China: An Overview

Hey all! Sorry for the lack of posts. China actually has blogs blocked on their internet. A fellow traveler showed me a way around that little inconvenience. We've been in China for about five days, and covered a lot of ground. After leaving the luxuries of Hong Kong and Pat Stahl's apartment, we took a two hour bus ride to Guangzhou (the 3rd largest city in China). Any large city in China is BIG, and Guangzhou was nothing short of chaotic. This was the first time we experienced the major problem of the language barrier.
We learned the easiest way to communicate things was to find someone who spoke english, and then have them write down a message in Chinese on a piece of paper. We decided to head west to Kunming, and using our little piece of paper, we purchased train tickets from Guangzhou to Kunming.
The 27 hour train ride was relaxing, and we met many friendly Chinese along the way. Even only being able to speak a few words in one anothers language, we were able to communicate. We traded Chinese Cigarettes for American 'Trident' Gum and played some card games. We've found the majority of Chinese to be extremely friendly, and almost treat us as mini-celebrities. We've gotten used to being stared at on the street. The type of staring isn't leering, but genuine curiousity. Very different then Europe (those snobs). We stayed a few nights in Kunming, which is really a hub for travel, and got to Dali yesterday. It's a large town, with a modern area and a maintained ancient city still within the original walls. Our hostel is right outside the walls. We're looking up at mountains and down at a lake. We'll explore here for a few days, then head up to Lijiang, a town similar to Dali that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then on to Vietnam. Stay tuned for more!

The Arrival in Hong Kong

It was an interesting time getting here, to say the least. I lucked out and sat business class on my flight to Tokyo, which was delayed due to debris up in the atmosphere of our flight path, caused by a volcano in Russia. I was put up in a hotel in Japan for the night, and continued on to HK. After wandering in the airport for an hour, my friend from childhood, Pat Stahl, rescued me at the airport. We took a train to his apartment, which is nothing short of spectacular. He lives on the 71st floor of a luxury apartment building overlooking the bay and what has been dubbed the "Manhattan of Asia." Imagine Manhattan with giant rolling hills in the background and more lights. Google 'The Arch Kowloon' to get an idea of what the building looks like. Mike will be joining us tomorrow night en route from Ireland. Then on to the next adventure...