Two Days and Nights on a Train.

Up around at 8 after looking at the countryside roll by. We went through many mountains by tunnels and saw endless villages built from brick and tiles. Some had thatched roofs. Every village had extensive vegetable plots. Some of the cities like Lanzhou( pop 6 million) went on forever. We actually spent 5 min off the train there. The countryside has changed dramatically higher mountains but much drier. We had lunch at the food carriage amongst many others, it was not bad.
Our companions were very friendly and with the help from a translator next door, Julie an Chinese teacher who teaches English, we spent time finding out about things. The little girl Ling Ling was very good and she picked up English very easily. She was in kinder and learnt English rhymes at kinder.

Sleeping was ok as the train just jugged along at a good pace. But the second night and day the oxygen tubes were in use across the whole train. Our neighbours gave us some herbal capsules which assisted us. 100’s of photos were taken. We had access to boiling water and used it for our noodle box dinner. Once we were over the border we awoke to scenery much the same but as came close to Lhasa the snow capped mountains were enormous and we saw many nomadic herdsmen and their tents on the plains. Yaks were roaming as were long haired sheep. We actually saw 3 wolves running across the plateau which is very sparsely populated with absolutely no trees. Rivers and creeks were running and Chinese army had a presence every so many kilometres with a single man tent and a guard who would salute the train as it went pass.

As we travelled further more and more Buddhist flags could be seen hanging from rocky outcrops and villages, even some yaks had them around their necks. We were very thankful as we arrived in Lhasa as we were looking forward to having a hot shower. The weather was sunny and hot as we pulled into Lhasa’s new, huge train station. We managed to get through the formalities then we had to find our guide. Dharci found us and Mr Driver welcomed us with Tibetan white scarves. We were then greeted with a traditional Tibetan greeting dance and music at the hotel. But no showers, Dharci said and also no meat tonight! He gave us each an oxygen canister to assist in the high altitude as well as the herbal capsules the hotel supplied. Dinner in the hotel was a little boring vegetables and watermelon. So here we are in Lhasa very excited about what we are to see.

Off to see the Chinese National Treasures.

Spent a leisurely morning not rushing around too much, Put our luggage in hold for the day before we went to the Panda Research Base. Through the smog we travelled about 40 minutes to a beautiful setting. Very commercial of course but proceeds go to Panda Research. Walked Around and saw 9 in various enclosures, playing, sleeping and washing. It was worth the effort to get there. We had lunch then taxied back to town to get our last supplies. We went to Chunxi Rd. It was much like the Bourke St Mall. Back to hotel, quick shower and picked up at 6 for the train to Tibet! Julie our guide was really good getting us to the train station and into the Soft Sleeper waiting room, then getting us onto the train and set up. We shared a room with 2 ladies from Chengdu. We slept a little as the train rocked along. Don’t really like the swat toilets!!

Trekking around Chengdu

Up early and aware of the smog but the temp due to get to 32o with the help of a tourist map in Chinese/English we hailed another taxi to take us to the Qingyanggong Temple where we saw some magnificent gardens, Taoist temples and beautiful tea gardens. The setting was absolutely brilliant, very traditional Chinese. We spent a few hours roaming about before we went to Thatched Cottage of Du Fu. A replica cottage and gardens as he established in 759 were fascinating to wander through. In 2002 the origin site was excavated and many artefacts were on show including the original site. Du Fu was a famous Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty time. His poems are revered by the Chinese. It was very interesting that both these places were in the heart of Chengdu yet once inside the gardens and walled boundaries the traffic noise could not be heard. Around 5 million live here.
By accident we ended up at Jinli Street, an ancient streetscape preserved as an upmarket China town with beautiful shops, silk making displays, paper cutting and very interesting food stalls. We spent ages walking and looking. So back to the hotel for a rest then off to Jini Street again. It looked fabulous at night with all the lights and noise. Had Chinese of course and spent the warm evening being tourists.

ps check out our photos in the link on the side of the page

We had plenty of time until.....

Up early and packed our little bags ready to leave at 9.15. Relaxing, spending the last moments with Sarah when Andrew decided he wanted some more cash. So at 8.00 he went downtown, he knew the way. By 9.00 we decided that Sarah had better go looking! Yes, he was lost 5 blocks up and up an extremely steep grade. Somehow she found him, so shower, cool drink then a taxi to the station. We will miss Sarah but not the humidity!!


We were able to locate our station but oh my, I will not miss the steep escalators of Hong Kong! We were at Kowloon ½ hr before our bus departed so Starbucks for coffee. The bus trip to Shenzen was fine plenty to look at. The immigration checkpoint into China went smoothly so back onto a bus to Shenzen airport. Checked in had lunch at KFC then waited. Flight to Chengdu was really good. We noticed the smog, thick and heavy but nevertheless an interesting city. Taxi to hotel, unpacked, showered and had dinner at the restaurant. We went for a walk around our precinct. Quite tired, but very happy to be in Chengdu. Tried to blog and upload photos we knew there was a problem!

The Great Firewall of China

Hey Hey all you followers out there!
It's Libby here, sorry to say that my parents are experiencing some technical difficulties in mainland China. What is known as 'The Great Firewall of China' does not allow them to access this blog or their photo sharing site, but don't get too upset because they will be emailing me where possible and I'll upload their blogs from the lovely destination of Ballarat! They are just about to hop on a train and are very excited to travel to Tibet.. lucky them! However as they'll be living it up on the train will have no internet so we won't hear from them for a few days, in the mean time i will try to get their photos up for you to see!
Over and Out
Libby
PS mum and dad say hi :-)

Off to School and on the Train at 7am then ferry to Macau

Up early to go to the American International School with Sarah. The faces of the kids were familiar after skyping, we settled into writing and assisted when needed. They were very happy to have visitors. We watched them go swimming in the school's swimming pool then Sarah took us for a tour around. We gave the children our gifts then set off to the Kowloon Tong station to go back to Central. Took a taxi to the ferry terminal and set of to Macau. We finally boarded the jet ferry after Andrew went through customs, ready to board when he realized that he had left his ticket at the departure station where he had been filling in his form. So up stairs, running back through customs and then down again, we were last on board but we made it. The journey was a bit rough but we survived, glad for an hour to rest in the air-conditioning.
Macau is famous for its fishing fleets and its casinos. The casinos are elaborate and huge, they dominate the landscape. We walked to the centre of the city from the terminal then checked the maps. We decided to investigate the old Portuguese precincts. These were very European and Catholic, some very interesting buildings.
From there we walked to the Maritime Museum which told of Macau's fishing history. Nearby was a very ancient temple. The A-Ma temple was built in 550AD  http://lostdetails.typepad.com/photos/macau/index.html 
this shows some interesting photos. This was the only Chinese style building we saw after hours of walking and looking around. We bought some Portuguese Egg Tarts to take back for Sarah they were delicious! Then we took a taxi back to the ferry. This time we were awake and had a window seat, the views were worth it.
After a little rest we went to the Waygu Bar and met many of Sarah's Hong Kong family. We had a great night, lots of fun.

Where are my Feet?

We celebrated my birthday night  in a Greek restaurant with Fiona a teacher from the Australian International School who befriended Sarah from Day 1 here. Yummy food  and then we had Irish coffee and cake at another venue, very nice! The night finished rather sedately as my feet turned into something quit foreign. They did not belong to me!! The humidity is unbelievable, all the expats are complaining. So next day, after a very leisurely morning dropping our washing off to the little laundry down the road we decided to investigate Sarah's local area. A chemist, doctor, dentist and supermarket within 1 minute walk so we didn't have to go far!
After trying to solve some more dilemmas with uploading photos Andrew and I walked down town to the bus terminal and caught a bus to the Peak, we did the tourist thing and sat upstairs , right in  the front and took in all the views. Andrew noticed a changed landscape from when he was up there 13 years ago. We lunched at Bubba's, an American restaurant dedicated to Forest Gump. I could have had my photo taken with the box of chocolates but chose not to instead we looked at the costumes and the memorabilia from the set. Of course prawns and chips were on the menu from Lieutenant Dan's  prawning vessel. Anyhow the views were good not to hazy.
Thursday night we met Sarah's foster parents here Greg and Anne, her principal and his wife. We met at the Mon Kok market and had a delicious meal of spicy crabs, chicken and fish. Greg and Anne were lovely, Sarah will miss them as they are going to Vietnam next semester. A very hot night so beers went down well, we walked the extensive night markets and bought a few things before heading back.

A Public Holiday Just for Me!!

We were off early with Sarah and her friend John to Stanley to see the Dragon Boat Races. We traveled by bus for 45 minutes over, around and under mountains to get there. We saw some quite stunning areas of Hong Kong. Wall to wall people on the beaches and streets, lots of colour, drums and noise! We had lunch on the foreshore at a restaurant watching the world go by, including an Aussie we didn't really want to see. Anyhow the markets were air conditioned as we walked through to go back to the bus. Up the many escalators and home to rest before we hit the nightlife later.

Bangkok to Hong Kong

Blog, Blog trying to anyway, thanks Lib with the help! A leisurely spent morning in Bangkok having a late breakfast and walking around the local area. Off to the airport and a leisurely wait there before an uneventful flight to Hong Kong. What a sight at night on a clear night, it was brilliant!. After leaving the plane we boarded a train to immigration and baggage pick up, it is a huge airport! Then a teary reunion with Sarah, it was so good to see her.
Back to her apartment for gift giving and off loading the kilos of supplies we had taken over. A wonderful night walking the streets and eating out.

A Day in Bangkok

We had a driver for the day to   take us to many of the famous places. We started at the Grand Palace on Rattanakosin Island which was very opulent and fascinating. The detail in the gold leaf and porcelain was quite unbelievable. 11/2 hrs later we left to take a river trip along the canals which surrounds the palace and other significant places. This was refreshing as it was 37o, we saw many contrasting houses, we finished with a lovely coconut milk drink. Next stop was at the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) and Wat Pho (reclining Buddha). We had good tour guides and had to avoid the sprukers. We arrived back exhausted looking forward to the air-con. Had a Thai dinner then a night walk amongst the outside  food vendors. Highlights of the day were seeing the Jade Buddha, the Reclining Buddha and the fresh watermelon and pineapple for lunch!

The Packing Is Nearly Finished!

We are trying to complete our packing but somehow we need to fit in all of Sarah's requests. I have to work out how to upload the photos tonight.Bangkok here we come.

Our Itinerary

Sunday 13th June:leave Melbourne arrive Bangkok
Monday14th :Bangkok
Tuesday 15th :leave Bangkok arrive Hong Kong
Wednesday 16th-Sunday 20th : Hong Kong arrive Chengdu (mainland China)
Tuesday 22nd -depart Chengdu
Thursday 24th - arrive Lhasa (Tibet)
Sunday27th - depart Lhasa
Monday 28th - arrive Xining
Tuesday29th -arrrive Xi'an
Thursday 1st July: depart Xi'an arrive Beijing
Tuesday 6th: depart Beijing arrive Hong Kong
Thursday 8th: depart Hong Kong
Friday 9th : arrive Melbourne

The Countdown has started- 4 days to go!

I am starting to allow myself to get excited. My to do list is shrinking 6 things to go. Andrew's is much longer but he has 2 extra days to do it in.