Our last stop in China was Hong Kong, which is very different and still has a very British vibe. We took the funnicular railway uo Victoria Peak and a 6km long cable car ride on Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. Next stop Indonesia!
Guilin and Yangshou were our opportunity to get away from the big cities and see something of rural China. After one night in Guilin we took a Li river cruise downstream to Yangshou and stayed in an independent hotel where we relaxed and admired the river and mountain views for a couple of days before stirring ourselves to explore.
When we did get moving we managed a bicycle tour of the Yulong River and surrounding paddy fields, took a…
Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province is famous for food and pandas. It should also be famous for the epic rain, which meant we didn’t get to see the pandas until our final day. We dodged the showers to explore the city, embarassingly over-ordered in a casserole restaurant and attended an over-priced cookery school. Next stop Guilin and Yangshou…
Although Xi’an in synonymous with the Terracotta Warriors, there is far more to see and do than this admittedly breathtaking sight. We also risked heatstroke cycling around the top of the city walls in 35 degree heat and ate our weight in dumplings.
A bullet train took us 800 miles to Beijing in just over 4.5 hours. Three days wasn’t enough to do all we wanted, but we did get to see the Great Wall of Ghina, The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven as well as visiting the Hutongs and, of course, sampling authentic Peking Duck.
The very efficient bullet train got us from Shanghai to Hangzhou very quickly and after a bit of confusion with the Didi ride hailing app we made it to our hotel in Westlake.
West Lake is the main draw and it’s a beauty – pagoda-topped hills rise over willow-lined waters as boats drift slowly under arched bridges and past great expanses of beautiful water lilies – an idyll of leisurely charm. Walkways, perfectly positioned benches, parks & gardens around…
Our first stop in China was Shanghai. Arriving at the ultra-modern Pudong Airport we quickly cleared customs and were trasported to our hotel on The Bund. Although the weather wasn’t great we had a fabulous few days exploring the Bund and Old Shanghai, ascended the Shanghai Tower and enjoyed steamed buns.
For our last six nights in Japan we hired a car and toured the westernmost island, Kyushu. We picked up the car in Fukuoka, because we are flying from there to China. Our first stop was a converted sake warehouse in Beppu, then we treated ourselves to a stay at a ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen, which was an amazing experience. From there we toured the volvanic landscapes around Takachiho Gorge and Mount Aso before moving on to the pottery villages…
Hiroshima is a living monument to the devastating effects of the atomic bomb and the reconstructed city serves in its entirety as an eloquent testimony to the power of life over destruction. Visiting the Peace Memorial Park and Museum was a sobering experience and prompted Steve to learn more about the events that brought the Second World War to an end.
Modern Hiroshima is a vibrant and captivating city with great food and lovely scenery, not least the picturesque Miyajima Island where we proved it really is a small world!