Escape to Warmer Weather

Guess where Xin is right now?
What's that you say? You can't?

Well as the title of the piece suggests Xin has made a hasty exit from windy and cold Shanghai to the warmer climates of Yunnan in the south of China.

Literally translated Yunnan means "Cloud South", if you want a more poetic translation it would probably be Southern Cloud. The area lives up to its more poetic name. It's beautiful here. Here the landscape is backed by mountains and shrouded by the most crisp and beautiful green I have ever seen... (it makes me proud to be a Mungo-ite :p)

It's very hilly here so I've spent a lot of time clambering up and down mountains.

For example yesterday I visited the Western Mountain just outside of Kunming (the capital of Yunnan. They have the most AMAZING temples I have ever seen there. Sarah, if you're reading this you seriously missed out!!! These temples top anything I've seen in Beijing or other parts of China. I saw three in one day in one area but they were all so different. One had been fairly recently renovated and it had the most intricate statues on the walls inside - there were over 50 statues on the walls depicting various deities crossing a river. Another was in the process of being renovated and it was fascinating to watch the workmen finish columns and screens in the traditional way not to mention getting to see a temple that's not glitzy and glammed up and crammed with tourists. The most amazing temple though was the one at the Dragon Gate - it is literally carved out of the sheer cliff face. Some monk spent 14 years just carving these little grottos and statues in the grottos to make the most incredible temple ever. Too bad it was crammed with loud and obnoxious tourists and my poor little achey legs are still complaining about the steep climbs.

The day before that I visited the Stone Forest a little way out of Kunming. The most notable thing about the Stone Forest is that they have the best toilet I've ever been to in my entire life. No it's not just because I hate the other squat toilets in China which don't even have doors on the cubicles (yuck) - this toilet had a TV in every single cubicle as well as little shower heads you can clean your bottom with after you've finished as well as minature toilets for children to use!!! I've been so spoilt by one usage of this toilet that I can't go back to squat toilets - it's terrible! :p But apart from this one amazing toilet that I've rambled on about the Stone Forest is made up of amazing Karst rock formations. All you people who are used to klutzy-Xin will be amazing to hear that I completed a super precarious climb right to the top of the stone forest to get a fantastic view over the canopy.

I should also mention that I spent last night at Anning which is famous for its hot springs. We stayed at the Japanese style hot spring hotel thingie and it was justifiably luxurious and relaxing. I got in plenty of R&R not only relaxing in the private outdoor hot spring attached to my hotel room but also in the milk water hot tub and the hot tub filled with rose essence and rose petals. Mmmm.... Xin is a happy camper.

For those of you interested I am currently in Dali trying to figure out what to do next because as usual Johnny has given no thought to our itinenary after dragging me here... grr... and I will have to do all the research because apparently reading about gremlins on planes (that is the headline for the news article he is reading) is more important than figuring out what to do next in our short time here. Grr... I'm signing out to do some research...

Hangin' Out in Shanghai

After Hong Kong we flew back from Shen Zhen to Shanghai.

Now I want to say this first and foremost. I'm Shanghainese, so I love Shanghai. However I am happy to report that Sarah and I love Shanghai together!

For example we spent an entire day in the Shanghai museum - yes we got in at 11:00am in the morning, left for a 30 mins lunch break and went back in to hang out till it closed at 5:00pm in the afternoon. No we're not crazy - it's an awesome museum.

We went shopping in Qi Pu Road for super cheap clothes and bought a whole bunch of skirts, socks and tops for less than $100AUD between us - CRAZY!

We also went to do some 'cultural' walks down Duo Lun Road (with its nifty bronze sculptures of intellectual type revolutionaries - think Montmarte without the prostitutes), Jing An Temple (which we didn't go into because we couldn't figure out if it was old enough to be worth seeing :p) as well as around the old French Concession area and the Bund.

We lined up for Nanxiang Dumplings (which are well worth the 40 minute wait) and bargained for chopsticks at the Yu Gardens. Not that the chopsticks really required much bargaining on our part, that basically involved a lady chasing us down the street gradually lowering the price from 220yuan to 40yuan :p

We went fake shopping near the old Xiangyang market which only hardened my resolve never to buy fakes again - Xin's poor thighs were not made to withstand going up and down dilapitated stairs whose steepness is a challenge to the will of the weary fake hunter... You can take me back to Hong Kong and the boutiques for those goods thank you very much...

We also spent the last night going to Zapatas (the crazy Mexican style RnB club with the free margaritas for ladies :p), Beni's Bar (Johnny's favourite bar in all of Shanghai) and Windows (with the RnB and the 10yuan shooters)... mmm...

Oh and we also went to Zhou Zhuan which is like a 'Chinese Venice' - or as the ad put is 'the No. 1 Water Town in China'. Whatever. There's a photo of Sarah there in my Trip Photos gallery (look to your left). It's decidedly pretty and all the old architecture from the ye China of old is absolutely fascinating but the vendors and hawkers on every street and corner definitely detract from the experience. Especially when you go with a tour group and they dump you in some stupid silk factory making overpriced goods for 30 mins when you just want to go home...

Okay I'm tired and going to sleep now, just running through the list of what we did in 10 days is making me exhausted. In the meantime, cause I know you miss me so much you can peruse the photos that I uploaded to the web - and no complaints about the quality, do you know how HARD it is to upload photos here on dial up, especially when there has been an earthquake in Taiwan stuffing up all the internet connections?!?

From Hong Kong (and Shen Zhen) With Love

Well I escaped from the freezing cold weather in Beijing - to the relative warmth of Hong Kong and Shen Zhen.

For those of you that don't know, Shen Zhen is a little town on the border of Hong Kong that literally sprang up overnight when it became a special economic zone about 20 odd years ago. It's huge... it's crazy!!! There's not a lot of history or culture to bask in there (as there is in Beijing) but there is a lot of shopping and R&R to be had. I basically spent my time there wandering around markets and getting manicures and pedicures. I am proud to report that I now have uber cute pink toenails (and cuticles that don't scream washer woman) :p

There are also awesome theme parks in Shen Zhen which, as the Lonely Planet describes, are "naff in the extreme" :p But still so much fun to gawk at. If you look at the photo top left in here you will see Window to the World which basically has minatures of random monuments of the world including the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China and yes, even the Sydney Opera House. I think the funniest thing though is Sarah and I standing in front of the gate discussing whether the really bad copy of a statue was Babylonian or Persian before finally deciding it is early Byzantine... so sad and so Xin and Sarah. :p

The other cool theme park in Shen Zhen is Happy Valley which is rather like Dreamworld or Movieland on the Gold Coast but bigger - waaaaay bigger than both. It has giant water slides, 4D adventures and most importantly BUMPER CARS!!!! Xin loves her bumper cars... she even loves waiting in the queue for bumper cars because she can make fun of the girls who can't drive bumper cars - phhbt, women can't drive! :p But yes... top right photo you will see Sarah and Xin sitting on cute bronze cows at Happy Valley (Xin likes cows). My vote for the best ride there is the Typhoon - I cannot describe it to you other than it is simply a giant tsunami (ask to watch my video when I get back).

Hong Kong itself I've very indifferent to. Which is strange, cause I suppose it really is a shopper's paradise. Hong Kong is basically one big shopping mall. Anywhere you go is shopping. When we went to see the giant buddah on Lantou island (see photo bottom left) we found a street of tourist stores and the 700th 7-eleven opened in Hong Kong as well as a factory outlet shopping complex! :p When I went to the peak to get a bird's eye view of HK city I came down with a pair of shoes... I think I dislike it mainly because as a crazy shopaholic I can't get anywhere in the city because I have to keep dropping into the boutiques (I think there are more Gucci's in HK then there are in the entire Southern Hemisphere - I think there are more Gucci's then 7-elevens, very scary...)

I think I will like HK more when I marry well and have nothing better to do then spend my husband's money. And note that this is not me being stupid and vain, the fortune teller on Temple St told me that I would marry well :p (she also told me that I would live to be 87 and that I would donate lots of my husband's money to charity :p)

Further on the subject of fortune telling on Temple Street - Xin and Sarah are bitterly disappointed that none of the fortune teller's had those prophetic birds that the travel guide described so vividly. So sad :(Oh the last photo in the four spread above is of Sarah and I in the park in HK on Hollywood Road. That park and the area around it is one of the last vestiges of 'old' Hong Kong - ie not crazy shopping malls EVERYWHERE. It has some beautiful streets, antique stores and markets as well as a very interesting Sun Yat Sen historical walk. (You can see real places where people was murdered...)

Well that was my random trip around Shen Zhen and HK.

I realise that was really random and probably nonsensical but I'm attempting to watch Gilmore Girls and write at the same time - I think the randomness of the show is rubbing off on my writing. :p But I think my photos should make up for the lack of entries recently :p

In other news Xin's mobile was stolen by an evil, evil person. May the curse of a thousand badnesses be on them. Grrr....