Flying visit to Sydney

ALEX: Following a great time in China, we jumped on a jet plane in Hong Kong and took the 9 hour flight to Sydney.

After arriving and dumping our stuff at the hostel it seemed only right that we should head straight out and take a stroll to the Sydney Opera House. Arriving there at night not only gave us a good opportunity to get a feel for both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, having not seen it before, but also meant that we could go back the next day and get to see it all in daylight for the first time - 2 treats in less than 24 hours can´t be too bad really!



























The big thing that struck us about Sydney on our first morning was how blue and clear the sky was (and also how incredibly friendly everyone is - now I´m no expert but I´m thinking there´s a correlation here...). Having seen a number of international skylines on our trip (oooo! look at him I hear you say to yourself...), it has been surprising that so many of them have been ruined by smog and a hazy sky. Sydney was far from dissapointing and although the attached pictures may not do it justice, the views were spectacular and also helped to reassure us that despite early fears the new camera we purchased in Cambodia was in fact not malfunctioning.
















Our first morning was spent at Taronga Zoo, a 15 minute ferry trip from the centre of Sydney. The zoo is set on a hillside with the entrance being at the top. It was amazing! Not only were there Kangaroos and other wild animals neither George nor I had seen before, but the zoo was organised in a way that enabled you to walk throught their enclosures, literally feet from them. All a bit hard to explain on a blog but if anyone reading this is going to Sydney for the first time, I would highly recommend going and especially seeing the bird and seal shows (can´t believe I´m 32 and raving about a zoo - "oh, you must watch the bird show, it was just fantastic....") which were very impressive.












We met our friend Dave who is living (not sure about his legal status so if you are reading this and also happen to work for Australian Immigration........) just north of Brisbane at the moment so popped down to see us for a few days. We had a great time mooching about and seeing the real Sydney with him and his Aussie mate ´Cakey´.










We had a great time and I was surprised to see that they really do have arm wrestling and spitting competitions in pubs which women all seem to win.



So all in all a short 5 day break Sydney was a great opportunity to re-charge the batteries in a stunning location and enjoy some extremely good weather - it was also made easier by the fact that everybody spoke and understood English. Well, except for one barmaid I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with:



Barmaid: "So how´s your day going so far?"


Alex: "Really good thanks, it´s my first day ever in Sydney"


Barmaid: "Wow, really?"


Alex : "Yes, in fact it´s also my first day ever in Australia"


Barmaid "Wow, really? So, have you been to Australia before?"


.....Conversation ends......

Knee-how China!

GEORGE: It is the end of our China leg already? Heavens!

What will I be taking away with me? Many happy memories, some new friends, two words of Maderin and appalling table manners! (I now tend to shovel food into my mouth which is only a few inches from my bowl with accompanying slurping noises!) Now you've pictured that, I'll tell you what we've been up to for the last 25 days....

After a month of being vegetarian (coz of India for all those who have forgotten) we landed in Beijing and went straight out for some duck pancakes! I couldn't even wait to smile for a photo!

ALEX: After India it was a huge relief to walk along the street (paved street I should add) without having to dodge cows, dead bodies, cows, every mode of transport you can think of, cows................

We met our group and the great China trip began. It was strange at first being in a group on an organised tour, especially having been used to making our own decisions for a while but at the same time it was nice not really having to make any decisions and going where we were told, when we were told. What became apparent very quickly was that having a Chinese speaking guide (Catherine) with us was a huge help and without her ("it´s my English name - when we were at school the teacher showed us a list of names and we chose one each") things would have not only taken a lot longer but to be honest probably just not happened.

The first part of the trip was spent in Beijing seeing all the tourist sites - Tianemen Square, Forbidden City etc.

GEORGE: And then we went to the Great Wall! It really was amazing. Just like you see in all the pictures. A dragons spine that winds it´s way over the hills into the distance. We walked along it for 7 miles and most of the way hardley passed anyone.

BUT the ´extra primo good sir´ bit.....one of the highlights of my LIFE......has to be the wall at sunrise. A group of us got up at 4:30AM and ventured off to one of the high points of the wall and waited! It slowly came to life and it was magic!

ALEX: Words don´t really do it justice so for once I´ll not say much on this one.

GEORGE: After Beijing we headed to Xi'an, which is a great city. It is smallerer and feels more cosmopolitan. Great city wall, temples, markets....nightclubs, that kinda thing. Then to the Terricota Warriors....which were OK. I´ll stop there as I don´t want to ruin it for people as I hear they are coming to London!

ALEX: The quick and exciting update on Xian is that other than seeing the Warriors, we also went to a very lively nightclub (bit gutted that I seemed to get more male attention than female but what with me looking rather buff at the moment, can´t really blame them...) where we all proceed to drink far too much and on the way home George thought it would be a good idea to climb onto a 9ft statue of a Lion and then fall off it onto her wrist.

GEORGE: It still hurts actually. Think I must have torn a ligament. Anyway, you´ll be pleased to know the whole ordeal has made me grow up some what! I am now a mature responsible drinker.

Another long train journey took us to Shanghai. We only had 1.5 days there so really just wandered along the Bund (by the river - our South Bank!) and took in the views at night. Everything lights up and flashes. I preferred it here to Beijing.

Then yet another overnight train journey to Guilin and on to Yangshou were we did a great cycle ride through the countryside, in amongst the camel hump hills - we came across a primary school where Alex proceeded to work the kids up into a frenzie before we said our goodbyes - and a fab cooking class - PS. I now appreciate that all Asians use bloody rice steamers!

ALEX: Max showing Geoge his chopper. You wouldn´t think that we´re technically old enough to be his parents would you!

GEORGE: Speak for yourself...for the record, I´m NOT old enough!

Now let´s talk about Longji! 'ello Longji'. This place is one of my highlights of ther trip!!! We trekked through the rice terreces of Longji. We had peace and quiet, butterflies to accompany us and spectacular 360 views.

ALEX: It was great to get out of the city for a few days and experience rural China - stunning views and some great relaxing strolls through the rice terraces.

GEORGE: In the evening we found oursleves having to give a performance to the locals. But never fear, I with the help of two others, wrote a song 'The 12 days of China' (apart from we had 15 days) which we were all able to take part in in rounds (if you know what I mean). It was very funny, mainly thanks to a crazy old Swedish guy in our group. See if you can stop him in the photo...

Rice wine and dancing was had by all!

ALEX: Final stop Hong Kong. Best bloody cityscape I´ve ever seen! Made even better by the fact that every night at 8pm they lay on a 20 min light show which basically involves most of the buildings on Hong Kong island playing Space Invaders with each other. And we squeezed in an art gallery for George...

GEORGE: Oh, and did I mention my hand is bigger than Jackie Chan´s?