Train from Hong Kong to Shanghai

After a few days of rest at Jess and Mike's place and a few last minute buys and I was back on the train for another 20 hour train ride. I left Hong Kong on Saturday and would arrive in Shanghai on Sunday. On the train ride I made friends with these 4 Indian guys.

Three of the Indian Guys

Me and two of the Indian guys I meet

They were really excited because I could speak English and the Chinese were having a lot of trouble with their accents.I can not blame then I found it hard sometimes. They were from Bangalore and were on a 1 month holiday in China. One of them kept telling me that in 200 years there will only be one race and one blood type. I can not see it happening. I got to ask them heaps of questions about the cast system in Indian and other social issues I have always wanted to know. It was really interesting.

Then that night I made my way to the dining cart for a drink and to make a few more friends. Before long I had befriended the chef and a few other guys who worked on the train. I then spent the rest of the trip eating and drinking for free. They did not speak much English but where really fun.

Me and the chef. He was so funny and did not speak a word of English

One of the guys who worked on the train who speak a bit of English

The next morning I meet these two people from Canada who were travelling about China. They said they wanted to go to Tibet. We thought we could try and work out a travel group together cos you can only go to Tibet in a tour group and it is cheaper the more people you have. I had been given a quote from one agent for $AUS2500 for 5 days so really wanted to find a cheaper option. They gave me the address of their hostel cos I had not worked out my accommodation yet.

Once I arrived in Shanghai I went to the bus station to work out a ticket to Haian, near Nantong. I was going there to see a factory for my Dad again. Buying the ticket was harder than I thought i would be cos was not clear where and what was the bus station. Finally this guy took me to the station which was a huge building around the corner from the train station. I felt really silly for not seeing it earlier and asking all these local city bus stations for a bus to a town 4 hours away.

After getting my ticket I headed off to find the hostel. The hostel was a bit out of town but very close to the subway system so it was fine. The hostel was really big and packed. I had a drink with a Germany guy called Leif who was living in a town about 2 hours away and working for Siemens. He had come to shanghai for the weekend and invited me to come to his town for a look around. I was really keen as it looked like I was going to have to stay in the shanghai area for a week waiting for my Tibet permit to come.

After the drink I headed into the city to finally meet up with Bernard's daughter Sophie.

Sophie and I at 'face' bar in Shanghai

Sophie was great fun and really interesting to talk to. I was so glad we got to meet up. She is working in Shanghai as a journalist and explained to me how the government must have a sensor that reads everything she writes. It sounded really amazing. After seeing Sophie's place and briefly meeting her partner Ben I went to a dumpling house for dinner.

While at the dumpling house I meet this couple called 'Simon' and Jin Wei who lived down the street from my hostel. They were so nice and asked me if I wanted a lift home. I wouldn't have normal said yes but they were really nice.

Simon and Jin Wei at their apartment

On the way back to the hostel they invited me to their house so i accepted the offer. They lived in a very nice apartment complex near the hostel. They had a pet dog which they were both obsessed with. He was really cute.

Simon and Jin Wei with their dog.

After about an hour of chatting their friend arrived with her dog for a walk. I was really sleepy and had to take my bus to Haian at 7am so I took this moment to head back to the hostel. Even though the hostel was only 500m away they insisted on driving me. I still can not believe how nice everyone in China is. I have really not meet anyone who was not nice here so far.

The next morning I was off to Haian by bus

Shanghai

I woke on Friday morning to meet Robbie's wife Yvette in their kitchen. I felt really bad as I had just arrived with Robbie last night unannounced. Yvette is originally from Holland but left 8 years ago and has since worked all over Europe and moved to Shanghai a year ago. She now worked with Robbie for a company in Shanghai that helps Western companies have products produced in China and the exported around the world. Yvette in the kitchen of her apartment

Talk about a small world I mentioned to Yvette that I wanted to meet up with Bernard Loras (one of my bosses at CW) daughter, Sophie and she not only knew her but was close friends with her. It was Sophie's birthday that weekend so her and her partner had gone to Beijing to run in the Great Wall marathon. Crazy! Running a Marathon is nuts but to run one up the Great Wall of China, insane. Anyway it appeared that I would not get to see Sophie on this stay in Shanghai.

Shanghai from Robbie and Yvette's house

I booked a train back to Hong Kong with Wayne which left on Monday so I had three days to see Shanghai. Most of the days I spent on my own exploring the city and getting to know Shanghai. Shanghai is huge and has so many people it blow my mind. Just to give you an idea how big we are talking: they have a population close to that of Australia living in a city with a smaller area then Melbourne! Traffic in Shanghai

There are just so many people and high riser buildings. The average height of buildings in Shanghai is 33 stores.








The city however is not just high riser but has little pockets of old French buildings called the French Concession and other areas of older Chinese buildings. The city like Melbourne is build around a river and has a lovely river area called the Bund.

The Bund in Shanghai

Taking the subway in Shanghai. I think it is worse than Japan!

Ok enough of sounding like a Lonely Plant. (Which is banned in China due to comments about Mao and Taiwan)

Mao and his army.

On Friday night Steve took Wayne and me out to 'Aussie drinks' which are a networking night for Australian expats (but lots of different expats go). I meet a few really interesting people. One guy was running a gold mine in Mongolian Gold mines. It appears mining is huge in Mongolia right now. After making a few friends we went to a bar called 'Maxi'. Steve and Wayne played some pool but I was really tried so went to bed early.


On Saturday night I went to an Irish bar with Yvette and Robbie to watch the FA Cup final. I am not really into soccer but thought I should learn before arriving in England. Everyone in the pub was going for Man U so were naturally rather pissed off at the result. I couldn't carry less and was glad someone actually scored.


On Sunday night Yvette and Robbie were having a dinner party so I helped them cook. well actually i just made garlic bread which ended up too garlicky. Four friends joined us for the dinner party. There was a French couple and a guy from Switzerland and a girl from Australia (Melbourne, RMIT architect student- haha small world).

It was a lovely evening and I headed off to Hong Kong the next day with Wayne. We were in the soft sleeper. A lot classier than I had ridden before. I got a whole cabin to myself!

My Cabin on the train. All class!

Wanye introduced me to the dining cart. I never knew there was one! We just chatted for most of the trip. Wayne did the trans-Mongolian trip 3 years a go so I got all the inside gossip.He got me even more excited about the trip. I did not think it was possible. The 20 hour trip back to Hong Kong flew by and I was soon back at Jess and Mike's place to get the rest of my stuff and start my trip!

I had to leave and come back to mainland China like this cos my visa would only let me stay 30 days at a time and I thought I would get most of my work for my dad out of the way first.

Wenzhou- factory life in China

Early Wednesday morning I left the Youth Hostel and went to the old train station in Guangzhou. There are at least two stations in most cities so it can get a bit tricky at times. I got to my waiting hall for my first 24 hour train in China to find the whole hall filled with only local. It looked like I was about to be the only foreigner on the whole train. There is a first for everything. The waiting hall at Guangzhou station

I was traveling Hard sleeper so would be sharing a semi-room (only a semi-room as there is no door) with 5 other people. I had asked for the middle bunk as I had heard the bottom bunk is a pain cos everyone sits on your bed and the top is too much climbing.
My bed is to the right with all the gear on it

The hard sleeper carriage

When I first got on the train I was pretty scared and didn’t know what to expect. The day before I was worried I would get hungry so I bought a truck load of food. They only sold things in bulk so I got a years supply of this weird Singaporean breakfast cereal which is like porridge but with egg. I didn’t care what it tasted like cos all it needed was hot water to become edible and that was all I had on the train. I also got some bread rolls (which were the crap really sweet Asian bread) and some 2 minute cup of noodle things. It was ridicules how much food I bought with me, you would have sworn I was leaving for 6 months. On the train they played continuoius music, most of it was 80s classics re-sung in Chinese but there was a few Chinese rock songs and even some Chinese metal. Max I will try and find you a CD of some Chinese metal, I think you will like it.

On the train the only person who could speak English was this Chinese guy..

The only guy who could speak english

He sold Heat pumps (water to water) for a living and was so excited to hear that I was an engineer. He then tried to engage me in a 8 hour conversation about heat pumps, the refrigeration cycles and the possible need for his product in the Australian market. His English was very good about his product and related matters but for everyday questions he really didn’t have much comprehension. I tried my Chinese on him but only got blank looks.

After excusing myself from the conversation which had shifted to my looks and wanting to take photos of me (slightly awkward) , I crawled into my bed and read some more of my book and did a bit of knitting. My self photograph needs a bit if work but there was not much room on the bed, i couldn't even sit up straight

Within a few hours this man came up to me with his baby and wanted me to hold it. Then this was soon followed by a woman with her child. After what I had seen in Guangzhou I wanted to make it clear I really was not in the market for a child. The kids were very cute and were freaked out by this weird western girl. I knitted the man’s baby a little scarf, which the father was much more impressed with than the kid.

The man on the train and his kid.

Time past and I sat down for my cup of noodle dinner. By this time I had realized that they sold food on the train via a woman with a cart, so my kilos of food was not needed at all. While having dinner the man next to me spilt his beer on himself. Naturally I gave him a tissue to clean himself up with. He was very shocked by the gesture and thanked me by giving me some beef jerky. I am not a bit fan but accepted the gift and did my best to eat all of it.

I went to bed at around 12, when the music finally stopped playing and slept really well. I did not wake up until 8am. The train was due to arrive in Wenzhou at 10am so it was prefect. After a quick breakfast and a look out the window, we were almost there.

The view on the train

I was going to Wenzhou to look at a "parts washer" my dad was getting manufactured there. From his emails it sound like the washer was almost done and I might even get to see them test it and help out if needed.

There was a few issues about which station I was going to arrive at. Even though Wenzhou is very small city (with a population of around 1 million) it still has two train stations which were on the opposite sides of town.Eventually I was meet by a guy called Mathew from the factory and his driver. Mathew was from Hong Kong original and had moved to Wenzhou to live with his new wife and work for her father.

Once I arrived at the factory things got a bit weird. The machine was no where near finished and a guy who does a bit of contracted work for my dad (Wayne) was there. I was not expecting to see Wayne and took a while to click. I will not go into the details but it was very awkward. People kept telling me that it was so unexpected that I was there even though they had known for months I was coming. Anyway after an uncomfortable lunch, things got better and we sat down with the head of the factory to discuss matters further. It appeared that everyone was planning on testing the machine on Saturday and I was welcome to come to Shanghai with them tonight and return to Wenzhou on Saturday with them. I was really interested in seeing the machine finished and tested so I agreed and my flight was booked.

We then went down stairs to discuss the machine with the companies engineer with the help of Mathew translating. It become clear that they were not aware of some of the basics and hence were having difficulty building it. After Wayne an I explained what the machine did and how it was meant to work it all seemed clear. The engineer was very switched on and often didn’t need Mathew to translate as he understood from our actions what we were saying.

After the meeting we headed to the bar for a few drinks while we waited for our plane. We had a 4 hour wait until the flight. Wayne and Robbie (the Shanghai contact who helped us find this factory in Wenzhou and organize the machines construction) were both very friendly to me now and all the awkwardness of early had gone. Thank goodness! While having a few drinks we got a phone call telling us to come back to the factory cos the machine was finished. Wow! I could not believe it after seeing it only a few hours ago. When we got back to the factory the machine was working. After Wayne and I checked it over and made a few suggestions it was time to leave for the airport.

Wayne, the factory's engineer and myself infront of the finished parts washer.

A quick call to my dad to tell him what happened and we were off. Now that the machine was working I did not really need to go to shanghai but it was too late now as I had already paid for the ticket so just went with the follow.

We arrived in Shanghai at 11pm and I stayed at Robbie’s place. Within seconds of making it back I was asleep.

Guangzhou- Youth Hostel

After checking in to my room at the youth hostel in Shamian Dao I went out to explore the city. I heard that there was a brand new part of the city which was a must see. Due to a sightly drunken night the night before I had lost my map but tried to find the area anyway. I ended up walking down these really cute lane ways and just hanging out with locals and testing my non-existing Chinese. Thanks Hayley for those key phases they really help!

Down one lane way I came across 4 women playing Manjong. I watched for a while and then was offered a sit at the table. I have played manjong before when I was in Singapore and Hayley and I hosted a manjong night at Holden Street earlier this year so I thought I would give it a go. The women I was playing with were very fast and played for money, so I had no chance in hell at ever getting a hand.

After a day of exploring I headed back to hostel to see what was happening. When I had first moved in there was only a Chinese guy in the dorm. When I returned an English couple (Adam and Amy) had just arrived. Adam and Amy are 18 and have been travelling around Asia for the past 3 months. Adam was wearing a “Cat Empire” T-shirt which I thought was awesome. We got chatting and a Germany guy also arrived called Michael (a different guy from the other night). After working out I had taken the wrong bed by accident the four of us headed out to see Guangzhou!

The place to go out according to Lonely Plant was at Fangcun Pier. After grabbing a few travellers from the 7eleven we walked over towards the Ferry to Fangcun Pier. On the way we chatted with the people at the local fish market. (Hayley and Bob I asked “if they have any older brother” but I think the one child policy has kind of ruin that pick up line.)

We then saw a boat moored near by and decided to see if we could get the owner to take us to Fangcun. There were three guys in front of the boat. Adam and Michael started asking them about the boat while I jumped on to look around. They were not overly impressed by decision to board the boat but soon came around. They could not speak any English and kept taking photos of us on the boat with their phones. Aware that this could potential get us into trouble I started taking photos of them. Not sure how that was going to help but hey! After about 15 minutes of us asking to be taken out for a ride we said our farewells and headed for the ferry.

two of the guys on the boat that kept photographing us on the boat

The ferry was filled with locals on bicycles which I naturally took for a ride around the boat. After about a 2 sec ride we arrived in Fangcun.

On the ferry to Fangcun

By this time we got there we were so hungry and in need of another beer, so we went to a dodgy little restaurant with a few locals inside. After establishing that no one could speak English we then ordered by pointing at other peoples meals in the restaurant. The food was great!! The chicken had more bones than meat but was still good.

After dinner we went to check out the bar scene. A lot of the bars appeared to double as brothels so we needed to choose carefully. We came to one bar which promised to have the WORLD famous singer “David” and his band playing at 9pm. None of us had heard of David but decided it was a must for the evening.

David the WORLD famous singer

To kill sometime we headed off to another bar which was completely empty. All the drinks were over priced for China so we ordered a ‘Singapore sling.’ When the drink arrived it appeared to be clear in colour and we started to have a few doubts about it. After a sip it appears a ‘gin and tonic’ is the same as a ‘Singapore sling’ here. Well they do drink G and T in Singapore so who can argue.

After the drink Michael called it a night and Adam, Amy and I headed off to see David. Amy and I could hardly handle the excitement of seeing David. Once inside we were greeted by the owner of the bar also called David, who was from Hong Kong originally and could speak English. David told me “that if you ever have any problems in China call me. I knew a lot of people.” Sounds great I said and took his card. After a few beers David (the singer) took his place behind the keyboard and stated singing Elton John’s “Can you feel the love tonight.” Not my favourite song but he was very good.

Adam and Amy getting into the song with David's backup singer.

We got to request a few songs but they had never heard of them. David (‘the owner’) made me have a dance with him to one of the songs. After that we were invited to join a group of 8 or so Chinese guys for some drinking game that involved dice.

Adam, Amy and local drinking buddies

The game involved everyone having two dices and one pair of group dices. If you got the same number as the group dice you had to take a shot... Well that was the rules for everyone else the rules for me appeared to be I had to drink every time anyone else did. We started with beer but progressed to tequila. At which point Adam, Amy and I thought it was best to leave. We took the ferry back to the hostel via a street market stall for a few munchies.

Yum market food munchies!

Guangzhou- How I ended up in a 5 star hotel

Now when someone says they are going to China for a holiday, Guangzhou is not a common destination. Guangzhou is the capital of the Guangdong Province, previously known as Canton! It takes 2 hours to travel to Guangzhou from Hong Kong by train. I was going to Guangzhou to have a look at a factory which my Dad deals with in China. They design and manufacture very large multilevel automatic car parking systems, similar to the ones you see in Japan. (Japan is the company’s biggest customer). So being a semi-business trip, I was picked up at the train station by two employees of the company and driven, in a company car, to their offices. I then got a chance to look at the displays at the factory before heading out around the town to see some examples of the systems installed in Guangzhou. I shouldn’t go into too much detail considering it’s my Dad’s work to import these machines but they were really impressive.

After looking around the town we went out for a company lunch. Yum!! Being the home of Cantonese food, I was in heaven! I chatted with one of the guys from the company had lived in New Zealand for 6 months. We talked about the political situation in China, and how it affects his life. Even though most people at the restaurant and later in the car couldn’t understood what we were saying he still talked in a low whisper and was always checking who was listening. Through this chat it really made me realise despite the flash lights and commercialization of many aspects of Chinese life, it is still a very communist country.

Me and one of the employees at the business lunch

After lunch they took me to my hotel (which they had prearranged for me). To say the hotel was fancy would be an understatement. I thought I had just arrived at a temple for some sightseeing. It appears they wanted to impress me by booking me a 5 star hotel suite. That’s fine except I have to pay for it.

It looks like a temple but is actually my hotel.

They walked me up to the desk and I was asked to pay 1200RMB which is about $AUS200. WOW!!! Not wanting to cause too much trouble I paid for it on my credit card and asked to change the booking from two nights to only one. I was sure I could find a cheaper place by tomorrow night. I said farewell my hosts and went to check out the room.

Inside my hotel room

After checking out the room I headed off with a map in hand (But no camera, sorry guys!) to buy a train ticket to Wenzhou for Wednesday morning and have a look around the town. I had read that the Guangdong Province was a malaria zone so wanted to buy a light long sleeve top before the mosquitoes started biting. This was not an easy task as all the markets only sold short sleeve tops. After about 4 hours searching and exploring the town I found one. It turned out that in the city Malaria isn't an issue so it was a bit of a waste of time!

I also needed an ATM which accepted international cards. After having my card eaten in the China Post ATM for 15 minutes despite the signs saying they accepted international cards I headed for the tourist area of the town called Shamian Dao.

Shamian Dao is actually an island in the middle of the Pearl River. I finally found as HSBC ATM there and headed for 7eleven to buy a beer to celebrate. (You can beer at 7eleven here and it is really cheap!Imported Japanese beer is about 50cents a bottle). I sat down out the front of 7eleven with this Germany guy called Michael and had a drink. Michael’s girl friend was a flight attendant for Lufthansa and was off on a flight to Manila but would be back that night at 12pm. It was 6pm when we meet so we spent the next 6 hours talking, drinking and eating.

Michael pointed out to me the larger number of American tourist on the island with Chinese babies. He explained to me that the island had been set up for American tourist to come to China and adopt a child without having to leave the island. There was a medical centre where all required physical examinations were carried out, the US embassy and heap of baby clothing and toy stores. Even the local Internet café offered you a free stroller when you used the internet.

Finally after a few too many beers his girlfriend and the rest of the Lufthansa flight arrived. We then headed out to a new restaurant for more drinks and food. At 5am we called it a night and I took a cab back to the other side of town and my five star hotel (which I had to check out of at noon that day).

The next morning when I check out of the hotel it was explained to me that the $AUS200 was only a deposited and the room only cost me $AUS50 (thanks to some deal the company I visited had with the hotel). Yeah! I still catch the first cab to the Youth Hostel on Shamian Dao which was $AUS9 a night for a dorm room. Much more my style!

Lamma Island

On Sunday 13th May, I decided to spend my last day in Hong Kong (for a while) at Lamma island. Lamma island is a small island in Hong Kong with not a lot of people and NO CARS!!(Except for a few go-cart like vehicles for carrying goods.) Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island

I took the ferry to Sok Kwu Wan and hiked for an hour over to Yung Shue Wan. I had hoped to escape to this quiet little island and avoid the crowds of Hong Kong however this was not to be the case. The moment I got off the ferry I found myself surrounded by a mainland Chinese tour ground following a woman with a megaphone and a little red flag. Not exactly what I had in mind. However with a bit of power walking I managed to get away from the tour group and do the rest of my walk in peace.

Lamma Island is lovely with heaps of natural vegetation and little beaches, however it also has a “wonderful” view of the local power station. The Chinese really know how to impress.
The view of the local power station

Once I reached Yung Shaw Wan bay I sent a few hours relaxing on the beach and swim. For lunch I went to this little restaurant on the bay that Mike recommended and had their famous pigeon. It was really nice despite being served the typical Chinese way with head and all.

The latest edition to the Lamma island power supply is a single wind turbine which I spent the afternoon hiking to find. But due to poor signage I never got very close to it and this is the best shot I got.Sorry Treasure!!

Lamma Island Wind turbine!

That evening I took the ferry back to Hong Kong and had dinner with Jess, Mike and Charlie at a steakhouse in Wan Chai. Then back to the apartment to pack my bags for my trip to Guangzhou and Wenzhou.

Junking it

On Saturday 12th May I woke up to find that Mike had just arrived home from Frankfurt with a collection of Germany meats including bacon. Yum Bacon!!! Jess and I decide that a bacon and egg breakfast was in order. After eating a wonderful breakfast I headed off to the city for a quick walk around before we went out on the Junk that afternoon. A Junk is a traditional Chinese boat, similar to the ones below.

A typical Hong Kong Sailing Junk

A Junk like Jess and Mike's

Mike and I headed down to the Junk at around 2pm and waited for Jess, Charlie and a few of Jess and Mike’s friends to join use. Jess and Mike’s Junk is moored near Deep Water Bay, on the south side of Hong Kong island. We sent the day cruising around the island, through Repulse bay and into south bay. At south bay we jumped off and went for a bit of a swim. Mike took the kids and his mates out in the small dingy to explore the beach while Jess and I sat in inflatable lifesaving rings off the back of the Junk and had a few drinks until..... we found ourselves surrounded by huge jellyfish.

One of the evil Jellyfish
Apparently the jellyfish don’t hurt you but I was not so keen to test this theory. Marge tried to save us by fishing the jellyfish out with this crazy fishing hook. She managed to kind of catch one but we were not so keen on her bring it into the boat so it was released to live another day.

Marge fishing for Jellyfish

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting on the Junk drinking and reading. Ohh what a prefect Saturday in Hong Kong.

Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong

Just to settle some bets my luggage weighed 13.6 kg!

I am staying with my cousin Jess and her husband Mike (“the pilot”) and son Charlie (18 months) at their apartment on Bowen Road in Midlevels, Hong Kong Island. It is one of the older lower rise Hong Kong apartments with really high ceilings.

The View from the apartment of Hong Kong.

I spent Wednesday morning with Mike and Charlie at the beach at “deep water bay”. Charlie recently injured his finger in 'the escalator' so has not been able to swim until now. He was very excited to be at the beach again.

Deep Water Bay... need i say more.

Mike and Charlie on the beach

Charlie telling me about the trucks over there

That afternoon I went exploring Hong Kong. I ended up spending most of my time over at Soho and the escalator (near Jess and Mike’s old place).

Hong Kong escalator. The world longest at 800 metres. A perfect place for people watching.

While watching people ride the escalator I made friends with this Dutch guy, Ruben, who had been working in New Zealand for the past 4 months and was waiting for a flight home after KLM cancelled his flight the day before. We spent the afternoon together on a Hong Kong pub crawl and meet up with Jess for dinner in one of the small lane ways called "Rat Alley" in Lan Kwai Fong. Mike was flying to Frankfurt that night so Jess went home to say good bye and I hit the nightclubs of Wan Chai. Wasn’t a massive night but made a few new friends and was home in bed by 12.

Off to the Russian embassy this morning. Wish me luck!

Hong Kong

Really early start this morning. Could not sleep last night cos I was so excited. Thanks to my dad, mum, sister, Trish, Danish, Jen and Charlee who came to the airport at the immoral hour of 5.30 am

The flight was great. Made a few friends on the plane and arrived in Hong Kong at 3.15pm. Took the train to my cousin Jess's place in Hong Kong Island and had a few beers. Have felt at home within seconds of arriving here and seeing Jess, Mike and Charlie. Will post some photos tomorrow. Must go to bed now, soo sleepy.

Farewell Drinks

Farewell drinks last night at the Great Britain in Richmond. Really great to see everyone there and sorry I couldn't chat to everyone more! Thank you so much to everyone who came, I really appreciate it. Here is a taste of the trouble from last night. (The rest of the photos are on my facebook site, so check them out.) Two of CW's finest engineers

Franco trying to pick up my little sister again!!Sorry Frank it had to be said

Nick T. and Mr K.

Jess, Laura and Anthony all class!

Travel Plans in China

This is my current plan for my time in China, but I am sure this will change once I get there. Only two more days to go!