seems nice; we have a four bed room. Showers followed by an in-house breakfast to decide what to do for the day.
- The subway here, while efficient, air-conditioned and clean, is frustrating as we appear to have to buy a single ticket for each journey.
- We took the Maglev train (431 kmph speed, it does the 30km journey to the airport in 8 minutes) and visited its museum before strolling along the Bund which is a waterfront promenade with European/ American 1930s style buildings on one side and the city's new financial centre on the other side of the river.
- Along the Bund we got speaking to two young Chinese students of English who appeared to want to practice their English on us (which we were happy to facilitate), but after about fifteen minutes their true aim- trying to lure us to an art exhibition (where we would be pressured to but according to the guidebooks)- became clear.
- Back at the hostel I spent a good two hours finally typing up some of my notes. I think that I got them posted on the blog, but the internet service will not let me see- I cannot gain access to a blog of any type. Uploading photos is still a no-go area.
- Went to a local restaurant recommended by the hostel staff. Yet agin we were given no time with the menu and one person was expected to order for everyone. It's a tough tradition to get used to. The food that eventually came were two beef steaks, a big bowl of brocolli and a whole duck stuffed with rice. I think we got lucky in our ordering.
- Had a beer while reading, but was shattered so called it a night at 2300.
- Up at 0900. Finally tried to start to do some exercises in the morning. Got 90/ 90 done before I collapsed. I hope to increase that and do it more consistently (when there are no others around obviously) from now on.
- We took the subway to the Peoples' Park. After a stroll around there we went to the Shanghai Museum, considered the best museum in China. It was very impressive. I was especially taken by the ancient Olympics exhibition (lent by the British Museum for the year that is in it) and the pottery/ porcelain displays.
- We wandered up the main shopping street and took a diversion into an extensive food market (selling all manner of Chinese delicacies) on the way to the subway back to the hostel.
- Got some photos uploaded and typing done before we headed up to the French Concession for dinner (savage all you can eat Brazilian BBQ place) and a few pints in as close as you get to a pub district over here.
- During the day we were offered dvds, shoes, bags and watches, while tonight it was drugs, strippers and whores.
- Woke up at 0900 to a text from a random number at home at home offering me some good weed. How come I never get these texts when I can actually use them?!
- We headed to the botanical gardens in the Old Town area and strolled through the nearby bazaar. We ate in this large canteen type building where plates of individual foods are on the counter and you grab what you want. The portion sizes were ridiculous- who eats nine spring rolls?!
- I wasn't feeling great so I went back to the hostel and slept for a couple of hours before we headed to the far side of the river from the Bund to the tallest building in Shanghai (its neighbout is still in construction and will be larger when it is complete) for a view of the entire city. It was impressive. There was a minimum tab per person of 120 Yuan plus 15% service charge at the bar so we ended up paying E17 each for two drinks! So much for being on a budget!
- We headed (by taxi- a crazy driver who took even less notice of road laws than most Shanghai drivers) to an area recommended by guidebooks and websites as a great place to go out at the weekend. The three pubs we found there were all dead, so we headed back to the French Concession area we had been in the night before.
- By the time we got back to the hostel at 0200 I was out of Yuan and so was depending on Shane to get me through!
- We had roomates for the first time in Shanghai last night. One of them took forever to get going this morning and seemed to want to maje as much noise as possible; a major downside of dorms I suppose.
- I spent the morning on the computer uploading photos and typing. Then we headed to the supermarket to stock up for the train. The ATM wouldn't give me money on my mastercard. If it doesn't work in Hong Kong I will have to contact BOI. I hope they haven't cancelled my card. We got to the station two hours before the train. Going through immigration my passport was examined by two officials and I was grilled on my movements- past and future- and the stamps in my passport. It was easily the most intense immigration experience I have had.
- The train is classy. We have two top bunks and are sharing with a mother and daughter (old and middle aged) combo.
- While lying reading in our bunks, the song that we know as stand up and fight came on the in-train radio!
- Met an Aussie guy, Paul Barry, while looking for the restaurant car and arranged to meet him for a beer later. He had been teaching English in a Northern Chinese university for the last year and is on his way home to decide on where to work next. One beer turned into eight (they left all the empties on the table) but thankfully our cabinmates were ok when we got back at 0100- even when Shane dropped a can of beer from his top bunk!
- Slept well until about 0800 when our cabinmates were up and chatting. Dozed on and off until 0930 when I gave in, got up and had my breakfast noodles.
- The scenery outside changes from lush fields and junglesque scapes to large run-down cities.
- We arrived on time and had no trouble going through customs thankfully. Got a taxi to the hostel. It si probably the worst hostel we have stayed in. There are no mirrors (and I needed a shave before I got here) or lockers and the washing facilities are not the cleanest we have come across. It is very cheap though for HK accomodation- E8 a night.
- We had agreed to meet Paul and an American dude he met on the train- Jordan (he has been travelling China for a month and now has landed himself a job as a journalist in a Beijing based interior design magazine- he really just wants to be in Beijing for the Olympics)- at the horseraces in Sha Tin for the afternoon. The meet had started at 1230, but we arrived in time for the last five races. We got there at 1500 and were told that if we waited one minute more we would get in for free. Obviously we did.
- I had never been at horseracing before; it was good fun. Though I won on every one of the five races we were there for, I was betting on two horses each time, so for the last two races I lost money overall. My peak was the second race where I won HK$235 and overall I finished up about HK$70 which is about E5.50!
- The two lads were off to Macau to the casinos for the night, but we plan to do this some other evening so we resisted.
- Got back to the hostel and had cold showers as the hot water does not come back on until 2000. After the first urge to jump out, it was actually quite refreshing.
- Had dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant and a few quiet ones in various pubs around the vicinity. The hostel does not have a common area, so we did not want to head back until we were going to head to bed as if we tried to have a drink in our room we could be disturbing those already asleep.
- We got back to the hostel for 0000 to a full room- two English (one guy, one girl), a German lad, an Aussie girl and someone indistinguishable who was asleep. All seem to be travelling seperately. Seven of us in a six bed room.
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