I arrive first thing in the morning, and by the time I've battled my way through immigration, declared nothing at customs, waited over an hour for my bag to arrive on the conveyer belt (yes, I was beginning to panic,) grabbed a western lunch, converted my money, caught a train and arrived at my hotel, it's already the middle of the afternoon!
The taxi ride from the airport, while quiet, is eye-opening. We pass the port first, the fourth largest in the world, and being from little populated Scotland, I've seen nothing like it before! It seems to go on for miles before we wind our way through busy streets bustling with people, double-parked cars and markets galore. My taxi door is opened for me, my bag makes it to the lobby before I do, I'm greeted by name, checked in quickly, given a voucher for a free drink in the rooftop bar and most importantly, filled in on my upgrade. Sure, it's an "access" room, normally for someone in a wheelchair, but I'm assured it's better than I paid for. I'm situated on the top floor, escorted up by the bellhop, and invited in. Now, let me just say here, that all through my life it's been Travellodge and Holiday Inn Expresses. I have never been in a hotel room like this. King size bed, panoramic windows, a waterfall shower, jet bathtub, and a mini bar that must cost £100 to stock.
I shower and settle myself in, making full use of the button beside my bed that controls the blackout curtains and blinds. I barely move. I sew a couple of badges onto my bag (my only souvenirs,) chill out to some music and finally take a nap. It's the downtime I was so desperately looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint.
I treat myself to dinner in the hotel restaurant, that cost 3 times as much as lunch before heading out into the Hong Kong night. 8pm and 30 degrees Celsius. I do my best not to melt. My hotel was situated in Hong Kong Island, and it's only a 10 minute walk until I'm at the Star Ferry Pier. The sun has set and the "show" is on. I cross over to the opposite side from Victoria Harbour and gaze in wonder at the spectacle before me.
It's 30 degrees and around 80% humidity, even at 9pm at night so I don't last long before heading back to my hotel room. Honestly, I think I had the best sleep I could imagine to help me kick off the rest of my time in China. The biggest advice I can give you if you're backpacking for a lengthy period of time, is to treat yourself. One night in the Indigo in Hong Kong cost me £60 including breakfast (which is 10x more than a night in a hostel,) but a night to yourself is priceless. I am already looking forward to my dirt cheap 4 star hotel in Bangkok at the end of this tour and the beginning of the next.
I spent the first week of my journey constantly keeping tabs of what I was spending, worried that it'd be too much, but at the same time wanting to know for future how much money would last me a certain amount of time.
I met my group early Wednesday morning and through bleary eyes we set off on our first adventure together. 20 complete strangers, couples, teenagers, solo backpackers and some honeymooners thrown together. And it's been great so far, we've all clicked, and we've all mingled with each other. It's great that there's a good number of us, because it means we won't be spending all day every day with the same people.
The Peak. We travel up to the highest point in Hong Kong, in Kowloom, opposite Hong Kong Island, and soak in the early morning views. On one side, the sprawling cityscape of Hong Kong, on the other the endless ocean and many islands that make up greater Hong Kong. You can judge the size of this city just by the vast number of cargo ships sailing to and from the harbour.
10 hours travelling and dinner. We leave Hong Kong for Shenzen and cross the border into China through the train station before catching a bullet train to Guilin. We then board a tiny Chinese size bus to Yangshuo and arrive to moonlit mountains and buzzing markets.
On day two in Yangshuo we take a bike ride through the town and into the country, along the river and into the mountains. While cycling on a busy Chinese road was an experience, none of us were harmed and we all thoroughly enjoyed our day. We then boarded bamboo rafts (above) and floated down the river, steered expertly by gondola-style drivers. It was hard work! While soaking in the scenery, the "drivers" splash us and even stop for a beer. After a long-awaited shower and a group dinner, a group of us head for a massage and hot cupping. Releasing the tension from weeks of carting round a backpack almost as big as myself, my shoulders felt brand new again!
Day 3, we tackle the Moon hill, a special place in Yangshuo, aptly named as there is a crescent missing from the landscape. At only 450 feet up, it's not the highest hill you'll ever climb, but it's worth it for the view and the breeze at the top! We continue this day with mud baths and hotsprings to once again rid ourselves of the fatigue and sticky sweatiness.
We finish this day by experiencing Commorant fishing (the HSBC advert in the UK,) where the fisherman uses birds to catch his prey rather than a net. It's amazing to watch these birds dive into the deep river and return with a fish caught in it's beak. An elastic band around it's throat stops it from swallowing the fish and it delivers it to the feet of the fisherman. A beautiful boat trip under the moonlight and dominant lit-up mountains!
On our final day in Yansghuo we get out of bed for an early morning kayak down the Yangtze. While I got sunstroke and purple legs, we all enjoyed it. It was hard work, but the scenery was worth it. We've bonded so much in such a short period of time just from the sheer magnitude of things we've done together. I've never kayaked before, but I made it to the end!
We finish this day with a special village tour to the home of one of our guides. An eye-opening experience of both poverty and politics in the country, where we are treated to homemade tea, dinner and spectacular views.
Unfortunately our time in Yangshuo comes to an end. We board a 25 hour night train from Guilin to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province. We're half way into it when we discover we could have done the same journey on a bullet train for 8 hours! It's all part of the Chinese experience however, and we spend hours talking, laughing, playing games and sleeping. The sleeping definitely helps. And while I've never been in a smaller bunk, with as little space, I am rocked to sleep under the aircon. It's not glamorous in the slightest, Chinese vendors pass up and down every ten minutes trying to sell their wares, the music and the lights come blaring on at 7am sharp and the toilets are something else entirely. While in china you have to get used to squat toilets, it's either that or you don't go at all. A squat toilet on a train is a whole other kettle of fish. These aren't steady, smooth trains, and squat toilets are hard enough as it is. Let's just say your skill should be much improved by the end of the 25 hours. And honestly, they were clean and not all that bad. I've been in worse in high-tech stations and airports.
I've arrived in Chengdu, and tomorrow I'm heading to the Panda Research Centre. (SO EXCITED,) so it's an early night in this substantially cooler city. There's no suffocating humidity here and I'm so thankful to be out of it even if just for the night.
This backpacker is heading to bed. Gotta get ready to smuggle a panda out tomorrow.
S x
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