End-February: In Sanya, China.
We ended up hanging out in Yangshuo all through the Spring Festival. This was both to avoid the severely inflated prices everywhere, and also to avoid the mob-like crowds flooding all forms of transportation. We spent the time reading, writing, and indulging on sweet buns from a bakery that only cost 5 jiao each, or 7 cents!
Lunar New Year's Eve - finally warm enough to eat outside! That's REAL hot chocolate Christi's drinking, made with MILK!! (A novelty in Asia!) Ohh, and that's Tauru's beer.
This guy's a novelty anywhere in the world... Chopsticks are for eating, not for playing (on his ears).
The price of hotels skyrocketted on New Year's, so we moved to a "cheaper" room, cheap meaning "ghetto." This room had a heater, but that was just for show. Here is Christi trying to stay warm while indulging in Chinese culture... playing Mahjjong on her laptop!
The food in China leaves a lot to be desired. After a month and a half of thrice reheated rice and cabbage swimming in oil, Tauru went bonkers at the sight of a KFC. This was to be a "spiritual" experience.
Colonel Sanders himself couldn't have been happier - a chicken leg and a Pepsi; God bless America!
Oh the carnage... the guilt...
So worth it!
Our third hotel in Yangshuo was by far the best room we've had on our travels yet, complete with porch and swing! The price for this luxury? Ten bucks a night!
The evening view from our balcony... Is it a wonder we lingered so long here?
Tang mien! Tang mien (noodle soup)! All Food and all beer make Tauru a happy happy boy... (Beer in China is probably not safe -- toxic, poor quality, etc... just like toys, heparin, toothpaste, pet food, etc... -- but it's darn cheap! Woohoo! 35 cents a bottle!)
We finally made a move! Well, we had to, the first half of our Chinese visa was up, so we had to go to Hong Kong. Arr, matey! This is the view from the Star Ferry, taking us from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. Less than 200 years ago, this was center stage for the Opium Wars.
The streets of old-town Hong Kong. It's just a five minute walk from here to Chanel, Giorgio Armani, or Dolce & Gabanna.
Time for the requisite tram ride up Victoria Peak. "Wow, we're going up a mountain! Finally, some wilderness in the midst of this dense metropolis!"
Oh, maybe not. Here's where the tram leaves you, atop a "secluded" mountain!
Maybe if we go up all these escalators, we'll get a good view! Now this is the way to climb a mountain!
Doh! We needed to have paid for a more expensive ticket to get up there! Oh well. Here's the view that we managed from the bottom of the escalators.
The streets of the Kowloon area. Everyone wants you to buy their electronics or jewelry. Pakistani immigrants tout you to buy hash or watches or a camera. This is the night life.
Christi with Hong Kong Island in the background.
Tauru celebrating the Chinese Lantern Festival (which takes place on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year).
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BACK TO TOP
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2008
2008
January
10: China Part I
16: China Part II
26: China Part III
February
6: China Part IV
End: China Part V
March
5: China Part VI
9: China Part VII
12: China Part VIII
24: We Make it to Tibet
April
2: We Arrive in Kathmandu
25: Back in Pokhara, Nepal
29: A Hotel in Pokhara
May
4: Back to Kathmandu
31: Trekked to Everest Base Camp
June
21: To Calcutta, India
25: More of Calcutta
July
12: Quick Trip to Thailand
August
8: Back to India
10: The Golden Temple
12: In Dharamsala, India
21: Marijuana in Manali
September
9: Northern India
22: More of Inida
October
3: Aswan & The Pyramids
4: Abu Simbel (Egypt)
7: Onward to Luxor
13: White Desert in The Sahara
20: Egypt's Awesome Beaches
November
30: 40 Days in the Desert
December
13: Jordan & Syria
18: Then Turkey
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