Hong Kong - 26th October 2011

Today was mum's last day in Hong Kong (she was flying home that night) so we took the MTR out to the Citigate Outlets and did a bit of shopping - we even ran into a couple of people from our China Tour while we were out there! After that we headed back to Tsim Sha Tsui and mum got ready to head to the airport. Just in case we hadn't done enough shopping yet, Wade and I decided to check out the mall near our hotel - Harbour City Shopping Centre - which was enormous!! We then caught the ferry across to Wan Chai and wandered around the streets for a while. Then we jumped on a tram to Admiralty and headed into the Lan Kwai Fong area - the streets were all decorated for Halloween as well which was pretty cool. We did a bit of bar hopping here and then had dinner at Hard Rock before venturing back to the hotel.

Here are a few photos from today:

Ferry to Wan Chai










Lan Kwai Fong

Hong Kong - 25th October 2011

Today we caught the MTR across from Tsim Sha Tsui, where we were staying, to Central. We wandered around the area for a while until we came across the Central Mid-level escalators, which we took to the top, checking out the shops and restaurants on the way. Feeling adventurous when we got to the top, we had a look at the map and decided we would be able to walk to the Peak from here. There seemed to be signs along the way directing us to the Peak so we followed these for a while, and then eventually the signs stopped! So we cut our losses, found a cab and took it back down to the hill to the IFC Mall!! We checked out some of the shops here, before deciding to head over to Stanley. It was a bit of a trek out there - we had to catch a train to Chai Wan and then a bus (Wade and public transport usually don't go well together, but he was surprisingly good!!). It was well worth the effort though, Stanley was a really nice sea-side spot! We found a little cafe along the water where we had fish and chips and then wandered around the local markets. On the way back we took the bus from Stanley back to Central and then the MTR back to our hotel. We met up with mum late in the afternoon (she had been on a day tour), and took her to see the Ladies Markets and then to Outback Steakhouse for dinner!

Here are some photos from the day:


Central/Mid-level Escalators/Attempted walk to Peak/IFC Mall












Stanley












Ducks in Park Near Hotel




Night Shots & Dinner with Mum

Hong Kong - 24th October 2011

Mum and I flew from Beijing to Hong Kong today to meet up with Wade. He had arrived early in the morning from Brisbane and had spent the day wandering around. He met us at the airport and then we caught the MTR into the city and dropped my bags off at the hotel. We had a quick dinner at McDonalds (you have to try it in every country)and not wanting to waste anytime we then decided to head out and check out some of the markets in our area - both the Ladies Markets and the Night Markets. We couldn't believe how many people were out and about at night and felt totally safe wandering around the streets.


Here are a few pics from today:


Area around our hotel














Cool park not far from our hotel







Night shots & Ladies Markets

Beijing - 23 October 2011

Today was the highlight of the trip for me - the Great Wall.

We drove an hour or so out of Beijing to the section of the wall we were going to climb. It wasn't at all what I expected it to be and was definitely an amazing experience. Like everywhere in Beijing there were masses of people trying to make the climb, but thankfully that thinned out the higher up we got. Unfortunately the weather was pretty ordinary (cold and rainy), but while I started the trip up with many layers on, I ended it in a t-shirt (as it got very hot on the way up)!!

On the way back into the city we were taken to a Jade factory where we also had lunch and then a very quick stop (because it was raining and freezing) at the Olympic site to see the birds nest and water cube.

After lunch we headed to the Copy Markets - a huge indoor market that sells (you guessed it) copies of everything. In particular Louis Vuitton - I'm pretty sure I got asked a couple of hundred times in the span of an hour if I wanted a Louis Vuitton handbag (I think it may have been the only English words some of them new)!!

It was then off to an acrobat show before heading to our final dinner for the trip. This is the one I had been waiting for - the Peking Duck!! What we didn't realise was that they were going to feed us a whole meal and then bring out the Peking Duck. Nevertheless I still managed to fit in quite a few pancakes (they were definitely worth the wait too)!!

Here are some pictures from today:

Great Wall

Olympic Site

Beijing - 22 October 2011

This morning we were taken to Ti'anamen Square and the Forbidden City. The number of people in both these places was insane.

After spending all morning in both these places we were taken to the Hutong Village where we were provided with a traditional lunch in a family home and heard some of the family's stories. After lunch we took a rickshaw ride through the Hutong Village.

It was then on to the Temple of Heaven before heading back to the hotel for a rest.

Dinner was (you guessed it) traditional Chinese (although by Beijing it was starting to be a bit more like the Chinese we experience at home) and then it was off to a Kung Fu show.

Here are some pictures from today:

Ti'anamen Square

Forbidden City

Rickshaw Ride