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Wednesday 29 October 2014

Spicy Mermaids in India!

I am lucky to have met the most amazing friends whilst studying at Cardiff University - two years post graduation and all of us dotted around England and Wales, we're all still very close. Why 'Spicy Mermaids' you may ask? We lived above a curry house and one girl, Sinead was obsessed with mermaids and decorated most of the house in an under the sea theme - and so the name was born, and always will be! 

All the Spicy Mermaids have a keen interest in travel and we've done many a trip together, including USA, Hong Kong and Thailand. When I announced the plans for my around the world trip it wasn't long before the group were deciding where they could come and meet for a holiday. India was the chosen destination covering Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur. 

So for the next few blog posts, The Happy Wanderers become 8! I hope you enjoy reading about our latests adventures with my beautiful friends. 


Bethan 
xx


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Hong Kong

Warning: Long post coming up - maybe grab yourself a cuppa :D

In the weeks leading up to our arrival in Hong Kong we become aware of the political unrest. Living in China whilst this was going on was an experience in itself. One morning we were sitting for breakfast and catching up on social media sites, when Instagram suddenly stopped working - yes the entire thing was completely shut down to avoid the Chinese population receiving unregulated information. This article from BuzzFeed expresses the extremity of the crackdown. We were unable to access most information related to the events in Hong Kong and relied on family or friends for updates. We became a little apprehensive about whether we would be allowed to entire Hong Kong at all from mainland China! However we got our flight with no bother.

Arriving in Hong Kong we were met with many warnings of the upset the protests had caused, with most buses rerouted and severe traffic jams. Getting off our bus in central Mong Kok we were overwhelmed! We felt privileged to be in the country during this historic event  but also felt empathy for the people as we watched them camp out day after day in order to stand up for their rights. It really made us think how much we take for granted our democratic rights. 



After a truly massive breakfast of yellow curry and tomato based pork we were ready to tackle Hong Kong Island. Getting off the MTR at Admiralty Station we were met with an eerie silence. What is usually a bustling business district was almost completely empty of both people and vehicles. We were aiming for the Bank of China building as we heard you can go up to the 42nd floor for free with a valid passport. With barricades dotted here there and everywhere it proved a little difficult, however the view did not disappoint. What really stood out for us was the sheer scale of the area the protesters had managed to shut down. From this height we were able to see that the traffic was forced to only one road with a tailback as far as the eye could see. 

Afterwards we decided to walk to The Peak, yes walk (a steep climb of about 500m)! The Peak is a viewing platform on top of the hills of Hong Kong Island, mostly reached by tram. From here visitors can enjoy views of the city and its harbours, along with some of the most expensive properties in all of Hong Kong. The walk to The Peak wouldn't have been so bad if we had some idea of the route we were meant to take. After about 1 and a half hours of walking we could see we were getting no closer so decided to turn around and take a few different turns. After much trial and error we came across 'Old Tram Road', which is without a doubt the steepest a road can possibly get. 4 hours of walking later we'd arrived at perfect timing for sunset - definitely planned it that way... We got out of paying for entry to The Peak by sneaking onto one of the restaurant balconies. They didn't seem to mind and we didn't feel like we missed out on the views in any way. Once the sun had set we walked all the way to the harbour to catch the famous Star Ferry back to Mong Kok at a fraction of the price of the MTR. We also timed this perfectly with the Light Show that occurs each evening at 8pm across the skyscrapers.

The next day we were so exhausted we fancied a more chilled day so opted for a Buddhist temple called Chi Lin Nunnery. The temple is set in a serene garden amidst the bustling city. We found ourselves getting lost in its charm and tranquillity then you look up and see skyscrapers everywhere! We also did a bit of Pandora charm shopping. Sam has already started planning the ones she is going to get to make a new travel theme bracelet and there are limited edition ones that are only available in China/Hong Kong. After much deliberation and practically dragging her away from the shop, no purchase was made.  That evening we took a walk down to Victoria Harbour to visit the Avenue of Stars (similar to Hollywood Walk of Fame). Here we were again bombarded with photographs but instead thought adopting the 'if you can't beat them join them' attitude would be best, so replicated some typical Chinese poses. 

Lantao Island for Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha) and a village called Tai O was next on the itinerary. We opted for the Lantao Day Rider bus pass which gave us unlimited travel throughout the whole island ($33). Another option is the Ngong Ping 360, a 25 minute cable car ride direct from Tung Chung MTR station to Tian Tan Buddha. However, we felt that the bus gave us more flexibility as we were also able to visit other areas of the island. We were unable to take satisfactory pictures as the sun was on the wrong side of the Buddha. Maybe visiting later in the afternoon would be best. Tai O is a small fishing village built on stilts over the mouth of a river. We thoroughly enjoyed walking the suspended streets and peering into the locals tiny houses - it was so charming! We needed a little pick me up after all the exploring and shared a peanut butter waffle - yuuuuuum! 

Whilst at Tian Tan Buddha, Bethans camera decided to give up the ghost! Annoyingly it suffered a zoom error which meant the lens was stuck sticking all the way out. Unbelievably nobody in all of Mong Kok were willing to take a look at the camera in attempt to fix it, so a new one was quickly purchased. 

Even though Hong Kong was pretty jam packed with sightseeing we still managed to fulfil many of our desires. This included wandering through countless markets, watching Lion King 1 & 2, finding the most amazing sweet shop and scouting McDonalds sundae menu - they actually do Fanta Floats!  

Next, our biggest fail of all, one we never wish to repeat - we missed our flight to Delhi!! We showed up at the airport in what we thought was plenty of time, all soo excited to start the next leg of our trip, only to find that our flight was not on the departure board... hmm. We hurried to check out flight itinerary to find that our flight was in fact at 8pm, not 11pm as we had thought and had taken off just 10 minutes before our arrival - bugger!! We're not a bunch to panic easily so calmly approached the Jet Airways desk to ask what our options were - it was not good news. As it was completely our fault, the only thing we could do was buy another ticket for 24 hours time at a cost of £265, ouch! Anyways.. there was nothing we could do but set up camp at the airport and make our night as comfortable as possible. We had little money, one sleeping bag and no chairs left to sleep in but we did have WiFi! We caught up on Geordie Shore and American Horror Story: Freak Show and talked to family members on Skype to update them. We ate horrible microwave meals from 7/11 and even blagged free teas from Starbucks - things weren't so bad. However, we were one of the first people on the plane the next day - there was no way we were missing it this time!

Hong Kong was very much a whirlwind of events - both ups and downs from the minute we walked off the plane, but we enjoyed every minute of it! 


Byeeeee China!
Protesters Campsite
Barricades in Mong Kok
The streets covered in posters
Colourful Mong Kok
The view from the 42nd floor of Bank of China Building
The view from The Peak - Daytime...
...to Night time
Treat timeee!
Sam in sweet shop heaven 
Chi Lin Nunnery
Chi Lin Nunnery


Ngong Ping Village (Big Buddha)
Tian Tan Buddha
Spot the Tourist
Po Lin Monastery
Getting those cheesy tourist shots

Tai O Fishing Village
Waffle Shop!
Mmm - delicious


Victoria Harbour - Avenue of Stars


Asking someone to take your picture results in them taking 50 photos of you afterwards

Berlin Bear - Around the world 
Perfected that Chinese pose by now!



The paparazzi really should leave us alone!  
What a sunset! 
Missed flight - If you don't laugh, you'll cry
Making ourselves at home
Free Tea!
Happy Wanderers 

Saturday 25 October 2014

China: Guilin

After yet ANOTHER sleeper train (20 hours) we arrived in Guilin, in Guangxi Province, although at night time it definitely felt like we were in Benidorm - the streets were lined with light up palm trees, and the buildings were adorned with LED signs making the entire place glow. We should mention that it was National Holiday week during our time in Guilin so it was extra busy and absolutely packed with tourists! We noticed this as we were constantly being photographed and oo'd and aaar'd at more than ever before. After over 3 weeks of this our patience was beginning to wear thin so admittedly we found ourselves having more and more downtime at the hostel to escape the hassle. 

Our hostel was called Green Forest Hostel and was about a 10 minute walk from the train station, and very close to the central bus station in the city. The staff were a bit useless - their English wasn't very good and they didn't really seem to know much about what was going on in the area. Aside from that, the hostel was pretty good; there was a really nice 'movie corner' where we could watch films in the evenings with a cup of tea and the frequent Snickers bar.

We were told that we could do a cruise along the Li river (so famous it found its way onto the back of the ¥20 note) from Guilin to Yangshuo on a bamboo raft which we were really excited about, however, we were unable to find anyone who would take us for less than ¥200 for 4 hours which yet again was a little out of our budget. Instead we decided to visit Yaoshan Mountain, the highest peak in the area, which was around 40 minutes north of Guilin by local bus - we were able to get there for just ¥1 which was much more satisfying for our budget! There is an option to get a cable car up to the top of the mountain and/or a toboggan back down (¥100) but we thought it would be more fun to climb up a path which has been formed over time from people walking up and down. It was quite difficult because there is no actual path so most of the way involved climbing through trees and long grass and over rocks but it really made us feel like we were trekking through the jungle. Unfortunately we chose to do it on quite a misty day so although the views in the near distance were great, we couldn't really see too far which was a shame. We felt well exercised afterwards though, we were climbing and walking for around 3 hours in the midday heat (which was definitely a mild form of torture) but it was definitely worth it.

Guilin is also famous for its Elephant Trunk Hill which has come to be known as a symbol of the city. It got its name because it looks like an elephant drinking water. It is now part of a park so can only be seen properly if you pay entrance into the park which was around ¥75 and allowed you to climb up the hill for panoramic views of the city. Trees have been built all the way around to stop people from freeloading the view so the best views are from the river cruise. Apparently at night you can also see the moon through the hole in the 'trunk' and it reflects in the lake making it look like its floating in the water. Just a little further up the road from the Elephant Trunk Hill are the Sun and Moon pagodas. These are particularly pretty at night when they are lit up and reflect in the lake that surrounds them. You can't actually get inside them but they are a nice place to visit away from the traffic and noise of the city centre.

Another attraction is the Reed Flute Cave which is also away from the centre of the city (about 45 mins by local ¥1 bus). Entrance is ¥120 (looking back we're SO pained by this price). We spent the entire time being photographed - at one point we decided it would be a good idea to charge ¥5 per photo to which a woman actually asked Sam for a photo with her child! (NB: we didn't actually charge her). While the cave was quite spectacular being lit up with lovely hues of blue, green, pink, and purple, and some really cool rock formations, we still felt it was rather overpriced. There were further charges whilst inside to visit certain parts which we weren't told about before entering e.g. the turtle cave. Also, people are let in in groups of around 15 so we ended up amongst a group of Chinese people with a Chinese guide so the information that was given was ever so slightly unintelligible. There is a lovely lake just outside of the cave where you can take a bamboo raft and drift along for a while in the peace and quiet - a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of Guilin city centre.

The weather during our time in Guilin was amazing although very tropical and humid. We wanted to take advantage of this by relaxing in a park but apparently it is impossible to sit in a park without first paying around ¥30-50 - annoying. We did find a lovely spot by the river near our hostel where we managed to avoid having our photos for all of 15 minutes before the stares and creeping began - standard. This even included a man sitting about 1 metre away from us and staring continuously for about 5 minutes before we shoo'ed him away. He then decided to move to the other side of where we were sitting and proceeded to do the exact same thing. At this point we had a small hissy fit and he promptly left. #smugface.

Guilin was probably the worst place as far as finding delicious food goes - the local cuisine consists of mostly fish/seafood so it was difficult to find much else. Many of the restaurants and shops along the river are selling their freshly caught fish - heads and eyes in tact - not exactly what we would call appetising. A few of the local delicacies include horse hoof cakes, rice with mung bean paste, snail, and stinky tofu. However, we did find a few really delicious places to eat (and were saved multiple times by a few not so Chinese joints *KFC cough*) so it wasn't sooooo bad.

Here are a few of our favourite snaps from our time in Guilin.

Sun and Moon pagodas
The view from Yaoshan Mountain
Yes the climb was tough but still plenty of time for smiles! 
Reed Flute Cave..
......
....in all its cheesy glory!
¥5 profit - win!
Bamboo raft ride
Crossing the river was too much for some.
See you later Chinaaaaa!!

Happy Wanderers 



Sunday 19 October 2014

China: Lijiang

This time our move involved a 1 hour domestic flight from Chengdu to Lijiang. Apparently, talking on a plane in China during daylight hours is a serious offence as when Sarah and Sam were having a conversation, a Chinese man started tapping Sam asking her to 'shhh!!'. After we refused to stop talking, his girlfriend then began kicking Sam's chair and persistently hitting Sarah's arm demanding that they be quiet (even though it was 2pm and she wasn't trying to sleep - ridiculous!). The fun police are definitely on board all China planes! However, we chose this option as opposed to an overnight sleeper train because Lijiang is not supported by a frequent rail service. Being semi-rural you can only get a train there from Kunming (the capital of Yunnan Province) which meant extra time and cost.  

Arriving in Lijiang, we were greeted by the most torrential weather conditions! Rain, and thunder and lightning were prevalent almost every day. We were dropped into the centre of Lijiang and decided to get a city bus to our hostel although within 2 minutes we were literally soaked through from the rain so we gave up and got a taxi. 

We stayed in the Panba Lakeside Lodge during our stay. This hostel is a little out of the main area, however, the view from our balcony made up for the 20 minute walk into town. It is located alongside a gorgeous lake (as the name suggests) and in the distance you can see the famous Jade Snow Mountain, which looks particularly beautiful in the morning. We're sooo glad we chose this hostel; it was truly amazing! The hostel is family-run and all of them were very welcoming - they could never do enough for us. They offered us impartial advice on trips of the surrounding area and one man even gave us his mobile number so we could phone him if we got lost - he was very concerned for us for some reason. He had amazing English and was always around when we needed him - most often to translate everything into Chinese which was required pretty much 24/7. Unfortunately, whilst in Lijiang Sam got quite ill and had to stay in bed for 3 days. The family were always checking in on her to see how she was doing and even allowed her to stay in bed 6 hours after check-out time so she could rest before getting our next train. As small as this gesture was, we really appreciated how caring they were; we felt like we were staying at their house rather than at a hostel which was so different to all the other hostels we had experienced so far.

We were mostly interested in visiting Lijiang because of its history - it was hit by quite a severe earthquake in 1996, killing 322 people and injuring 14,000. Around 300,000 people were forced to leave their homes because of the damage. In the years following the earthquake, Lijiang city had to be completely rebuilt and the Old Town reconstructed. It is now listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. We couldn't get enough of the town - we absolutely loved it! It's a series of alleys filled with cute trinkets, textiles, leather, and food shops with flowing streams running through. It had a very traditional feel, however, with it being fairly newly constructed, it was pedestrianised (which anyone travelling China will know is a massive plus!) and extremely clean. We enjoyed a naxi pastry in the centre of the town - one of our favourite snacks of China (it was basically like a Gregg's steak bake - heavenly) which we enjoyed in a cute little bar with live acoustic music and free lemon juice - win.

Most people who visit Yunnan Province visit Lijiang for the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. Although in true Happy Wanderer style we missed out on the 'norm'. As previously mentioned, the weather was pretty horrendous which meant the hiking paths were shut off with overflowing waterfalls and rivers. We read that people were having to sign a waiver before being allowed to enter the park because it was pretty dangerous. As a group we didn't think a serious hike would be on our itinerary so didn't bring any good hiking boots. This mixed with the bad weather and torrential conditions meant we had to give this wonder a miss. :( A girl who was staying in our dorm room told us that she had to get carried along most of the way by a group of Chinese men because she physically couldn't do it herself which made us feel a little bit better about missing out though.

On what seemed like a reasonably sunny day, we hired bicycles from our hostel so we could explore a few other old towns in the area. The hostel provided us with a hand drawn map and off we went! Cycling on the roads of Lijiang didn't prove much of a problem as they were fairly quiet and we were glad of the exercise after the amount of junk we'd been eating over the last few days - cookies, chocolate, crisps, and Chinese pot noodles - nutritious! However, after about an hour of cycling and enjoying the scenery, the heavens opened and we were drenched once again - standard Lijiang. Sam resorted to tucking her umbrella into her jacket to make it back to the hostel - skills!

Here are our favourite pictures from Lijiang -


The view from the balcony at the hostel (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) 

One of the bridges on the lake

Lijiang Old Town









Mastering the classic Chinese photo pose

Effortless with this nifty gadget!


Thanks for visiting! 

The Happy Wanderers