After a 13 hour flight on budget airline Oasis Hong Kong, Wes arrived in London. He will be in the UK for the next three months attending London Business School.
Wes' first impression of London - the weather is outstanding!! 65 degrees and sunny! Hopefully the weather will be just as nice over the next few months, although the chances of that are not very good.
Wes will be writing about some of his London experiences over at his blog. Click the link on the left, or here: www.whereiswes.blogspot.com
Here are a few pictures of the LBS area...
The nearest Fitness First. We are members in HK and we able to extend this to London. This location, in an old church building, is drastically different from the club in Hong Kong.
Regents Park
Regents Park
Canal in Regents Park
Regents Park with LBS in the background (white domes)
In our quest to see more of China we took a three day trip to Guilin and Yangshuo, about an hour west of Hong Kong by air. The area is famous for its rugged mountain scenery.
We spent our first night in Guilin by walking around the downtown shopping and entertainment district. The shopping street featured both Chinese and western brands, and was full of teenagers and young people out eating and going to local clubs. We hardly felt like we were in China.
Guilin at Night
Guilin Shopping and Entertainment District
I'm not sure what this means
The next morning we took a walk along the Li River in Guilin to the see Elephant Trunk Hill, Guilin's most famous landmark. This landmark is made up of a hill on the riverside with a large hole in it, making it appear like an elephant drinking from the river. The prime spot to see the hill is from the elephant trunk hill park, which charges a 30 yuan admission fee. We thought it rather ridiculous to have to pay just to see the landmark for a couple of minutes, so we decided to stay on the walkway just above the park and try to catch a glimpse from there. However, the owners of the park had decided to defend their precious view from freeloaders, strategically planting bamboo and potted trees so that the hill was hard to see. Determined not to part with our Yuan, we kept walking and eventually found a free but partially unobstructed view.
Admiring the scenery
Annette and elephant trunk hill from the free vantage point. (The people down below had to pay 30 Yuan to take their photos.)
Morning Tai Chi at the park
After our walk we joined our 'tour bus' which took us to the ferry from Guilin to Yangshuo. This 65km, 4 hour journey is one of the most popular activities in the area, and one of the most overpriced. Our tickets were 460 yuan each, and once we were on the ferry we were a captive audience to all kinds of additional sales pitches - expensive drinks, photo books, photo ops with local fishermen, additional tours, etc. Luckily the beautiful scenery was well worth the cost and the harassment.
Our ferry
Small boat on the river
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Li River Scenery
Local River Transportation
People from the local villages also hoped to make some sales from the passing tourists. These two enterprising locals rafted out to our moving ferry and tied their raft alongside. Then, they walked on the side of the boat waving their wares, which included Chinese fans, Buddha carvings and postcards.
Selling to the tourists
Li River Scenery
Before we arrived in Yangshuo our 'tour guide' offed some additional services for the afternoon but we declined, preferring to check in at our hotel and do some exploring on our own. As we were disembarking the guide told us that someone would be waiting for us at the dock, which was a bit strange since we were not expecting anyone. We quickly realized that our guide was hoping to pass us off to another guide in Yangshuo. As we were disembarking we walked past the person holding a sign which said "Wes Sutherl." Sorry, not me! Next we had to quickly walk through a gauntlet of touts offering rafting tours, hotels, souvenirs, food... anything they thought the ferry tourists could possibly want or be convinced to buy. We had heard that Yangshuo was supposed to be a mellow backpackers hangout, but it seemed that capitalism had taken over.
After checking in to our hotel, we walked around some of the local streets and markets. Away from the ferry dock things were a bit more peaceful, especially later in the day when the boats had stopped coming in for the day.
Yangshuo's "West Street" at Night
Yangshuo in the morning
On day two in Yangshou we had some breakfast and then rented two mountain bikes, which were a bargain at 10 yuan (about $1.20) for the day. With a rough map, we headed out to the countryside to do some exploring.
Biking around Yangshuo
Biking around Yangshuo
Biking around Yangshuo was probably the best part of the trip. We rode past small orchards and rice fields, and small homes and villages. We saw locals tending their crops, playing cards, and herding water buffaloes. Our map was terrible so we had to ask directions several times. Our Mandarin skills are still quite poor, but we were able to communicate enough to chat about the weather and find out which direction to go. The locals were quite friendly and usually asked where we were from.
Scenery around Yangshuo
Scenery around Yangshuo
Around Yangshuo
Asking for directions
Around Yangshuo
Moon Hill
Biking around Yangshuo
Old Canal
Rice paddy near Yangshuo
Local traffic - water buffaloes and trucks
At night we saw a show called "Impression Liu Sanjie," an artsy performance showcasing the landscape and local culture. The stage was made up of a section of the river, and hundreds of performers sang, danced, and rafted along the stage. It felt like a mix of Cirque de Soleil's "O" and the Blue Man Group, except on a river in China. It was a bit of a surreal experience.
Impression Liu Sanjie
Impression Liu Sanjie
Here are a few videos:
Video: Impression Liu Sanjie Part 1
Video: Impression Liu Sanjie Part 2
Video: Impression Liu Sanjie Part 3
News has spread to Yangshou that high prices can be charged for fancy coffees. Now, we regularly enjoy a nice Starbucks coffee break, but there is something unsettling about paying 39 yuan for a mocha when one can buy a full breakfast (two eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, tea, and fresh-squeezed orange juice) in Yangshou for only 22 Yuan. But, it was cold and we needed a hot drink, so we decided to have a coffee break. But, we stuck to the relatively cheaper drinks - an americano and a hot chocolate.
Coffee break in Yangshuo
One of the famous attractions around Yangshuo is cormorant fishing. Fishermen tame them and use them to catch small fish. When the bird catches a fish, a rope tied around the birds neck keeps the fish from being swallowed. The fisherman retrieves the fish, then sends the bird back into the water for another. Cormorant fisherman
On Sunday we headed back to Guilin to see some more of the sights there before our return flight. The weather was terrible - cold and rainy - so we decided to see some sights underground at the Reed Flute Cave, one of the most famous of the many caves in the area.
At Reed Flute Cave Park, Guilin
At Reed Flute Cave Park, Guilin
Unlike the stuffy "naturalist" caves in the US, the reed flute cave was a spectacle of neon lights. Since we were the only two westerners there, we did not have to follow a tour group and were left to wander around the cave on our own. Of course there was little danger since the 500m long path consisted of a nice level concrete sidewalk.
This weekend we went to Shenzhen to see a remote section of the great wall. As Wes was admiring the wall, suddenly the Earth started shaking and...
...aahhh!! Annettezilla scaled the wall and began attacking the empire!!
Annettezilla in the forbidden city.
Alright, so the more savvy of you readers out there probably figured out that Annette wasn't actually transformed into a giant. Actually we were visiting a theme park in Shenzhen called "Splendid China," which is full of miniatures of China's most famous sights. (And a few not-so famous sights.)
We had not actually planned to go to this park... our original plan for the day was to do some volunteer work in Shenzhen. But, we missed our connection with the group we were meeting with, so we decided we might as well do some exploring in Shenzhen since we were there.
Annette next to a flowering bauhinia tree in the park.
Cultural Parade
Also included in the price of our admission ticket was the "China Folk Culture Villages," an Epcot-style park featuring China's many minority groups. This park had a variety of shows, including a cultural dance spectacular and a horseback battle re-creation.
Equestrian Warriors
A fiery display of horse riding skills.
In part of the park there was a lake where you could pay a few yuan to be zipped up in a plastic ball in order to frolic on the water like some sort of giant floating hamster.
For some reason the Chinese believe that going to a theme park should be a formal event. We were feeling a bit under dressed.
This section of the park was labeled "Trees planted by the most famous people in the world." These famous people included leaders of the Congo, Fiji, and Eritrea. Fidel Castro even planted a tree here. And, a few trees down was this pathetic-looking shrub planted by "his excellency" President George H.W. Bush in the early nineties.
Wes gongs the bell. Why? Because it was there.
Annette in Lhasa. We'll see how it compares to the real Lhasa when we go there this fall.
Tiddlywink? No, Shenzhen subway token. The Shenzhen subway was every bit as nice as the one in Hong Kong and made getting around a breeze.
