Wednesday, 8th September, 2010
Most of yesterday was spent walking in the city and then in the afternoon Dave, Jim & I headed across on the ferry to Hong Kong Island to go and pick up our Visas. This time there was no queue outside and was actually able to go straight in and pay for our Visas which were considerably cheaper by doing it in Hong Kong rather than doing it from New Zealand. Did have a short wait to collect the visa but only because we had to wait for the lady to come to that counter.
Last ight we went down to the promenade to watch the "Symphony of Lights" - a lazer light show on the Hong Kong Island island side. It lasted for 20minutes and is put on every night.
¬CHINA
We were up early this morning and got a taxi at 7am to the China ferry terminal, bought our tickets, had breakfast at McDonalds, changed our last Hong Kong dollars into Chinese Yuan and caught the 9am ferry to Nan Sha - a pleasant ride and arrived at Nan Sha at 10.30am. Then the fun began. We slipped up on not checking as to how we were going to get from Nan Sha to Guangzhou. As no-one at the terminal could speak English we had a few problems communicating as to how we were going to get there. Found out there were no buses so had to take a taxi and were a bit horrified at having to pay 300 CYN (NZ62). However it took over an hour to get to Guangzhou so was money well spent.
You could have thought you were in LA with fabulous wide roads, four lanes most of the way and flyovers, ring roads etc., lovely trees and gardens and high rise apartment blocks everywhere. Our taxi driver took us into the ticketing area at the train station and we joined the queue for tickets to Guilin on the overnight train. We have a few hours to kill so have had lunch at KFC as it is next to the station and is a cool (meaning air conditioned) place to sit and type this up. With so much concrete around the temperature today seems hotter than it was in Hong Kong.
10th September, 2010
We finally left Guangzhou on the overnight sleeper train at 5.50pm - an uneventful trip and we did get some sleep, even if it was a little disturbed. The beds were three high and I was on the top bunk and Dave in the middle. Arrived in Guilin at 7.30am yesterday morning and a local lady who could speak a bit of English took us in a little mini bus into the city and to a hostel which is a Youth Hostel and we are in a room for four with ensuite, very clean, cheap and the staff speak good English and is virtually in the centre of the city.
After settling into our room, showering and getting some breakfast she came back to pick us up at 10am and take us to see some of the sights of Guilin - bad move but we now know not to do that Again As we were tired and really needed the day to relax and do our own thing. We went to the Reef flute Cave. Rock concert lights blaze at stalactites and is quite spectacular . During WW11 a part of the cave was used as an air raid shelter. From there we went to Solitary Beauty Peak but decided we were in no fit state to do the 152m climb to the top. At the foot of the peak is Wang Cheng, a 14th century palace which was built by a nephew of a Ming Emperor. The restored walls and gates surround the peak.
Our guide, Lu then took us to a nice Chinese restaurant for lunch before we went on a boat cruise up the Li River to view Elephant Trunk Hill which actually does resemble an elephant dipping its snout in the Li River. By then we were all exhausted and I had a migraine headache and all we wanted to do was go back to our accommodation and rest. Got back at 4pm and we all crashed. However later on Dave & Jim went out and Joy and I did not wake up until they got back at 11pm!
This morning we took it easy and did some planning and then at lunchtime found a nice place to eat and then walked along the river bank and then walked around two picturesque lakes which are virtually right in the middle of the city. Arrived back exhausted as the heat at the moment is a killer.
Dave is still in quite a bit of pain but manages to walk okay with a walking stick. Thought all was improving until after he got off the train when somehow he twisted both the leg and his ribs as it was quite a drop down off the train to the pavement.