Time for a cold beer....
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Discovering Yangshuo
We are on our 3rd night Yangshuo, actually we just arrived at a small remote country guesthouse outside of Yangshuo. When you think of China you are thinking of Yangshuo, the vistas are breathtaking. The little guesthouse we are spending the next two nights at is very basic, but the location is awesome, we are hidden in a valley at the base of limestone cliffs in the jungle. And they have wifi!!!!!
Time for a cold beer....
Sent from my iPhone
Time for a cold beer....
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
22 hours on a train to Yangshuo
Greetings friends and family,
2 days ago we left the skyscrapers of Shanghai, and joined a sleeper train to Guilin in the Guangxi Province. The journey took 22 hours and was followed by a public bus ride for an hour and a half to the town of Yangshuo.
First the train, what is it like? Well, it is very basic, the train card has rows of bunks, 3 stacked one on top of the other, 2 rows face each other, so in essence you have groups of 6 bunks. The is one corridor along the left side of the train just wide enough for 1 person to stand or sit, and this is where you pass the time, making pot noodles, talking, looking out the window etc. How do you make dinner? Well there is boiling hot water at the end of each car, so either you make noodles, or you bring something ready made to eat on the train. There is no privacy, which is good and bad. The good is you get to hang out with fellow travelers/ locals and talk, play cards etc. The bad is "there is no privacy". Also if you are unfortunate to be near the end of a car then you have to deal with the odor or the toilets and people standing in the door smoking all day/ night. All in all a pretty rough experience, but you don't really have much choice if you want to get into rural china.
We are hear now and it is an amazing setting, we are sitting on the Li River, surrounded by soaring limestone peaks wherever you look. After a very late night out on the town yesterday, we spent today walking the town, and taking in the vistas. Tomorrow morning we plan to get up early and learn some Tai Chi, and then in the afternoon we make our way into the rice lands of China and what is supposed to be some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
PS. I will write a post on Shanghai when I get a chance to upload photos and video...
Ryan
2 days ago we left the skyscrapers of Shanghai, and joined a sleeper train to Guilin in the Guangxi Province. The journey took 22 hours and was followed by a public bus ride for an hour and a half to the town of Yangshuo.
First the train, what is it like? Well, it is very basic, the train card has rows of bunks, 3 stacked one on top of the other, 2 rows face each other, so in essence you have groups of 6 bunks. The is one corridor along the left side of the train just wide enough for 1 person to stand or sit, and this is where you pass the time, making pot noodles, talking, looking out the window etc. How do you make dinner? Well there is boiling hot water at the end of each car, so either you make noodles, or you bring something ready made to eat on the train. There is no privacy, which is good and bad. The good is you get to hang out with fellow travelers/ locals and talk, play cards etc. The bad is "there is no privacy". Also if you are unfortunate to be near the end of a car then you have to deal with the odor or the toilets and people standing in the door smoking all day/ night. All in all a pretty rough experience, but you don't really have much choice if you want to get into rural china.
We are hear now and it is an amazing setting, we are sitting on the Li River, surrounded by soaring limestone peaks wherever you look. After a very late night out on the town yesterday, we spent today walking the town, and taking in the vistas. Tomorrow morning we plan to get up early and learn some Tai Chi, and then in the afternoon we make our way into the rice lands of China and what is supposed to be some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
PS. I will write a post on Shanghai when I get a chance to upload photos and video...
Ryan
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Photo stream updated with photos from beijing
Click here to see many more pics from our visit to Beijing. This pic is from the Beijing Night Market, Scorpion anyone?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/
Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City Photos
Hey all, I have posted photos of our visit to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing. Click here to see them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/sets/72157608318274006/
Olympic Green Beijing, Photos
Birds Nest Stadium
Originally uploaded by fromthevillage
Hey all, I have posted photos of our visit to the Olympic Green in Beijing, click here to see them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/sets/72157608318222650/
Friday, October 24, 2008
Pizza Please
We are loving China. The people are very nice. We were at an Internet cafe and we were having trouble downloading pictures. A man came to help us and when we thanked him he said we did not need to thank him he was just doing his job. You can see they actually take great pride in the country and they are happy to share it with tourists. If you have the name of a site written in Mandarin the locals are happy to point you in the right direction. I know before I got to China I was worried about the cleanliness with so many people, but it is a million times cleaner than Egypt even though it has millions more people. It is so commercial here with all the shopping that you almost forget that you are in a communist country, and then you try to go to a website and find it is blocked and you have to register your passport before you use the Internet. (Big brother is watching.)
Enough of that now and back to the things we have done...
We saw the Terracotta Warriors just outside of Xi'an, which was amazing. We also went on an early morning 14K bike ride on top of the old city wall of Xi'an. As we were riding along the wall we saw people doing their morning exercises, in big groups to synchronized drum beats or flute melodies. (We are trying our best to get in shape for our hike in New Zealand. Thankfully it was a piece of cake compared to the great Wall hike.) Then we took another night train to Shanghai. We are there now and it is raining but the modern architecture in the city puts every other city I have seen so far to shame.
Well that's it for now. I am hungry!! I hope I can find the Pappa Johns I saw advertised. After 6 straight days of Chinese food I am dying for an American pizza.
Danielle
Enough of that now and back to the things we have done...
We saw the Terracotta Warriors just outside of Xi'an, which was amazing. We also went on an early morning 14K bike ride on top of the old city wall of Xi'an. As we were riding along the wall we saw people doing their morning exercises, in big groups to synchronized drum beats or flute melodies. (We are trying our best to get in shape for our hike in New Zealand. Thankfully it was a piece of cake compared to the great Wall hike.) Then we took another night train to Shanghai. We are there now and it is raining but the modern architecture in the city puts every other city I have seen so far to shame.
Well that's it for now. I am hungry!! I hope I can find the Pappa Johns I saw advertised. After 6 straight days of Chinese food I am dying for an American pizza.
Danielle
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
More China Video....
A visit to the summer palace outside Bejing:
A Visit to the Summer Palace, Beijing, China ... continued:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... continued:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... more:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... the last clip:
A Visit to the Summer Palace, Beijing, China ... continued:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... continued:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... more:
Our hike along the most beautiful section of the Great Wall, China ... the last clip:
Bejing (Disney World with out the rides)
Hi All,
So it figures that the worlds most populated country will be a little crowded, but after three days of sight seeing it does get to you. The first day we went to see the Olympic venues. The architecture was truly amazing and we loved every min. The Next day we went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. The really frustrating thing is you pay for a through ticket, because you are told this will allow you entry to the building, but then find out that it lets you inside the court yard that surrounds the building and you have the privilege to look inside a door way. The last day in Beijing, we went to the Summer Palace, which in my opinion the best thing in Beijing. While everywhere is crowded, our best example was when we were finished at the summer palace on the third day and we had to walk through a long narrow path along the lake to get to our exit, my only thought was oh my god this is like Disney World with out the rides. We were packed in tight with people pushing just to get through. You think New York is crazy crowded, well you have not seen anything yet.
The other funny thing is everyone stares at us. Poor Ryan was sitting waiting for me to come out of the toilet and a man asked to take a picture with him because he was so tall. The next thing he knew he had like a group of 30 people wanting there picture with him. We all know how Ryan is about new people and attention to himself, so this made him very uncomfortable but he was a good sport, however as soon as he could escape towards me he did. Me on the other hand, I kept trying to move out of the way of some guys photos, only to realize that they just then kept repositioning to have me and another western girl in their photo, we hope this was because we were just different as westerners, but who knows what bodies our heads are going to be attached to on the web.
Yesterday we did the great wall which Ryan will talk about in his thoughts below.
Some observations from Ryan:
1. China is on a mission to modernise at any cost, cranes everywhere... and buildings going up left right and center. But they have a plan and are managing to it, you see this from the news stories on their development goals.
2. The pollution from the above growth is out of control, our throats hurt.
3. It appears that is acceptable for children to go anywhere in public (storm drains etc.), and nappies/ diapers are not used and kids pants have built in holes.
4. The squat toilet is king.... and not in a good way.
5. Beijing is incredibly clean for a city of 14 million.
6. A city of 400,000 is not considered a city, but a town.
7. Everything is done on a massive scale... never seen a train station so large.
8. The Internet is controlled, you need to register who you are, passport # etc.. to use.
9. The have really wicked cool architecture, old and new.
10. The people are very friendly, but there is very little English.
11. The food is either really good or really bad.
12. Your hands get tiered from eating with chopsticks.
13. Finding the right ATM is a mission in itself.
14. The Great Wall:
So we traveled by bus 4 hours to the most beautiful section of the great wall. It is remote so there was only ourselves and a few other folks on the wall. The walk was long, 30 towers in total, about 8km in length, but at very steep inclines and declines. It was tough going, but an incredible experience, and definitely a highlight of the trip, the views were amazing, the scale of the wall hard to describe. Part of the challenge was in the remote sections of the wall, huge blocks are coming apart which makes for very dangerous and exhausting footwork. Take a look at the video clips I am uploading right now.
Ok, that's it for now, we are in Xi'an right now... it is raining cats and dogs.
Ryan and Danielle
So it figures that the worlds most populated country will be a little crowded, but after three days of sight seeing it does get to you. The first day we went to see the Olympic venues. The architecture was truly amazing and we loved every min. The Next day we went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. The really frustrating thing is you pay for a through ticket, because you are told this will allow you entry to the building, but then find out that it lets you inside the court yard that surrounds the building and you have the privilege to look inside a door way. The last day in Beijing, we went to the Summer Palace, which in my opinion the best thing in Beijing. While everywhere is crowded, our best example was when we were finished at the summer palace on the third day and we had to walk through a long narrow path along the lake to get to our exit, my only thought was oh my god this is like Disney World with out the rides. We were packed in tight with people pushing just to get through. You think New York is crazy crowded, well you have not seen anything yet.
The other funny thing is everyone stares at us. Poor Ryan was sitting waiting for me to come out of the toilet and a man asked to take a picture with him because he was so tall. The next thing he knew he had like a group of 30 people wanting there picture with him. We all know how Ryan is about new people and attention to himself, so this made him very uncomfortable but he was a good sport, however as soon as he could escape towards me he did. Me on the other hand, I kept trying to move out of the way of some guys photos, only to realize that they just then kept repositioning to have me and another western girl in their photo, we hope this was because we were just different as westerners, but who knows what bodies our heads are going to be attached to on the web.
Yesterday we did the great wall which Ryan will talk about in his thoughts below.
Some observations from Ryan:
1. China is on a mission to modernise at any cost, cranes everywhere... and buildings going up left right and center. But they have a plan and are managing to it, you see this from the news stories on their development goals.
2. The pollution from the above growth is out of control, our throats hurt.
3. It appears that is acceptable for children to go anywhere in public (storm drains etc.), and nappies/ diapers are not used and kids pants have built in holes.
4. The squat toilet is king.... and not in a good way.
5. Beijing is incredibly clean for a city of 14 million.
6. A city of 400,000 is not considered a city, but a town.
7. Everything is done on a massive scale... never seen a train station so large.
8. The Internet is controlled, you need to register who you are, passport # etc.. to use.
9. The have really wicked cool architecture, old and new.
10. The people are very friendly, but there is very little English.
11. The food is either really good or really bad.
12. Your hands get tiered from eating with chopsticks.
13. Finding the right ATM is a mission in itself.
14. The Great Wall:
So we traveled by bus 4 hours to the most beautiful section of the great wall. It is remote so there was only ourselves and a few other folks on the wall. The walk was long, 30 towers in total, about 8km in length, but at very steep inclines and declines. It was tough going, but an incredible experience, and definitely a highlight of the trip, the views were amazing, the scale of the wall hard to describe. Part of the challenge was in the remote sections of the wall, huge blocks are coming apart which makes for very dangerous and exhausting footwork. Take a look at the video clips I am uploading right now.
Ok, that's it for now, we are in Xi'an right now... it is raining cats and dogs.
Ryan and Danielle
Friday, October 17, 2008
Day 2 in Beijing
So we got a late start today, so decided to head to the olympic village. The infrastructure was awesome, amazing architecture, but the smog in this city is out of control, just see the pic. Anyway, we are off to dinner now.
Cheers
Ryan & D
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Small bladders from Hong Kong to Beijing
We are now in Beijing, it was a really long and painful trip. Because of the time change we could not sleep a wink, and so I have completed watching the entire Cathy Pacific video library. The flight to Beijing from Hong Kong was a sight to be seen. First off, let me just say that before we left I used the very nice clean bathrooms next to the gate. Well, as soon as they turned off the seat belt sign, until it went back on for landing there was a queue of people waiting to use the toilet, it never ended, and was on both sides of the plane... I kid you not, never seen anything like it.
Anyway, Beijing Capital Airport was very cool architecture indeed and the metro was a breeze to navigate to our hotel. Ok, we need to get some shut eye now.
Anyway, Beijing Capital Airport was very cool architecture indeed and the metro was a breeze to navigate to our hotel. Ok, we need to get some shut eye now.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cape Town
Hi All,
So Ryan's been better than me with keeping everyone updated through technology... go figure. But he did not get a chance to write about Cape Town. Cape Town is one of our favorite cities, but this time the weather was making it a little more difficult for us to enjoy. We were lucky enough to drive in on a beautiful day and we stoped in Franshoek, for some wine tasting and a great lunch at a quaint restaurant. Par for the course in Fanshoek. The weather gods showed us favor one more time, so we could go up table mountain and spend time on a friends motor yacht in Cape Town harbor. (A beautiful well thought out ship that has gotten my husband thinking...) We did the rest of the normal stuff in not so great weather despite the time of year. Simon's town and the penguins had a new twist though on the drive there we saw tons of whales just of the beach. Apparently this is where they come to mate, some truly magnificent "action." We ended the trip with a dinner with all of Ryan's high school friends and their significant others at a nice restaurant in town. It was great to hear some old stories about my hubby in his younger years, plus new ones of what everyone in Cape Town is up to with out him. Well I have to go now our flight is about to board, so we will chat later.
D
So Ryan's been better than me with keeping everyone updated through technology... go figure. But he did not get a chance to write about Cape Town. Cape Town is one of our favorite cities, but this time the weather was making it a little more difficult for us to enjoy. We were lucky enough to drive in on a beautiful day and we stoped in Franshoek, for some wine tasting and a great lunch at a quaint restaurant. Par for the course in Fanshoek. The weather gods showed us favor one more time, so we could go up table mountain and spend time on a friends motor yacht in Cape Town harbor. (A beautiful well thought out ship that has gotten my husband thinking...) We did the rest of the normal stuff in not so great weather despite the time of year. Simon's town and the penguins had a new twist though on the drive there we saw tons of whales just of the beach. Apparently this is where they come to mate, some truly magnificent "action." We ended the trip with a dinner with all of Ryan's high school friends and their significant others at a nice restaurant in town. It was great to hear some old stories about my hubby in his younger years, plus new ones of what everyone in Cape Town is up to with out him. Well I have to go now our flight is about to board, so we will chat later.
D
Itinerary Update
So we are sitting in Johannesburg, and about to board a plane to Beijing, with a connection in Hong Kong (we will be back to Hong Kong). This marks the beginning of a number of weeks exploring the vast country of China.
Later,
Ryan
Later,
Ryan
My photo has been published!
Szechenyi Turkish Baths, Budapest, Hungary.
Originally uploaded by fromthevillage
I was contacted by http://www.schmap.com with a request to use my photo of the Szechenyi Turkish Baths, Budapest, Hungary. Schmap, provides guides to cities all over the world. All I get is credit, and a link back to my flickr account, but it is still cool.
- Ryan
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Video and Photos from South Africa
Check out some videos on YouTube from South Africa
http://www.youtube.com/user/vanwykrl
And many cool photos from our adventure on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/
Off to the airport we go!
http://www.youtube.com/user/vanwykrl
And many cool photos from our adventure on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/
Off to the airport we go!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
South Africa - Continued (Long Post)
Picking up where I left off, we entered Kruger National Park through the Orpen Gate and headed for the Satara Camp. To see Kruger properly you really need a week at least and it is best to stay in the Park. The camp gates close at 6pm every night (locking you in safe and sound from the wild that surrounds you) and open at 6am in the mornings for those who understand your best opportunity to see wildlife is early in the morning before the heat of the day drives the animals into the shade for the day. We spent 6 nights in Kruger, staying at Satara, Olifants, Skukuza and Lower Sabie. We were blessed with plenty of up close wildlife sightings, seeing all of the Big 5 (Rhino, Water Buffalo, Lion, and Elephant) except the elusive Leopard. We went out every morning in search of the Leopard, but no luck. We also saw many Giraffe, Hippo, Zebra, Wild Dog, Hyena, Eland, Impala, Mongoose, Baboons, Monkeys, Black Back Jackal, Crocodile, Kudu, Bush Pigs, Wildebeest and lots of bird life, including 2 pairs of Ground Hornbill, Vultures and Fish Eagles.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see a lion eating its prey (a zebra) and on another day getting stuck between a massive heard of elephants. Also our stay in Skukuza Camp was awesome in that we had a cottage right on the fence and got to sit outside and watch elephants, hippos and hyena just in front of us. My personal new favorite is the Hippo, given the funny sounds they make when grumbling at each other in the water ☺
Next we headed south and into the Drakensberg Mountains. The Drakensberg “dragon mountains” is South Africa’s greatest mountain wilderness. It follows the border of Lesotho for 250 km, and is an escarpment that separates the high interior plateau from the subtropical coast of KwaZulu- Natal. This area is a haven for hikers and that is what we had planned for the next few days. We stayed at a beautiful all-inclusive resort named the Cavern. The resort is situated high in a valley to the North of the Amphitheater and as such was positioned perfectly for day walks into the mountains surrounding us. On our second say we walked up to “Lone Rock” which is the sight of Bushman Paintings some 500 and others 800 years old. Another day we took a short drive to Royal Natal National Park and again walked to the sight of some more Bushman paintings, these dating at over 1000 years old. Are third day and toughest hike was to “Echo Cave”, the walk up was very challenging given the very strong winds and rapid accent, but it was worth it, as the sandstone cave was very impressive and the view from the top incredible. We stayed 4 nights at the Cavern, and really enjoyed it. Specifically the food, which included 5 course meals every night, full breakfasts, and lunches. We have put this one onto our “must return list”.
Now we traveled up and over the mountains and through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (see earlier post) and many hours later arrived at the Cavers Country Guest House, our pit stop for the night. Cavers, was another beautiful little spot, this one hidden in a valley outside the town of Bedford.
Finally we headed south through Port Elizabeth and down the coast back to George. We have been in George a few days and are now heading down to Cape Town for the week. I will post again on our return to George next weekend.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see a lion eating its prey (a zebra) and on another day getting stuck between a massive heard of elephants. Also our stay in Skukuza Camp was awesome in that we had a cottage right on the fence and got to sit outside and watch elephants, hippos and hyena just in front of us. My personal new favorite is the Hippo, given the funny sounds they make when grumbling at each other in the water ☺
Next we headed south and into the Drakensberg Mountains. The Drakensberg “dragon mountains” is South Africa’s greatest mountain wilderness. It follows the border of Lesotho for 250 km, and is an escarpment that separates the high interior plateau from the subtropical coast of KwaZulu- Natal. This area is a haven for hikers and that is what we had planned for the next few days. We stayed at a beautiful all-inclusive resort named the Cavern. The resort is situated high in a valley to the North of the Amphitheater and as such was positioned perfectly for day walks into the mountains surrounding us. On our second say we walked up to “Lone Rock” which is the sight of Bushman Paintings some 500 and others 800 years old. Another day we took a short drive to Royal Natal National Park and again walked to the sight of some more Bushman paintings, these dating at over 1000 years old. Are third day and toughest hike was to “Echo Cave”, the walk up was very challenging given the very strong winds and rapid accent, but it was worth it, as the sandstone cave was very impressive and the view from the top incredible. We stayed 4 nights at the Cavern, and really enjoyed it. Specifically the food, which included 5 course meals every night, full breakfasts, and lunches. We have put this one onto our “must return list”.
Now we traveled up and over the mountains and through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (see earlier post) and many hours later arrived at the Cavers Country Guest House, our pit stop for the night. Cavers, was another beautiful little spot, this one hidden in a valley outside the town of Bedford.
Finally we headed south through Port Elizabeth and down the coast back to George. We have been in George a few days and are now heading down to Cape Town for the week. I will post again on our return to George next weekend.
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