The street sellers in Asia have many ways to entice you into giving them money, some more effective than others.
In Yangshou everyone one has their own turf and their unique “angle”. There are the fake Shaolin monks with their grey uniforms and conical hats, playing Chinese folk songs and Mull of Kintyre on flutes for [...]
Archive for the ‘China’ Category
Hawkers
Posted in China on October 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Macau
Posted in China on October 11, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Macau, a Portugese colony for several hundred years, was handed back to China in 1999. Like HK, it now has 50 years as a Special Administrative Region before being fully reinetrgated into China. We spend 2 days here and it feels very different from anywhere else we have visited.
Backpackers are nothing here [...]
Sleeper Bus to Macau
Posted in China on October 11, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The driver is a fool and a madman. In addition to his penchant for driving in the wrong side of the road (in China they usually drive on the right) and scaring oncoming traffic onto the verge with his horn, he also has a picture of Chairman Mao dangling over his head. You know, the [...]
China (10) – Yangshou
Posted in China on October 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We all enjoyed Yangshou – not just the wonderful scenery and bike riding that the kids have described, but the cosy backpacker atmosphere of the place. We haven’t really experienced that much on this trip and it does make a nice change – and makes travelling very easy. Banana pancakes and pizza are [...]
China (9) – Yangshou
Posted in China on October 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday we hired bicycles and went cycling. Joseph, Paddy and Ellen got bikes with gears but Mum and Dad got cruddy ones. We rode to Moon Hill for what felt like 50 km. It is massive with a big hole the shape of a semicircle in the middle of it. It was dead flat getting [...]
China (8) – Toilets
Posted in China on October 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The public toilets are all elephant foot, tho in the hostels they are normal. But you have to remember not to put the toilet paper down the toilet. Instead you have to put it in the bin beside the toilet.
They have fitness playgrounds for old people like Mum and Dad. I noticed people doing [...]
China (7) – Night Train to Guilin
Posted in China on October 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We are lucky to get on – hard class sleeper, all in one carriage, but in separate compartments. Joseph doing his chemistry, Patrick reading the Hobbit, Ellen a fantasy novel, and Annie looking for hot water for noodle cups. The carriage is noisy and happy with families playing cards and sharing food. Lights flash by [...]
China (6) – Puddings
Posted in China on October 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
In China we have generally been eating at semi-touristy places where the menu is both in English and in Chinese. But when we were in Guangzhou we decided to eat in a place where only normal Chinese people ate.
The menu there was all in Chinese so the manager called over a lady who could speak [...]
China (5) – Markets and driving
Posted in China on October 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We walked around the markets in Guangzhou. We saw lots of aquariums with tropical fish and turtles for sale, some as big as your hand and some as big as your thumbnail. Even more surprising is that there were lion paws and claws for sale that people laid out on pieces of cloth on the [...]
China (4) – English
Posted in China on October 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I have really been enjoying the English signs and translations we have found overseas. Even in Scandinavia, where English is almost a first language, there are odd turns of phrase – but then why don’t we say “re-environmentalise” when we are encouraging people to go back to bicycles?
In China they are delightful. “Please don’t hurt [...]
