Grasslands and Ground Hogs: Gansu Summer 2023

After my couple of days in the monastery, I drove from Langmusi to Xiahe and Labrang Monastery. (Number 3 on the map above.)

The journey was about 4 hours and just as unpleasant as the journey to Langmusi. On the way, my driver showed me the progress on the upcoming high speed rail that should be ready in a few years. 

I was also lucky enough to have a moment of heroism! we were directly behind a taxi of monks who plowed into the bank of the truck in front of them. The whole front of their car crumpled and the monks in the back (were not wearing seatbelts) and were all sporting lovely broken noses. My driver, a few others and I managed to pull open the drivers door to get him out of the car. It was incredibly impressive and as it was on a single lane road, caused absolute chaos. We really were very lucky to be the first ones behind them as I can only imagine the traffic jam that was caused. 

My first night in Xiahe was actually in the grasslands just outside of town. Once again, the self drive craze was in full force and so all roads were very busy. 

I found a lovely cabin on a hill on which I decided to splurge for a night of peace and quiet. It turned out

to be a very good idea and was truly blissful. I was incredibly isolated and reveled in the silence. My cabin was the furthest from the main entrance and so had a completely unobstructed view of the grasslands below. I had a fantastic balcony. 

My beautiful silent isolated night was just what the doctor ordered after my hallowing few days in Langmusi and the horrendous journey to my bliss. Sadly, I only had one night in this slice of heaven but that was enough. 

The problem of the self driving crazy reappeared the next morning as I was trying to leave the cabin and head into town. As everyone now drives here, there are very few taxis and drivers and lots more traffic, so finding a car was tricky. In the end, the manager of the hotel gave me a lift in his beautiful and not too uncomfortable sidecar through the grasslands to the main road. The thinking being that I could catch a passing bus or taxi into town from there. The slight hiccup being I had to wade across a "narrow stream" which was more of a small river by the time I got there before taking on a very wobbly bridge to the main road. Once on the road I just had to hope someone came alone soon ish. 

Soon ish turned out to be an about half an hour but did eventually happen. A taxi stopped and dropped me near my hotel half an hour later. I walked into the town from the main road and quickly discovered that at lunch time just everything was packed with cars as all the hotels kicked out the tourists. 

Langmusi: Gansu Summer 2023

After my quick trip out of the country I decided to tick a few more places off the remaining China bucket list. 

Gansu has long been on my radar but from Kunming it was always just too far. From Qingdao though, it is  much more manageable journey. I flew to Lanzhou, number one on the picture above, and then found transport for the 8 hour drive to Langmusi, number 2. The road was small, bumpy, slow, unpleasant and very very long. But once we got into the mountains it was actually quite pretty. 

The town itself is more of a tourist road on the way to the monastery. There were a few restaurants, shops a supermarket and plenty of souverir spots. As a result of COVID lockdowns, self driving tours and holidays have had a bit of a surge in popularity and so has this part of the country. The upshot being, it was a very busy and bustling place to be and a usual I caused quite a distraction. A foreigner speaking Chinese in the middle of nowhere does seem to stand out. For the most part, it was fine, but I got a fair amount of angry people personally offended by my presence in their holiday destination. Business as usual. 

The first day I was feeling a little under the weather, combination of being exhausted and a drastic change in altitude, so I took it easy. It was fine, the weather was not great so a slow wander about town was fine. 

The second morning the weather was much better so  I went up to the monastery. The entry and ticket gates were packed with people but once inside it was OK. Bottle necked in places but nothing I couldn't handle. The majority of the monastery is open to the public with only a few section off limits. The monks were happy to explain anything and were generally quite chatty and friendly. To be honest they asked me more questions that I asked them but as I was in no rush, I didn't mind answering them. 

The most impressive part in my opinion was one of the "look out" spots up on a small hill. On the one side you could look over the monastery itself with some stunning and dramatic mountain scenery behind you. Just stunning! 

Escape from China post COVID: Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the River Kwai) Summer 2023

As the title says, Kanchanaburi is where the Bridge over the River Kwai is located. It's about a three hour drive from Bangkok and with information about trains being really hard to come by, we opted to just get a grab taxi to the next hotel. It worked wonderfully and the driver was lovely. 

We could find nothing online about the town as it seems everyone goes just for a day trip from Bangkok and doesn't stay. 

Dan found us a lovely hotel by the river. I somehow got a room with direct access to the pool so I was able to walk straight from my room into a small wet room and then into the pool. It was bliss. 

Our first night, we went to see what there is in the town. Very quickly we discovered, basically nothing. Its tiny. A small street of about 20 bars/restaurants and shops and that's about it. 

We had a fantastic meal in an Aussie bar and then a few beers before getting an early night. What we hadn't realized was that as soon as the sun went down, this sleep little town took on a bit of a seedy feel. Suddenly every bar was full of old western guys with young girls on their knee. It was such a shock as it was so different and family friendly in the day. 

Oh well, live and learn. This is a side to Thailand that is completely accepted and expected but always makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Especially when I see some of the age differences involved. One of the nights Dan wasn't feeling well so he and JiaXin had a night in, I went off to do some laundry and was approached by someone asking me "what do you want; men, women, boys, girls? Give me an hour and I can find it" It was quite an eye opening conversation. She then went on to offer me all sorts of drugs. All of this at about 7pm in a launderette. 

Anyway, that aside, we went down to the bridge area and went around the museums. There wasn't actually much in the way of information, it was more a collection of things from the time and that had been used by the prisoners. 

There were however some seriously sobering facts, for example, over 100,000 people including 13,000 POWs died in the construction of the railway. This is why it got the name "Death Railway." Roughly, someone died for every 5 meters of the railway that was completed. 

It's a fascinating place and many people go out of their way to make sure tourists know that the film from 1957 is nearly a complete fiction that is very loosely based on real events. 

The bridge itself is beautiful and the trains were a lot of fun (I like trains) but sadly we were not able to go on the track itself. There were very few running and we couldn't get tickets. 

Escape from China post COVID: Thailand: Summer 2023

The main goal of this part of the trip was to see Dan. It's been years and as we both live in the same part of the world it's just nuts that we haven't seen each other in so long. 

Our plan is a speedy Northern Thailand highlights tour. We met in Bangkok and with our planes both being a little delayed, landed much later than planned. 

Dan in his infinite wisdom booked a hotel in Chinatown. This cheesed me off a tad given that I have just spent three years locked inside on China but what can you do. I was in charge of the itinerary and he the hotels. In his defense, it was a beautiful hotel but so busy. Chinatown in general is a heaving place and our hotel had a snazzy jazz bar downstairs that seemed to be full all of the time. The hotel was very beautiful and 'instagram friendly' a term that I hate, but in this case it fits. Everything was covered in lanterns, there was a waterfall across one wall, a small bridge over a Koi pond to get into the hotel and everything looked to me to be an antique (or a copy of one I guess) so there were constantly people taking pictures or trying to look like they were staying there. We felt very smug every time we were waved across the bridge into the hotel itself. 

I've been to Bangkok before so I was on tour guide duty. Luckily Dan and JiaXin proved easy going and quite happy to go off on their own if needed. 

We had a lovely mean with one of JiaXin's friends in a lovely restaurant that over looked the river and the biggest temple in the city. It was really quite pretty and the food was excellent. Dan and I had spent the afternoon in the giant market and so had to get a tuktuk across town for dinner. What we hadn't realized was just how far away everything was and we ended up getting bounced about for nearly an hour. 

We spent a very short time in Bangkok, basically enough time for them to get a feel for the place and then we headed out to Kanchanaburi, which is about 3 hours drive from Bangkok and the setting of "The Bridge over the River Kwai" of which I know very little (other than the film of course). 

Escape from China, Post COVID: Ho Chi Minh Summer 2023

From Hoian I jumped a plane to Ho Chi Minh. My all time favourite city! I can't really explain my fascination with this city, most people agree it's nice but don't have the unashamed and unabashed love affair with the city. I just love it!!!!

Anyway, after 3 years, once again I was a little nervous to see what had changed and was thrilled to see almost nothing has changed at all. It is almost exactly the same. Same chaos, same people, same food, same traffic, same shopping just completely same city. I was thrilled. 

I wandered about he old opera house and post office area, which is generally considered the 'center' of the downtown tourist area. Behind the post office, I found Book street which turned out to be a  very quaint and chilled street of tiny shops and cafes. everyone was sat reading a book and enjoying the chilled atmosphere so I joined them and watched the world go by for a while. 

I spent a few glorious days wandering about all my favourite old neighborhoods and eating as much of my favourite foods as I could. 

In my final exciting news update, I found the new street food market. Last time I was here, Mam and Dad loved it and made fools of themselves dancing about while trying to eat. My first day in HCM I went to eat there are discovered that the original location had closed. Luckily the I found it on google maps in a slightly different area but not exactly far away. Now it is opposite the freedom palace. 

I did however discover that the bar street has died a death. What used to be 2 or three neighboring smaller bars or restaurants have become these larger super club type conglomerates complete with fake leather sofas, people dancing outside on tables in their underwear and lasers into the streets. It was awful and very much not what it used to be. 

It reminded me of an old school KaoSan Rd in Bangkok but before they cleaned it up. Never mind, I am a bit too old for bar streets on my own nowadays anyway. 

My next stop in this summer adventure is to meet Dan and his girlfriend in Thailand for ten days. I haven't seen him in nearly 5 years and I had never met his girlfriend. I was a little nervous but had been assured that it would all be fine. 

Escape from China, post COVID: Hoian: Summer 2023

As the title suggests, I finally made it out of China. After three years of tests, lockdowns and so many breakdowns and temper tantrums. this moment has been long awaited. Very long awaited! 

I knew I was going to have a bit of a meltdown at some point in the leaving China journey, the only questions was at what point. 

I booked a trip to Hoian Vietnam, which has long been one of my favourite places. 

Went to the airport, first time using the 'international' side of the terminal and got in line for immigration. I handed the man my passport and after a very long time of him looking at both it and I, he stamped it. I let out a little squeak of both relief and excitement and went through the gate. I know it was going to happen, I got completely overwhelmed at the huge weight lifted off me that I nearly cried in the airport. It was terrifying and so satisfying. 

So anyway, a few hours later, I land in Danang and jump in a taxi to the hotel. The same place I stayed just before getting stuck in China for extra catharsis. I know the hotel and the area so I know I love it. 

I got to my hotel and crashed for the night after a very long journey and all the emotions. 

I got up nice and early and wandered into town to see what had changed post COVID. It had been over three years after all. I found the town mostly unchanged, not unsurprisingly for an ancient town. However I did notice a bit of a change in the types of shops and restaurants. Where there used to be millions of Vietnamese restaurants of various poshness levels, many had been replaced with western or other Asian places. Makes sense, for a long time only tourists were domestic and that's what they would have wanted in the intervening years. Took me a while to figure it out though. 

Otherwise, I am very happy to report that little has changed and Hoian is still the beautiful place it has always been. I spent four days wandering about, sitting in the pool or finding small quiet little bars to just watch the world go by. Very happy, Very chilled, Very relaxed. Almost completely cured from recent events. 

Xiamen: Tulou Earth Buildings: Spring Festival 2023

The buildings are in three main areas, each about 20 minutes from the other. By far the most famous is the 'four dish one soup' buildings and so we finished up the day there. 

From Xiamen, the Tulou Earth Buildings are about a 2 hour drive and so a nice easy day trip. I found and hired a driver for the day as the bus and train schedule looked complicated and truly not fun. He picked me up from my hotel and off we went. 

The first area was actually the most authentic of the three as fewer people seemed to visit it. From buying a ticket, I was pointed down a path next to a river, which proved to very very quiet and picturesque and eventually brought me out by a small town like street. In the river itself, was the town butcher who was just happily standing in water to wash away the blood of whatever animal he was cutting up at the time. I think a pig. All in all, I think the whole area was about a 3km walk along either side of the river and through the woods and a market. After sitting in the car for a few hours, it was a welcome break. 

The buildings themselves were smaller and looked a little less picture perfect and manicured as some of the others so it was a nice authentic feeling place. The families who lived in the buildings were very friendly and particularly curious of me, the random lone foreigner wandering about. From here, my driver took me to a second area which housed the largest buildings of the day. 

The second area, "BaGua House" is over 100 years old and just huge. Within each of the buildings are multiple families. Imagine a slice of cake as one family's home, often extending up 4 or 5 floors, and that's close to the layout of the building. There have been be up to 22 families in the past in just one building. All the houses face onto the central courtyard in which everyone cooks, cleans, socializes and so on. It's a proper self contained colony. Entrance to this building was included in the ticket price for the first location but access was limited to the ground floor. Very quickly some enterprising child approached me and said that for the huge sum of 10y, they would let me go upstairs and get a better look at the place from higher up. This turned out to be a fantastic decision as I took my favourite pictures from up on the top floor. 

This building is often called "the wonky building" as the higher floors do all seem to be at strange angles. I was told many stories but none really rang true. My favourite was that whoever was funding the build stopped paying for the builder's lunch time alcohol and so they deliberately built it a bit wonky. Doubt it's true, but I liked the image. 

This building's other claim to fame was its recent appliance in the Mulan movie (which I did not see) and so prompted a small Mulan trade craze in the small shops. 

The final area is the most photo famous area as it can been seen from the top of a small cliff behind the town. First you walk though the middle area and past a few shops then head up a very long flight of stairs to a viewing platform. The town itself was less impressive but the view from the top was very much so. The platform itself was busy and full of people fighting to get the perfect picture so I didn't stay long. Then I got picked up and we made our way back to Xiamen for my last few nights. 

Xiamen: GuLangYu Island: spring Festival 2023

GuLangYu Island is a small Island of the coast of Xiamen. It's completely packed with beautiful old colonial buildings and interesting small alleyways. As a result, it is always busy with tourists during the day but the last ferry back to the mainland leaves at 6pm, so after then, it's all people staying on the island like I was. 

Unfortunately the hotel I had booked looked nothing like the pictures and so I had a bit of a miserable time. My room was off the main road, up 2 flights of stairs, past a filthy pool and a broken down garden, into another building, along a corridor, down two flights or stairs, through a restaurant kitchen and then down a final corridor. From the front desk it was a pretty hefty walk so when the door card stopped working, every time and I had to go back to the front desk it was a pain. One time it took three goes before I got angry and made her send someone with me. Just unlucky and some bad advertising. I suspect photoshop had been heavily employed in the pictures. 

Anyway, it was fantastic getting the island with far fewer people  in the evenings. By far my favourite time of the trip. Everyone left and the shops and restaurants stayed open for us. Nothing late but still nice, chilled, quiet and the staff in these places were more relaxed and welcoming.  

The only thing really to do is to wander about the island and get lost in the streets. You can't really go that far wrong, it is a small island after all. There is a small coastal path that circles the island with most of the hotels and restaurants being towards the middle. 

On one of the days I went to the small aquarium by the ferry port. It was small and very poorly funded which lead to some hilarious exhibits. My absolute favourite was the piranha tank, in which there were 5 dead, stuffed fish hanging on fishing wire. Given how rubbish it is, it's hideously overpriced and the animals did not all look particularly well looked after. A Japanese Giant Salamander in a tank the same size as him was a bit of a tough one to see. 

After wandering my fill and trying all of the local foods, I checked out of the most disappointing hotel and got the ferry back to the mainland. Big trip tomorrow to the TuLou Earth Buildings. Another one of my bucket list items. 

Xiamen and some time in the sun: Spring Festival 2023

After Yangshuo I took 2 short 4 hour high speed trains to Kunming for a few days to visit the old Kunming family and then
took a short break in the break to XiShunag Banna. Again, I have been there before but never on the train. I know that I hate the city but LOVE the food. Dai minority food is just the best in China and I actively crave it. It's all sour and spicy mixed with just the nicest meat and BBQ. Anyway, now I am hungry again so time for some food pictures. 

After a few days in Banna, I jumped on a flight to Xiamen, the goal of this trip was to explore another potential move to destination. 

Xiamen is another seaside city that has a reputation for being a very easy and comfortable place to live so time to investigate. 

I booked into a beautiful old building homestay thing in one of the commercial districts, everything was antique and unique so it looked beautiful but wow the noise. Even the cat wandering about in the lobby could be heard in all the rooms. 

On my first day, I wandered off in a vague direction of one of those factory art district areas. A lot of old factory areas in China are being repurposed as art and restaurant areas. They're usually small but well located and have all sorts of boutique shops, cafes and market stalls. This one was small but right on a small harbour so I found a coffee shop overlooking the water and sat with my book perfectly content. 

After the art district I found the most amazing over sea walkways under the highway. I had a wonderful time sitting and watching the world go by. People watching

really is the best way to get to know the feel of a place. Xiamen so far, pretty chilled but packed with tourists! Just packed! 

After the bridge walk I found one of the many beaches and sat the watch the

sunset. 

All in all, my first day in Xiamen was a very chilled exploration of a very pretty city. 

After a few days wandering about the city, I got a ferry to a small nearby island GuLangYu Island, which is a small tourist island with no cars and a lot of history. 

I had tried to be organised and get a get a ticket online but naturally that didn't work. I spent a few hours lost and confused in a ferry terminal but it all worked out in the end! 

Next stop, GuLangYu Island!