The graves of Hue

After two long days of travel we arrived in Hue in the middle of the night in heavy rain. Luckily the welcome to the lovely Jade Hotel was much more welcoming. Hue it turned out has a special micro clima dominated by heavy rain. The next two days it started raining exactly 10 min to 1 pm. The first day it was only short and we could simply wait until it stopped the second day it was raining dogs for hours. Luckily cabs are quite cheap in Vietnam.

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Being on watch in front of Khải Äịnh tomb. They remember somehow at the terracotta warriors in Xian.

Besides the very wet weather conditions Hue is known for its high number richly lay out royal tombs. When kings became a mainly decorative function during French colonial ruling many of them got bored and they started creating enormous tombs for themselves. We visited two and were impressed by their beautiful way of using recycled material.
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The Decoration in the Khải Äịnh tomb reuses all kind of ceramic and glass to create beautiful wall pictures ….

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… and typical dragon layouts.

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The Minh Mạng tomb is impressing in a more quitter and spacious green way.

And if you need some time off the chaotic and noisy street life and ever shouting touts visit the forbidden purple city. Though only fractional restored after two wars it’s very lovely and quite.
The restored part of the forbidden city contrast significantly with the grey overgrown stones left over from two wars.

The restored part of the forbidden city contrast significantly with the grey overgrown stones left over from two wars.

And on top of all this the food in this area is a lot spicier. 🙂
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Preparation of a typical spicy noodle soup of this area. The dough is simply chopped from a piece of plastic tube into the boiling water.

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I guess we will never escape Carlsberg. Local vietnamese beer brewed by danish technology.

Halong bay and it’s cones

Halong Bay from it's fishery and peaceful side.

Halong Bay from it’s fishery and peaceful side.

Halong Bay or Guilin and sea as some call it is located a little northeast of Hanoi. Most people going here book a Tour including sleeping on a boat, going Kayaking, and swimming in the bay. Somehow we missed out that this would be a possibility. We arranged a shuttle bus from our Hostel to Halong city and found our self with 15 hangover twenagers in a little tour bus. In Halong bay they entered the boat and left us with the trouble finding out where the ferry would be leaving the next day (definitely not where the tourists boats start). Even though the extremely cheap hotel we were staying with in Halong city did not provide any kind if service the owner was willing to rent us a motorbike. For Tom the best fun in days, for me a constant cause of fear, because a) the traffic in this country is crazy, b) it’s actually illegal judged with 2 years prison and c) the insurance would not cover the costs in a case of an accident. Anyway, it is a great way to explore the country taking you further than foods (the harbour for the Ferry to Quan Lan was 7 km from the hotel) and it is pretty fun.

Tom on his new favourite mode of transport. The helmets are actually only for not getting a fine than for protection.

Tom on his new favourite mode of transport. The helmets are actually only for not getting a fine than for protection.

Quan Lan is an island far off from the touristic buzz in Halong bay, with all it’s advantages and drawbacks. Though the room in our Hotel was nice and cheap, we felt constantly in the way of the owner as his only guests. The restaurant served very good seafood (my very first time picking fish from its bones with chopsticks), but as there were only few options you just had to pay the price.
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Quan Lan market (three stands) just next to the drivers licence checking place on the ground of a historic building of some kind.

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They do have some cheerful cemeteries here.

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A historic building of some kind looking so in place in Quan Lan city.

The big attraction of the island is a white beach, that did not felt lonely but deserted with half rotten bamboo huts splattered along the shore.
Looking not to battered when slightly out of focus.

Minh Chin beach looking not to battered when slightly out of focus.

However, we also found our lonely beach, just a km from there. And many people look up and greet you friendly when you bike by their houses (just a few kids throughing shoes on us probably in the believe we were Americans).
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Aren’t they cute? Kept like the chickens, to be eaten like chickens just prepared in a different way.

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Hanging out on our privat beach.

On our way back we opt for the slower boat taking a more indirect route and should not regret it. The boat was a very lovely wooden ferry passing slowly through cast mountains and along swimming fisher villages leaving us all the time to admire them.
The little fisher villages cuddling to the rocky stones.

The little fisher villages cuddling to the rocky stones.

Hanoi – the perfectly normal insanity

The view of Vietnam - cone hats all over.

The view of Vietnam – cone hats all over.

Was what I thought whenever we stepped outside. 7 mio. people are living in Hanoi and 4 Mio. of them own a motorbike. What ever I said about eloctro scooter in China, it’s nothing compared. As far as I could see there are only two rules: 1. Everyone on a motorbike has to wear a helmet and 2. anything can hit you from any direction at any time.

Tried to capture the craziness, but you know a picture can never tell the whole story.

Tried to capture the craziness, but you know a picture can never tell the whole story.

Traffic lights for pedestrians were generally switched off. When you want to cross the street hope for the motorbikes to drive around you or use a car as shield. Pedestrian lanes do exist, but are usually occupied by parking motorbikes or little plastic chairs leaving no option but to walk on the road. However, we saw not one single accident, even though loneyplanet states traffic is the most dangerous part if Vietnam.

There are even some that obey traffic rules. And one or two that jump over the queue.

There are even some that obey traffic rules. And one or two that jump over the queue.

We spend 1 1/2 days in Hanoi walking through streets the old and the French quarter, Watching morning aerobic to salsa rhythms and students posing with the graduation certificate at the first national university of Vietnam (about 1000 years old) and eating the traditional Pho (noodle soup with beef or chicken).
Stundents in the temple of literature (or the first University of Vietnam) released from the photo shooting.

Stundents in the temple of literature (or the first University of Vietnam) released from the photo shooting.

Traveling Chinese busses and trains

Getting into the Chinese public transport is a completely new chapter in the book. You can actually find long distance busses that are modern, clean and seats can put almost into a horizontal position (Less modern version unfortunately also exists). The only weird thing while traveling by bus is that they stop for no  apprehend reason for 3-4h in the middle of the journey and that the air condition is set to 17dg making the journey a little uncomfortable.

Going and coming from Tourist sides by bus on the other hand isn’t really fun. The loneyplanet usually gives good advice for transport but practically it is not always obvious were busses go from and to and the chinese signs for destinations aren’t really helpful.
Asking around usually helps, but sometimes (as everywhere) you just get pointed in the wrong direction. We had special fun going back from the Terracotta Army. We thought that we just hopped into one of the normal busses, Bus 914. Not really. The conductor was all the time screaming at people to get into the bus. We spent more than half an hour picking up people somewhere to fill up the bus and when the police drove by everybody in the aisle had to kneel down (still pretending to at least know the rules).
While going by train, getting into the
train station is fun by it self. You need a train ticket to get inside meaning you can’t just pick up your wife when she comes back from a journey. Than you get in a big waiting room where you have to stay until the check in begins (no we are not in an airport). Finally you get checked a third time by the conductor at the train. By now you ticket had three stamps. The trains are like the busses very comfortable, but take consideration to Chinese travelers. Meaning again air condition is set to autumn temperatures and toilets are just wholes in the floor.

Lessons learned about China

1. The „to go“ beaker was probably not invented by Starbucks, but by the Chinese. You see these kind if beakers everywhere filled with tea or just hit water (never drink unboiled water in China).
2. It’s coming more and more that kids are wearing pampers but usually the just empty themselves on the street. And to make it more  convenient trouser are actually produced with holes at the back so all the kids need to do is bend down.
Try to have a closer look at teddys butt.

Try to have a closer look at teddys butt.

3. Chinese are huge gambler. You find them all over playing some game with wooden tokens gathering a crowd around them.
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With a crowd of chinese men usually comes a game with wooden tokens.

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However, gambling seems to be a national sport for young and old.

4. Chinese love dancing and singing and they just perform in every free space, so you can find yourself in a spontaneous gather choir when you stumble out of a fruit market or asked to dance chinese style salsa in a little park area.
5. Tourist attractions in china are exceptional expensive. We don’t actually know why. Maybe to keep poorer people away or just because people are willing to pay they price.
6. China does not know the concept of a oven. Bread (means rolls) are either fried or damped. (Not quite true, since we found bread in Guangxi.)
7. Due to the one child politic Chinese make a big fuse about kids, however we hardly found any playgrounds or trolleys. It’s mainly the grandparents that take over this job.
Grandparents taking care of their little grandson.

Grandparents taking care of their little grandson.

8. Chinese love kitsch, especially when it comes to weddings. The photo of the couple is the most important thing during wedding decorating the room and therefore taken days before. Since the Chinese adopted more and more the western style you find these nicely dressed couples all over town podding endlessly for the photographer and everybody that comes by.
A couple posing for the photographer and us :).

A couple posing for the photographer and us :).

9. Chinese men sweat through the belly button meaning whenever they get too hot they put up their shirts, no matter where they are.
A very common sight in China. The only cute thing about is, that little boys of 2 years already adopt their dads behaviour.

A very common sight in China. The only cute thing about is, that little boys of 2 years already adopt their dads behaviour.

10. Air condition is quit popular, being installed nearly everywhere especially in south china. However 16˚C is maybe a bit much and not smart considering the open doors of most shops.
An ordinary apartment house in south China. The boxes can't really be hidden.

An ordinary apartment house in south China. The boxes can’t really be hidden.

11. Chinese are unbelievable lazy. If they don’t have to move they won’t. Good part if you are going to a touristic side that involves walking you are mainly on your own.
13. There exist two types of bikers. The ones in Bejing that show off with their fancy fixies and the ones that can’t afford an electro scooter.
What are the bicycles in Copenhagen are the electro scooter in China. There are already a few city that banish them.

What are the bicycles in Copenhagen are the electro scooter in China. There are already a few city that banish them.

And last but not least a few prejudges about China:

1. Yes the food is incredible tasty. Nearly everything we ate was not less than very good and we didn’t suffered one single day from stomach ache.

Tom after four weeks in China ;).

Tom after four weeks in China ;).

2. Yes they chinese spite where they walk and stand, and no you don’t get used to it.

View from my bed in the train on the trash bowl containing some spit from my neighbour.

View from my bed in the train on the trash bowl containing some spit from my neighbour.

3. Yes, Chinese copy everything. But it is surely not the same quality. We sticked to the real snickers.

I leave to you to decide, which is the real one.

I leave to you to decide, which is the real one.

4. Yes, these red lamps are hanging everywhere. But it’s beautiful though.

Beer museum Guangzhou is just one tiny example.

Beer museum Guangzhou is just one tiny example.

5. Ja, i kina spiser de hunde. And of course also the never forgotten chicken legs can be found in the supermarket, as snacks at every corner and also in the famous farmers dish in Tiantou.

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It seems quite clear that this one did not died a natural death.

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Chicken legs in it’s purest form, usually you eat them fried.

 

Weather forecast perspective change

One of the first things you learn when coming to China is that you no longer check the weather forecast in the morning but the air quality index, especially the pm 2.5 value (The amount of particles smaller than 2.5 µm that are able to get very deep into your lungs ad causing lung cancer, isn’t it nice.) We were very lucky, when we came to Beijing having a few days of good and moderate conditions, but the rest of our time in China we spent in rather unhealthy ‚weather‘. It can feel it a little in the lungs (especially when you already suffer from asthma) and their is something brown and smily that you cough up from time to time.

Bejing AQI of the last 30 days. Luckily we have been south during the last week.

Bejing AQI of the last 30 days. Luckily we have been south during the last week.

Where it comes from? Mainly from coal-fired power stations, we heard. However, in general people don’t seem to be to bothered. The fewest are wearing masks and people are burning the garbage everywhere even in the city on the street. I fear this is mainly due to lack of knowledge, because there exists a working recycling system.

Guangzhou local waste management.

Guangzhou local waste management.

Anyway, the most irritating fact about the smog in China is that it fucks up nearly every landscape picture. I got a little choice for you from the non processed pictures (and we didn’t encountered the worst conditions a recently in Beijing).

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Great wall – you could barely see the second mountain in the row.

A sunny day in Pingyao.

A sunny day in Pingyao.

 

 

 

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Guilin’s hazy cast mountains.

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Sunset in Hongkong. The sun is gone half an hour before sunset.

Pinwin English

I think everybody is aware of, that the highest percentage of the Chinese inhabitants have some troubles with the English language. However, we found our selves in the comfortable situation that most sign directing you somewhere, prohibiting something or warning you to do something were translated into english. So even though you don’t understand a bit of the written or spoken Chinese we traveled safely and sometimes quite amused. The following is a little choice of the signs we encountered in the last four weeks. We hope this will spread a little smile.

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Train toilet form Xi’an to Guilin.

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Xi’an park area around the terracotta warriors.

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Park area in Guilin.

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Fire extinguishers in a hotel lobby.

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Underground train Guangzhou.

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Train station Guangzhou.

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Rice terraces Tiantou.

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Walking path to the great wall.

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On top of a cast mountain in Guilin.

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ATM in Guilin.

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Stairs t the city wall in Pinyao.

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Top of a cast mountain in Guilin.

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Craftworker shop for signs in Guangzhou.

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Park area in Nanning.

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In front of a construction side in Nanning.

High, higher, Hongkong

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The face of one of the densest populated cities of the world is dominated by shiny high skyscrapers mixed with old pink-grey mansions. One of these mansions was going to be our home for the next three nights and perfectly reflected living conditions. You still have to pay an enormous rent for the tiniest apartment.
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Shinny sky scrappers over grow the old mansions.

Our room 2x2m basically consisted of a bed and a toilet room with view to the dirtiest slot, but equipped with air condition, TV and the fastest internet in china. Air condition actually is a standard in this subtropical climate causing condensed water dropping on your head all the time when strolling through the city.
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Our tiny little home. But quite good value for Hong Kong.

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Our window …

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… and the view from our window.

Actually we did not lived in Hongkong but Kowloon. Hongkong is only the half located on Hongkong Island. Though easily accessed by ferry while admiring the impressive skyline (If you overhear talk about a light show of the hong kong skyline at night, it’s only five our six buildings taking part in that, so not a big deal).

A ride n the almost 130 year ferry boats including a outstanding view of Hong Kong skyline, costs 0.25 Euro.

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The skyline at night is impressive tough the light show wasn’t more than a few blinking sky scrappers.

Apart from that Hongkong is a very western city with shopping malls, bars and restaurants, but missing all the nice parts and the nice cheap food of other Chinese city’s.
Even these reminders of Denmark could be found in Hong Kong.

Even these reminders of Denmark could be found in Hong Kong.

Also some British traces could be found in the city.

Instead of spending our whole time in freezing cold shopping malls, we headed for the Hongkong trail just a 15 min bus ride from the city enjoying the mini jungle that is surrounding the city accompanied by beautiful butterflies and other nice guys (I am reconsidering whether walking trips in southeast asia are a good idea.).
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Reaching the beach on the opposite of Hong Kong Island required some stripping.

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Isn’t he sweet. Just about the size of my hand.

Coincidentally we arrived in Hong Kong just after the first demonstrations for more democracy ended and the second began. But even though the news stated that only two dozen demonstrates are left on the streets we still met quit a few more in the blocked streets. Strange atmosphere and an impressive reminder of the comfortable life in europe.
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The umbrella revolution waiting for discussions with the government.

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The journalist stating only two dozen demonstrators remained on the streets missed at least a factor 100 in y opinion.

An idyllic bike ride along the Li river.

The route, for GPS details please ask Tom.

The route, for GPS details please ask Tom.

The idea to bike around in china actually rise already in Beijing when we  that it is possible and bikes are rather cheap in china. However we could not really find a good solution to transport our bags and we already doubt it to be a good idea when we felt the heat in Guilin. So we settled on renting to bikes take a day pack and ride the 65 km along the Li river to Yangshuo. The evening before we tried to find a good description if the trail. The possibility that we found in our navigation app was indeed 92 km long. But hey still doable away from the big road, decently close to the river and we could still take the bamboo boat back.

And suddenly there was a biking highway in the middle of nowhere.

And suddenly there was a biking highway in the middle of nowhere.

 

Yeah sometimes expectations are quite high. Half of the time travel busses were taking up almost all space on the road covering us and our lungs in dust. We were most of the time far away from the river though it was idyllic anyway. We were climbing exhausting hills than just biking relaxing on the shores (my butt really hurt after half a day). When we arrived in Yangshuo they explained us that rules where just changed and there was no bamboo boat going back (tried unsuccessful anyway). The route in our navi did not worked out either, roads were rather tiny paths to small for the bikes and just ending in the water without any bridge.

We were lucky to get a water cab, when the road suddenly ended in the river. Including a very wet butt.

We were lucky to get a water cab, when the road suddenly ended in the river. Including a very wet butt.

Finally after almost two days unbearable heat it started raining and we arrived completely drowned and dirty back in Guilin.

Just a little wet and a little dirty.

Just a little wet and a little dirty.

But there also where the time points when we suddenly found us on a broad asphalt road riding through beautiful valleys without any cars, pomelos and madarines growing next to the road, and many friendly people greeting us along the way. Pretty fun trip, but we skip the biking in china for this time anyway.

Here they are. Pomelo, really growing on trees and not bred by a crazy chemist in a lab.

Here they are. Pomelo, really growing on trees and not bred by a crazy chemist in a lab.

Yangshuo – a little short

Yangshou at night

Yangshou at night – they do waste some energy on that.

The destination of our bike trip was Yangshou, a city at the shores of the Li river. Even though we arrived here in China’s national day and lonelyplanet recommended to avoid this place due to it’s tourists herds we found the city quite appealing. This was likely due to our hostel being on the “wrong” side of the river away from the center (anyway reachable by ferry in 2 min). The roof terrace with view over the „skyline“ including a little bar wasn’t a bad feature either (Yangshuo high hostel).

Yangshou high hostel roof terrace.

Yangshou high hostel roof terrace.

We could easily have spent one or two more days watching tourist fighting for bamboo boats or illegal pelican fishers, strolling through bamboo forests, eating off the tree pomelo or climbing the cast mountains around. Unfortunately our bus to Guangzhou was leaving the next day from Guilin and we had to head back.

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House boats are coating the shores of the river in Yangshou. Very far from the glittering hotels close by.

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Fishing with pelicans still popular though illegal. The bind the pelicans to a rope, let them fish and when the pelican caught one they fetch them again and squeeze the fish from the pelicans neck into a basket. Really mean.