The Long Road to China

An uncomfortable and somewhat scary encounter with the manager at our hostel made us VERY glad that this was our last day in Hong Kong. We had planned on staying longer, but the train schedule just didn't work out that way. We spent the morning shopping. Shocking, I know.

Since the train ride was supposed to be for 24 hours (it ended up being 26 hours), we splurged and got the soft sleeper cars. The cars were . . . pink, but otherwise private and comfortable. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to handle Jayde's whining for the whole trip so I gave her motion sickness pills. They knocked her right out, and gave me some time to catch up on my peace and quiet.

I was hoping for a scenic ride through the country side. Either the places around the train tracks are pretty bleak or I just slept through all the pretty places. The food was atrocious! We could not finish our first (and only) meal on the train because it so slimy/greasy. It was so bad that we opted to starve rather than eat the food. The two granola bars I had in my bad did not really tide us over.

By the next day, when we arrived in Beijing, we were tired and hungry. We caught the first cab we found. Not smart. It was gypsy cab and way overcharged us. After throwing our stuff in our lockers in the hostel, we headed out to find two things: 1) Money and 2) Food. We learned the hard way that the Chinese ATMs do not accept American ATM cards. The banks were closed. None of the restaurants accepted credit cards (or traveler's checks or American dollars). Our feet hurt, we were tired, and I could have ate a horse. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a lethal combination. We decided to try one more restaurant before I started throwing a tantrum.

***The Traveler's Den***


Not only does this restaurant have good food and good atmosphere, it takes pity on despondent American travelers. We ate an incredible pepperoni pizza! We ended up eating there at least once a day. :)

Day 7: Shop 'til you drop

After dragging Jayde to all the temples in Bali, she was adamant that we spend our time in Hong Kong shopping. I'm not a big fan of big cities and there were no particular landmarks that I "had" to see, but, before I let her have her way, I insisted that we take the take the Peak Tram to view the city. We walked from the Star Ferry port to the base of the tram. This gave us a brief, but nice tour of central Hong Kong. The tram itself was steep, but otherwise unspectacular. The views from the top, however, were another story . . . I wish it were less smoggy, though.



We spent the rest of the day moving from one street market to the next: the ladies market, the jade market, the temple street night market. There are so many I lost track (and feeling in my feet). Interesting fact: stores in Hong Kong will not let you try on clothes. Some stores would let you try on pants, but I actually got scolded for trying on a shirt.

After all that shopping, I needed a drink! We went down to the waterfront to dine and get pictures of the world famous skyline.

Day 6: Goodbye Bali, Hello Hong Kong

Our morning was a rush of souvenir shopping. The unique shopping experience only highlights how different Bali is than the other places I've been. Unlike other places with less than ideal economic situations, people in Bali seem really content with their station in life. They practice their religion constantly. There are offerings, shrines, and ceremonies EVERYWHERE! Even the most humble home is exceptionally tidy and has a spectacular shrine to leave your offering. When you bargain here, people don't get angry or annoyed with you. Instead, after you buy something, they act like you are their best friend. "Oh, this is the first buy of the day. You will bring me good luck."


By the time we got to Hong Kong we were exhausted! There were skyscarpers, mostly apartments, the entire drive from the airport. I could not believe that these weren't even part of the world-famous Hong Kong skyline. We crashed at the first hostel we found . . . at the Chunking Mansion. The "Mansion" is actually a huge skycraper with commercial enterprises shoved in every possible nook and cranny. It has four separate banks of elevators in different coordinates and is impossible to navigate. I don't think we made it to our room once without directions. Our hostel was a very cramped (think barracks), but tidy place on the 23rd floor. Strangely, although we had just left Indonesia, this was our first interaction with anyone Muslim (Bali is the Hindu enclave of Indonesia). The owners seemed nice and let us borrow a DVD player to watch the pirated movies we bought in Bali. I think we made it through ten minutes before crashing.

Having a ball in Bali!

Okay, okay! Back by popular demand (well at least one demand), I have started writing about my most recent trip (see below). It may take me awhile, though, since I am in the middle of discovery in several cases. But I will do it! Maybe I'll get ambitious and write about all my other trips too. Until then, here are my favorite pictures from Bali, Honk Kong, and China.

Enjoy!