Day 85 - Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll ... well partly

As one of the only cheap hostels in Suzhou and popular given its prime location amongst the shops and bars, we spent the morning waiting to see if we could have a room for tonight, and hopefully a few more! After eventually hearing the good news that our room was secured, we set out to the small canal town of Tongli. Tongli, situated only half an hour from Suzhou, has been around since the 9th Century and maintains a lot of its original character - when we arrived we marvelled at its stone buildings and bridges, and paved cobblestone pathways. After a stuffy bus ride, we were soon revived by the atmosphere of the town and were ready and rearing to explore the many gardens and other attractions in this small town. Before we got to such attractions, however, we were sidetracked once again by the markets, where Liv picked herself up some super cool Puma shoes for a mere NZ$9. We chuckled along the markets at the crazy prices quoted to us for the sellers' goods - for example Liv's shoes started at the quoted price of 360 yuan, but were eventually bargained down to 50 yuan. Though we don't begrudge their high starting prices as we know sometimes they get lucky and make a sale to tourists who are willing to pay such prices (after converting to their own currency).

Eventually we began to explore the real old town of Tongli, immersing ourselves in the amazing gardens (such as Tuisi Garden - the main attraction of Tongli) and old residences (including Gengle Tang, which is made up of 52 halls and 5 internal courtyards). We soon found ourselves at the attraction most recommended by the Lonely Planet - the Chinese Sex Culture Museum. Not as saucy as it may sound (although it was forced out of Shanghai to Tongli), we learnt about the role of sex in religion, sex in primitive society, sex in daily life, and unusual sexual behaviour! As we wandered around the 'museum' we found ourselves giggling at huge penis sculptures and all forms of dildos, as well as the more 'proper' porcelain plates and vases with karma sutra style depictions. We also shuddered as we learnt about the darker sides of Chinese sexual history such as foot binding and the punishments given to licentious women. We feasted in one of the local restaurants before taking more time to take in the beauty of the locals rocking and rolling their boats along the canals, who despite their town being turned into a tourist attraction retain happy faces - a contrast to what we have seen in many other such tourist towns in China.
Once we felt we got as much as we could out of Tongli, we set about finding another hot and stuffy bus to take us home to Suzhou. Our evening at home consisted of reading, dining, and once again hiding out from the thunder storms that saturated the streets - hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow night so we can explore more of the markets, but for now our wallets are enjoying the break.

Adlibing the sexually infused canal town of Tongli.

Day 84 - Making it to the last Province of the Adlibing tour

Bidding farewell to Shanghai, today we boarded the ever familiar bus and headed to Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. Suzhou is a city situated along the Grand Canal (a major transport and trading route), and as such is quite a prosperous city. However, upon arrival we were met by a construction zone that resembled the aftermath of a bomb attack - the area where we arrived was full of half demolished buildings, to make way for expansion, rubble lining the canals, and several temporary bridges that spanned the canals. Avoiding the onslaught of the tuk-tuk drivers, we decided to walk to our next destination in order to save the pennies and walk off Adam's nightly beers ...

Given that we need to be in Jinan within the week, we decided it was about time we sorted out how we would get there! Thus against our general adlibing routine we booked our train tickets in advance - and a good thing too, as there were practically no tickets available - we had the choice of hard seat (lowest class - been there, done that) or soft sleeper (first class). As Liv didn't fancy a 12 hour overnight trip on a hard seat, Adam gave in and we bought the soft sleeper tickets - this will probably be the only chance we get as our traveller's budget dwindles, but lasting just long enough until we re-enter the working world once again.

After walking around fully loaded in the scorching heat for hours, we began showing the telltale signs of exhaustion, and it was a great relief to eventually arrive at our hostel where we were soon singing the praises of our airconditioned room! The hostel's walls are plastered with other traveller's pictures and words of wisdom / advice / complaints / praise - this 'wallpaper' adds to the atmosphere of this already very trendy hostel. Too hungry to rest, we ventured out in search of food, which we found in a small street kitchen around the corner, before making our way back to rest our heavy bellies.

As the evening wore on, we realised it was dinner time, and we had done little today but eat and travel, so it was nice to have our search for dinner prolonged while we slowly window shopped the trendy streets that surround our hostel - much better than the bombsite we arrived to! Our most prized purchase of our time in China was made today, when we acquired the entire three seasons of Grey's Anatomy - or so we think ... Our Japanese dinner was a nice change from the familiar food we have been dining on for the past few months, and set us up well for our perusal of the nearby, alleyway markets. Here we were tempted by handbags, t-shirts, jewellry and other market staples found throughout the markets of China, but once again left empty handed - and despite nearing the end of our travels this is probably a good thing considering the weight of our packs. Making it home just in time to fall into bed, we settled in for the night on the rock solid beds of the hostel - many fellow travellers have commented on this fact, but we just think they have yet to experience rural China and all it has to offer!

Adlibing the food and markets of Suzhou.

Day 83 - A slow start to a shopping binge

After Adam's dreadful night / morning we decided to postpone our departure to allow for some resting and recuperating, and enjoyed watching the box and reading our books, while listening to the rain and thunder outside, which further encouraged our lazy day.

Finally deciding we should eat, we purchased some supplies from our (now) local supermarket so we could relax even more of the day away in our room. Come 4.30pm with the rain having eased, we decided perhaps we should at least do something on our last day in Shanghai (again). Remembering antique markets we have passed on our frequent bus journeys into town, we set out in search of a bargain and walked away with four!

The antique markets fill a few small side streets off Tibet Road, and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering past the tables littered with a jumble of porcelain (China), Mao memorabilia, Chinese locks, wooden boxes and many other old and not-so-old pieces of interest. The markets was a great place to exercise the brain, as purchasing our goods involved a lot of hard bargaining, with the trump card of walking away being utilised to full effect! Our four purchases consist of a Chinese Dragon Zippo lighter (fuelled up and ready to go), porcelain chopsticks with delicate flower patterns, an antique(?) Chinese bronze lock, and two pretty pink China tea cups / bowls, which might just be the beginnings of an obsession that has been brewing since we arrived. As darkness fell we reluctantly left the enjoyment of the markets, heading once again towards home and food, and hopefully a better nights sleep.

Adlibing the antique streets.

Day 82 - A little bit of luxury for an old man

Waking up a little stiffer than usual, it wasn't until Adam remembered he had just turned a year older that he realised why, and so the morning crept on at a very relaxed pace, until we finally attacked the day. As the morning had already disappeared (like 23 years had also done) we headed out in search of Gongdelin Vegetarian Restaurant for a birthday lunch treat - this restaurant has had its place in Shanghai since 1922.

Lazy in his old age, Adam left the ordering up to Liv, only interrupting to ensure a beer would grace the table, and before long a feast of mushrooms, 'chicken' and 'beef' arrived. Taking our time to enjoy the environment - in which we stood out like two sore thumbs in our shorts and singlets, when others were dining in dresses and shirts! The restaurant is situated in one of the flash parts of Shanghai, though it seems like you can be on one street surrounded by Maseratis and Gucci stores, and turn the corner to find a street of rundown and dirty housing and clothes hanging over the street.

After our share of wining and dining with the elite of Shanghai we found ourselves walking through People's Park and stopping for Adam's birthday treat of a Starbucks caramel frappacino to ward off the heat. We then headed for East Nanjing Rd, which the Lonely Planet describes as "Shanghai's Golden Mile", which is full of department stores (including Shanghai's historically largest and most famous, the No. 1 Department Store). This environment didn't exactly appeal to us or our budget, but it was a nice wander nonetheless, we even peaked into a few stores and acted like we might just buy something ...

Back at the hostel we changed into our fanciest dregs, which were really just our cleanest clothes (and Adam wore a T-shit instead of a singlet), for tonight we were to indulge in a night at the Shanghai Centre Theatre, and witness the spectacular that is the Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe (Shanghai Zaji Tuan). Despite blowing the budget the show was amazing, and while Liv sat there hands poised for clapping and mouth hanging open with delight, Adam drifted between evaluating the physical aspects of the performance and debating a career move and joining the troupe. The show was expertly correographed to music and lighting that intensified the whole performance as the troupe flipped and spun through the air, utilising ribbons, chairs, swings, amongst many other things. We even got to see circus type performances between acts, such as juggling, plate spinning and most hilarious knife throwing at an audience member (he had a blindflod over his eyes and had no idea the stars of the show were merely jabbing the knife into the board instead of throwing).

Leaving the show feeling exhilarated, we headed towards home and dinner. On the way when Adam commented on his desire to seek the acrobatic adrenalin rush, Liv let him know that his aged body would only be able to serve as the token fat guy at the base of the tower. She didn't mean it, honest.

Dinner was back to the typically cheap meals we're used to, after a day of high-rolling (to us, anyway), and beer in hand we were soon zonked out for the night ... or so it seemed. While Liv lay peacefully asleep Adam cursed his meal that left him seeing in his 25th year making close acquainances with the toilet bowl. Still, three months dining in China's street kitchens is a pretty good scorecard, and wont put him off (though he may return to the vegetarian ways of sleeping beauty for a while).

An Adliber's birthday in luxury.

Day 81 - Spending it up at the Old Town Bazaar

After a slow start to the day we eventually set out for the Old Town of Shanghai. As soon as we stepped off the bus we stumbled across a shoe fix-it man, one of the many Chinese entrepreneurs that stake out a piece of street space to make a living. So far we have had our clothes repaired by sewers and have turned down shoe shiners, but today Adam's shoes that are currently held together by the magical zinc tape got repaired by a professional in no time at all and only cost $1!

As we headed towards the Old Town we were confronted with views of hosues being demolished to make space for more skyscrapers, that already cast shadows upon the ruins. We then stepped into a brand new Old Town, as this area has been renovated to the point that everything is sparkling and new - however the renovations have been carried out so that the character and architecture of the past still remain. Subsequently flocks of tourists (domestic and foreign) come to Old Town to see the historical China like an image directly out of a painting.

We spent the afternoon wandering the Bazaar and even did our bit for the economy by purchasing an "original" diesel shoulder bag for Adam, and some cute green shoes for Liv. Before long, our bellies were screaming at us, and so the ever present search for food began. The area was so made up for tourists that our choices were limited to McDonalds or Pizza Hut, or ridiculously overpriced Chinese noodles - we opted for the latter, and although the meal was average, we got to enjoy it in a real restaurant!

After ambling through more of the Bazaar maze, we eventually found the Yuyuan Gardens, which we had been searching for all day. The beautiful garden is full of rock formations, fish ponds bubbling with the ever present red carp, and scattered with pavillions. Along the way we found plenty of things to gaze at such as an old stage and old pavilions that have been modernised into antique stores - selling 'antiques' at 1000% percent more than in the bazaar. Something that especially caught our eyes was the stone dragon head whose tail flowed along the garden wall its scales acting as a deterrent (we think this is much more pleasant than the broken glass usually employed!).

As we attmepted to head back, we ended up coming full circle to the vegetarian restaurant next to the Temple of the Town Gods we had spotted earlier too late for lunch unfortunately, but upon our return it was perfect timing for an afternoon tea of delightful dumplings!

In similar fashion to most days, we returned home before heading out for dinner. Tonight we overfed at a local restaurant, where we tried two new dishes: one was a cold noodle dish soaked in soya sauce and sesame oil, which took a bit of getting used to, and the other was a delicious tofu and mushroom hotpot. The second dish was a refreshing change as most of our tofu choices come out much less desirable than we had hoped!

After dinner all that was left was to find Adam his beer to complete the evening ritual and head home to finish Liv's ritual of reading till the early hours ...

Adlibing the (new) Old Town of Shanghai.

Day 80 - An outing to The Bund

This morning we woke up ready to hit Shanghai - so we headed to The Bund, of course. The Bund (also known as Waitan - foreigner's street) is situated on the Huangpu River and is probably the most famous street in Shanghai. Along The Bund is a collection of old-European style buildings that stare across the river at modern skyscrapers, and is meant to be the most beautiful street in Shanghai. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to comment on this, until much later, as the rain threatened our plans of a walking tour along the river.

Whie sheltering from the rain we devised a new plan of heading for the Shanghai Museum - though this plan was also momentarily hindered as we watched a taxi vs scooter crash unfold before our eyes. Of course the taxi came off best, and as the scooter driver picked himself off the road, we were shocked at the lack of concern or anger from the drivers or the public - and even more shocked as the scooter driver went across the road to fetch his shoes that had come off in the crash and then mount his scooter and drive away.

Refocused on our plans, we set about finding the bus to take us to the Museum. On the advice of one of the many guards that seem to mill everywhere, we boarded a bus and soon found ourselves across the road from the Museum. This is where the ablibing plans fell apart once more. Standing in the middle of the square wondering how to enter, we were approached by two students wanting to practice their English on us - after about half an hour of chatting they told us they were off to view a traditional tea ceremony and invited us along. We have been wanting to see a tea ceremony in China, so we jumped at the chance tto go with some people who could explain it to us.

It wasn't until we arrived that we realised it was a private ceremony, in which we were taking part! From what we have observed in China so far, the Chinese people are very polite and it would have been beyond rude to pull out at this stage, so we both wrote off the cost as an experience we wanted to enjoy, and set about engaging and appreciating the ceremony. During the hour long ceremony we got to try six different teas, all very different but as delicious as each other, as well as four different 'tea snacks'. We were provided with a running commentary by the tea ceremony host and a translation by our new found friends. The family of our host were the makers (and supposedly the copyright owners) of the 'snacks' and of one of the teas we tasted (we tasted merely a fraction of the 200 on offer), which was the sweetest and Liv's favourite. Sitting there it was hard not to have flash backs to the wonderful times we had spent enjoying mum's endless supply of a variety of teas back home. A memorable part of the ceremony was when the host served tea out of the Lovers' Teacup, that changed colour as hot water was poured in.

We left the ceremony with new found knowledge about how to correctly hold and drink from the delicate and tincy teacups and and set about following through with plan B: Museum!

Farewelling our friends we entered the Museum and began wandering our way around the four expertly created floors full of Chinese history. Adam's two favourite exhibition halls were the rock carvings, which showed both beauty and destruction, and the currency exhibition that showed both simple and elaborate designs. We had to laugh at the coins in the shape of knife blades, imaging walking into a store and pulling out a weapon for currency! Liv's favourite was the ceramic exhibition, where we were dazed by an array of delicate and colourful pottery, some thousands of years old. Pottery is one of the three things China is famous for (according to our tea friends), tea is the second (which we had definitely had our fill of today), and the third is silk which we saw in the Minority Costume exhibition. Armed with our new-found history knowledge, we finally made our way to The Bund and set plan A into action. While our plans for a Bund-length walking tour were now altered after being on our feet for so many hours, we were still keen to see as much of the architectural history we could! Heading in a direction we weren' t quite sure of, we immersed ourselves in the action of the Bund for a good few hours as day turned to night. This allowed us to see two different sides of the Bund and witness the waterfront swell with human life as the locals came to socialise the night away. The Bund was packed with people selling all sorts of gadgets, and in traditional Chinese fashion those selling the same things sat side by side. Although there was so much space in the surrounding streets and pathways, we understood why The Bund drew such a crowd, and we figured that without these people The Bund just wouldn't have the same atmoshpere.

After partaking in our second English lesson for today while standing across from the Peace Hotel (one of the many old buildings that got the camera clicking), we made tracks towards our Shanghai home.

Finishing off the obligatory icecreams and having a short rest, we went in search of more food for Adam, who had been tantalised by the burning bbq grills that line the streets since we arrived. Munching down octopus kebabs in one hand and a cold beer in the other, Adam decided that he liked Shanghai very much.

By this stage it was getting late and we hope to explore the old town of Shanghai tomorrow so in preparation for the next day's plans we headed to bed - hopefully our plans for tomorrow will go smoothly.

Adlibing a Chinese education.

Day 79 - Chilling in Shanghai

Waking to the incessant and loud chatter of our co-riders, we attempted to return to sleep to help the last 4 hours of the trip pass by, but eventually gave in and Liv settled into her ritual of sandwich making! Arriving in Shanghai we followed the signs that led us the way into the Country, even though Hong Kong is part of China's "One Country, two systems" - meaning we never really left the country in the first place!

Zooming through customs we made our way to the bus, with the hope of finding a bed at the first hostel we turned up to. We were lucky and got 2 beds in a dorm, just as more people swelled through the door - the receptionists stressed at arrival with no reservation (it is the adlibing way, after all)!

Despite doing relatively little for the last 24 hours, we were still pretty exhausted - as well as being one of the most enjoyable stops on our travels, Hong Kong sapped a lot of energy out of us, especially since much of the fun comes out at night. Thus we rested at the hostel cafe enjoying a normal priced sprite and beer - back in China at last!!

With a lot of blogging to catch up on, we went to the nearest internet cafe and blogged until Liv nearly fainted due to lack of food. Adam very cleverly found a restaurnant with a picture menu on the wall, which made ordering our first meal in Shanghai a breeze, and we ended up with (you guessed it) noodles and rice - BUT for the Chinese, and not Hong Kong, price of a few bucks.

We enjoyed the afternoon at the hostel, in a real state of relaxation (no walking, getting lost, or battling with language issues like usual) until dinner time when we headed straight back to the picture board restaurant - unfortunately though, this time even the pictures failed us and we ended up with 2 meat dishes! This had nothing to do with our Chinese or pointing abilities, but more to do with the waiter's error, which he sheepishly fixed before hiding in the corner.

Stopping for groceries and a cold beer, we headed for our home for the next 4 nights, and settled in to regenerate for the adlibing adventures tomorrow.

Adlibing picture food in Shanghai.

Day 78 - Packing in Hong Kong

After going to bed earlier on this morning, we slept the rest of it away before making a quick outing for breakfast and train supplies from the local supermarket. Avoiding the hassle of trying to find a cheap, vegetarian breakfast, we dined on our regular peanut and banana sandwiches and packed up ready to leave Hong Kong.

At the train station we reluctantly gave up our Octopus cards and with it the ease of Hong Kong's public transport system, and set about spending our Hong Kong coins we couldn't change back to yuan. After lunch the extra money went into chocolate for the trip and before long we were in the waiting room, preparing for our longest train ride yet - 20 hours all the way to the metropolis of Shanghai.

Once on the train, Adam impressed the men on board when he climbed to the top bunk with his pack still on his back - he gets the thumbs up just walking along the street, so you can imagine the applause when he climbed the three bunks with it on! Liv just responded to the thumbs up signs with the universal swirl of the fingers around the ears (crazy, and strong).

With not much to do, we settled in to read and sleep - breaking once for our noodles in a paper bowl - and waited for Shanghai to arrive.

Adlibing the train out of Hong Kong.

Day 77 - A quiet getaway apon Lamma Island

Last night we made a pact that we would get up as soon as we woke up, to avoid sleeping half of the day away (again) - we almost followed through with it too! Still rising earlier than usual we headed to the visa office for the moment of truth: were we going back to China on Friday? With smiles on our faces, we walked out of the visa office - the answer is yes, we're going back to the Mainland.

The sun was shining in Hong Kong, and we needed no more temptation to head to the beautiful Lamma Island, a car-free island only a half an hour ferry ride across the picturesque harbour - although the swells put Liv off a bit!

Upon arrival we searched for the vegetarian restaurant recommended by the Guide and another traveller, but finding it shut we yet again began the search for food. Eventually we settled into a seaside restaurant where Adam got his seafood desire quenched with a soft-shell crab, which is a delicacy of the area.
Having done more than enough walking over the last two and a half months, we decided that the afternoon would best be spent lazing on the beach - which is where we headed, and where we stayed until it was time to get back on the ferry. On the way to the beach we passed the Lamma Island Animal Protection shop, where we supported the local animals by buying two second-hand books, for reading on the beach. After a short walk through the lush bush of the island we came to Hung Shing Yeh beach, where we were greeted by a sign that exclaimed: No throwing discs, balls, or sand; as well as a sign that advised against swimming because of the waves (even though there was a lifeguard on duty)! In addition there was a shark net surrounding the swimming bay, which Adam was thankful for when he read a notice advising that a shark had been found nearby. Adam braved and immensely enjoyed the wave-infested but refreshing waters, while Liv got a headstart on her new book. The day past a bit too rapidly for our liking, and soon we were back on the ferry heading towards the city. However, we had a date with Liv's friend Juliette from profs back in New Zealand to look forward to!

With Juliette's expert Chinese (she is Chinese afterall), dining was much easier than usual, and we feasted on a variety of new veges we hadn't yet tried. Adam even tried a sweet redbean drink. Ignoring the restaurant staff, we talked the night away, with Liv catching up on the gossip that Juliette had and learning about Hong Kong and Juliette's life - in general it was a great night with a great friend. One good thing about catching up with an old friend is that we could skip the traveller's conversation: where are you from, where have you been, etc etc.... And it was fantastic to see the familiar face of a friend.

As the night switched to the next day, we headed home (via McDonalds for icecreams - way too much McDs here, but it's the cheapest place to eat!) for our last night in the Mansions.

Adlibing the beaches of Lamma Island

Day 76 - A misty meating with Buddha and into the noise and lights of the Hong Kong night

Once we were finally ready to face the day, we might as well have been heading out for lunch - instead we jumped on the metro and headed to Lantau Island, which although it is twice the size of Hong Kong Island it has only 50,000 residents. Once on our bus towards Po Lin Monastery we started to realise just how green and beautiful Hong Kong really is - there is so much more to it than the skyscrape skyline that it is renowned for. Driving past the beaches and reservoirs, and through the greenery, we wished we had more time / money so we could fully explore this side of Hong Kong. Our list of locations to return to is growing by the day and at this rate we may never get out of China. Of course having our family or friends coming to Asia will be ample excuse to rewalk some of the adlibing path once more.

Our bus ride was a very stress-free experience, and although it took twice as long as the same trip would have taken in mainland China, at least we were getting value for the unbelievably bankbreaking price of public transport in Hong Kong.

We arrived, once again, surrounded by mist and unable to see the sight we had come for: the Tian Tan Buddha statue, which is the world's largest outside seated Bronze Buddha. As we climbed the 260 steps, the amazing sight of the Buddha statue emerged from the misty shadows to greet us. With our special 'snack tickets' we were allowed entry inside the Buddha into the small exhibition where we gazed upon the scriptures engraved on huge wooden beams before having the honour of standing before the bone relics of Buddha.

After reading more about the temple, the statue and the life of Buddha we were treated to our free icecream and water, and headed back down the steps into the Monastery. At the entry of the Monastery, where worshippers place burning incense into the big metal urn, we got to see how cool our new camera is. We love the shots! Incense burns at every temple and monastery, but here it smelled sweeter than usual and Adam enjoyed being engulfed in the enchanting smoke. As we explored the monastery we were treated to the chanting of monks during a daily prayer session, which added realism to the experience. The months in China have naturally led us to many temples and monasteries varying in age and beauty and every time we think we have had our fill one will as if on cue leave an unforgettable mark, for Adam this was one of those places.

We headed back to town using the world renowned public transport system that every city should strive to imitate (except a little cheaper please), passing through the famous Temple Street Night Markets - where we were tempted by all kinds of gadgets (Adam), clothes (Liv) and the full set of Grey's Anatomy (both of us!). Reluctantly leaving the markets empty-handed we zoomed across town to the waterfront to view the "Symphony of Lights" staged nightly on Victoria Harbour. Taking our spot on the Avenue of Stars, we enjoyed watching the buildings across the harbour light up during the world's largest permanent light show - this was a spectacular laser and neon light extravaganza, that went on for about 5 minutes, all in time to a musical piece. The optical performance was accompanied by an unplanned partner as the moon joined in to dance with the clouds as the lights moved over the night sky.
The ever present rumble of thunder, no hang on... Liv's stomach, sent us on another of our effortful missions to find something to eat. Our adlibing travels have brought us to a country that is so well known for its food and blessed with the greatest ranges of fruit and vegetables you could imagine, that you would think finding a vegetarian option would prove an easy task...But once again, as we have come very accustomed to, we searched in vain for far too long. After leaving yet another restaurant without food in our bellies the situation took on a dark cloud as Liv began to breakdown running on the fumes of an empty tank. Thankfully we found a nice Malaysian place that would make up a vegetarian option for us and luckily for Adam the food turned out to be divine.

Strolling in the pleasant warmth of the Hong Kong night we manuvoured through the crowds and passed on the numerous temptingly cheap electronic shops all the while dogging the insistent drip of the airconditioners clinging to the buildings above our heads. Making it back to our mansion (cupboard in a crumbling building) we settled in for the night.

Adlibing it in the presence of Buddha.

Day 75 - Shopping for a new adliber.

Awaking to the sounds of Indian music breaking through the razor thin walls, we readied ourselves to head off into the world of Hong Kong shopping, new camera here we come! Our biggest worry was avoiding buying an expensive fake camera, so we followed the Lonely Planet's recommendations to some trusted camera shops. The prices at the authentic stores were much more expensive than the stores up and down Nathan Road (the backpacker's street where the peddlers yell out "you want copy-watches, copy bag" everytime you wander past), but we were willing to pay for the real deal - and the prices were much much cheaper than what we'd pay back home.

We found these reputable places had a price they were unwilling to budge from, which was much more than the Nathan Road sellers' starting price even before bargaining - we were even more reassured that where we were shopping was best.

After scurrying between two stores offering pretty much the same deal, we eventually settled upon a brand new Canon IXUS 900ti - half because that's what the trusted Harris family have, and half because the many reviews and "Top Camera Lists" we searched told us to! We also got a 2gb memory card and a 12 month warranty for a price that left us smiling. With a new camera in hand we headed for the top tourist attraction (and one of the oldest) in Hong Kong: Victoria Peak via the famous Peak Tram. The tram claws its way up the 552 metres to Victoria Peak tilting on crazy angles on its way. Adam, who was forced to stand, was hanging on for dear life. If the views on the way up were anything to go by, we were in for a sight... However, the further we climbed up the Peak Tower, the further we ascended into the blanket of cloud that was rapidly descending to engulf us.
We managed to get a few shots in before the skyline of Hong Kong was completely hidden from our view, leaving us waiting for the clouds to lift. We couldn't help feel sorry for the hundreds of people who were lined up around the block below waiting to get their piece of the view.

Buying time before the enticing lights of nightfall, began the 3.5km walking trail around the peak summit. This trail led us into a dark forest where we wished we had our brave Ethan James Harris there to protect us - it was a little bit spooky! - especially when bats started diving at us from the night sky. We took time along the way to gaze at the night lights below us, as the trademark neon lifeflow of Hong Kong slowly came to life.

Once we finally made it to the end of the track, Hong Kong was a blaze of colour and we joined the line at the top of the hill, for our descent back into the hustle and bustle of Central Hong Kong.

On our way to find food, we joined the ride on the Mid-Levels escalator - the longest in the world at 800m and taking 20 minutes from bottom to top. Too hungry for the whole trip, we made an exit, finding ourselves at another Indian restaurant for dinner, worth the Hong Kong dollars we paid for it (and no more).

Exhausted at this stage, we took the metro back home just in time for Grey's Anatomy. During the ads we (mainly Liv - Adam is banned from using this camera for now) read the camera manuals, and set about charging our new toy for its initiation into the adlibing adventures.

Adlibing the Hong Kong dollars up large.

Day 74 - Taking to the Air

The road to the airport was a relatively stress free affair, for once the adlibers had planned ahead and knew exactly when and where to catch the airport express bus! Check-in went smoothly, except for a 10 minute loss after waiting in the wrong line, and after a couple of hours wait we were on our way to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's one of the stops on our journey that everyone would have heard of, and although it is now officially part of China (since 1997) as soon as we arrived, we realised how different it is from the China we have experienced so far. First of all Hong Kong is a system of systems - operating in a fast and extremely organised manner, completely in contradiction to the China we had just left! Secondly, even though we travelled less than 200km, the weather was significantly more pleasant - we're not even sure we hit 30 degrees today?!!

We have grown accustomed to sky-scrapers, but the skyline of Hong Kong is like the trump card, with fancy buildings, mammoth plazas, and designer stores in every direction we look - although on our budget we don't look too hard, in fact the only designer goods we'll leave Hong Kong with will be of the fake variety.

Our first mission of the day was to get on transport in the direction of our hopeful accommodation, boarding a bus that took us right outside the infamous Chungking Mansions where hawkers were ready and waiting to show us to their rooms. Despite travelling by air, we were running out of time to get to the visa office before closing time, so we took the first decent room we came across and took minimal time to haggle the price down to something we were willing to pay for a bed inside a cupboard. Dumping our packs we set off at lightning pace to the visa office, the English signs of the subway and streets added an element of speed to our travels that we were unaccustomed to in China. Venturing underground, we paused to purchase "Octopus Cards" that allow us to travel on most public transport by the swipe of a money-loaded card (you can even shop at the 7-eleven and McDonalds with the cards). The visa office was a perfect example of the efficiency of Hong Kong - go in, fill out a form, take a ticket and wait, and so we waited. Finally our number was called, just after closing time, and a wave of relief spread over us, as we were dreading having to return tomorrow morning. All we have to do now is wait until Thursday for our brand new Chinese visas.

Mission number two for the day was to acquire train tickets to Shanghai - trains only go every second day and it is a popular line that fills up fast. As we head North via the main tourist destinations, we have to be organised and plan more than a day ahead in order to get tickets - especially considering we have to be in Jinan in under three weeks!

Feeling extremely proud of ourselves after not only successfully making it to the train station, and getting the exact tickets we wanted, we headed back to our wee corner of the mansion for a well deserved rest. We were a little nervous coming to the Metropolis of Hong Kong, especially on our budget, but so far it has been a breeze and EVERYONE speaks English.

Hanging out in the Mansions we had a chance to take in our surroundings - in our prime position on Nathan Road, is our age-stained building that has been the budgeters' choice for accommodation for as long as Hong Kong can remember. The ground floor is a calamity of rip-off electronic, clothing and porn stores, while the third floor is taken up with numerous Curry Houses, and the rest of the 15 floors are full of small guesthouses, run inevitably by Indian immigrants. Having the time, we searched the mansions and realised every guesthouse was basically the same - the size of the rooms, the state of cleanliness, and the cost - so we decided to stay where we were for our entire stay in Hong Kong (though we would use our length of stay as a bargaining tool for a reduction in price).

For dinner, we decided to check out one of the Mansion's Indian restaurants - The Everest Club - where we dined on the most expensive meal we've had in a while, though we will have to get used to this in Hong Kong - this was actually cheap by Hong Kong standards! Before heading to bed, we worked off our full bellies by losing ourselves in the neon lights, and scouting the shops for cheap electronics and crazy expensive water!

Adlibing Hong Kong, by Octopus card.

Day 73 - A restful day of exhausting our feet

We had decided in advance that we would rest our weary travellers' bodies today, so we slept in till mid-morning. A cell phone alarm that kept going off, threatened our sleep, but this is part of getting a cheap bed in the dorms.

After another home made meal for breakfast, we evenutally set out to ride the metro in search of Haizhu Square where we got back to our adlibing ways and wandered the streets before making it to the market where we spent hours browsing everything from childrens' toys, clothes, jewellry and everything else you could imagine. It's like one huge $2 shop maze. The thing that cracked us up was the lighter in the shape of a fire extinguisher - China is full of cliches!

Unbelievably we managed to leave the market empty-handed, but full of hopes that we could find something similar when we make it to Jinan (otherwise Adam has promised we can return to Guangzhou, for a shopping spree).

Hungry for lunch, we walked in and out of a few places before finally finding the restaurant that could give us what we wanted for a price we were willing to pay! The meal was great, and we were glad we spent the time searching. The friendly staff pointed us in the direction of a local market where we continued our penny saving and got to experience our first vege and noodle market purchase. There was lots of freshly cut meat and fish, but we bypassed this. For the meagre price of 3.70 yuan we got lots of noodles, bok-choy and a tomato for our dinner tonight. We look forward to doing our regular market shop when we're settled at work.

On the way back to catch the metro, we came across Beijing Lu - one of the biggest pedestrian shopping streets in Guangzhou, and amazingly crowded on the weekend. We wandered the streets, battling away the men approaching us offering 'genuine' rolex watches from their shady roadside stall, and occasionally venturing into a shop for a look around. Down the middle of the street were some remains of the old city, which we could look down at through glass windows.
Our restful day had turned into many hours on our feet, and we were beginning to fade. This was made worse by walking around the block in search of a metro station, and further exaggerated when we lost each other making our way to the platform. The 15 minute separation among the masses of metro travellers turned out fine, and before long we were relaxing back at the hostel.

Tonight we plan to dine in luxury on our market goodies, and pack for our trip to Hong Kong tomorrow!

Adlibing the market maze.

Day 72 - Headed for the ancient pottery towns

Today was an extremely hot Guangzhou day that was unusually clear of pollution, which allowed the sun to pierce down on us without the usual smog barrier we are used to - this was a little bit of a shock, but it was nice to see the blue sky in such a big city. Today we boarded the metro and headed for the Fangcun bus station we discovered by mistake yesterday, which meant we arrived at the station and we're jumping on board our next bus to Foshan in no time.

Foshan is only a 45 minute bus ride (but only 19km) out of Guangzhou, and is famous for being one of the oldest pottery towns in China. Although we were both expecting a small town, we were actually greeted by something more like an extension of the bustling city of Guangzhou.

We first headed to the area of Shiwan where ceramic shops literally line all the streets in Shiwan, where you can purchase anything from entire dinner sets to small figurines. Here, we visited the Nanfeng Ancient Kiln and its sister the Gao Kiln (known as "The Dragon Kilns"), both built during the Ming Dynasty (1506-1521) - reportedly the kilns' fires have never gone out, during their 500 year lives!
As we explored the ancient kilns, we saw a workman feed the eternal flame (a job we would hate to have in this extreme heat) and also got to see an artist shaping a pot on his pottery wheel and another putting the finishing touches on a small clay figurine. From what we observed of the four day pottery-making process from clay to masterpiece, all the artists must have a great deal of patience and skillful hands.
We also learnt more about the process, in the numerous museums and galleries that display a huge range of pottery from the weird (thank goodness for the English captions) to the absolutely stunning.

After several hours, we were in desperate need for food, so we headed first to a fruit market for some cheap bananas, and then to Renshou Buddhist temple for a delicious vegetarian feast (our first sweet'n'sour "pork" in China!). After weeks of dining on fried noodles and rice and the same 'ol veges, the feast today was a nice change (well worth the extra cost). It was also a bonus for us to find out what one of our favourite veges is: lotus flower root. While we didn't go into the temple we did get to appreciate the beautiful seven-storey pagoda, built in 1656.

Well-nourished we decided to walk back to the bus station, rather than cram into another sardine-tin bus, for our trip back to Guangzhou. Back home we relaxed and Adam made running repairs to his pack, making good use of the zinc-tape from home, which he desperately needs his old man to bring when he visits.

Dinner was a repeat of last night's 2-minute noodles with veges - not quite the feast we had at lunch - but of course the icecream that followed (vienetta on a stick for 40cents) was a nice finish to the meal.

Adlibing it to the heat of the Dragon Kilns.

Day 71 - Finally hitting a highlight in Guangdong (10 weeks late)

Despite having a rather large travelling day ahead of us, we still managed to laze away half of the morning, before finally setting off for the bus station. Our destination today was Kaiping, a town 140km out of Guaungzhou, famous for its Diaolou (watchtowers) that are only found in this area.
After months of experience with buses, the whole process of travelling the two hours to Kaiping went smoothly, and upon arrival we caught a local bus out to Zili Village, where the largest collection (15) of Diaolou are found. The Diaolou in this village were built in the 19th - 20th centuries by overseas Chinese returning home, who wanted to protect themselves and their familes from bandits and wildlife. The Diaolou are made out of concrete, have steel shutters, and are generally between three and seven stories high. The first tower we came across was Fang Clan Tower, important because it was based on the outskirts of town, meaning its inhabitants were the first to spot intruders. Picking our way along the village pathways we came to Yangyian Villa built in 1919, which we thought was existing true to its name ("live in tranquility") amongst the rice paddies and peaceful village.
Although we complained about the cost to enter the village, it was well worth the money, especially given we got to climb to the top and wander around a couple that still contained original furnishings, including family portraits. This gave us a great insight into life in the village over 100 years ago. The first tower we climbed was Yunhuan Lou, built in 1921. The second tower we climbed had its own stock of ammunition in a case with a sign "stones for retaliation" - we 're sure the small rocks would scare away any army! The village also contained beautiful villas, in the same semi-European style as the diaolou, overall producing a significantly different village environment than what we've seen in China so far. The last sight from the village was Zhulin Lou - meaning "The Tower in the Bamboo Grove" - which was literally nestled in amongst rice paddies and its own little bamboo forest! After nearly three hours of enjoying the village we returned to the small coountryside intersection where we waited on the side of the road for a bus to take us back to Kaiping. Along the way we witnessed suicidal spiky caterpillars zooming across the road like we've never seen caterpillars zoom before! Once the bus arrived, it took us to a completely different bus station, which in the end turned out for the better as the bus was cheaper from there, and it dropped us much closer to our hostel. Back at the hostel we dined on 2-minute noodles and veges (again), before treating ourselves to icecreams from "Your Friendly Local Store" just up the road.

Adlibing to the top of the Diaolou.

Day 70 - Our adlibing travels come full circle

Today began with screaming children running up and down the train aisles, as light streamed in through the windows many hours before our arrival time. We spent the night on 'hard-sleepers" on the overnight train to Guangzhou, which isn't as bad as it sounds as we had relatively comfy beds in a supposedly airconditioned train. A nice change from our usual mode of transport, which requires us to be seated upright for hours on end!

Arriving back in Guangzhou, it was nice to be back in familiar territory - we actually knew where we were, where we were going, and how to get there! No aimless wandering for accommodation, as we just returned to the faithful youth hostel we were at almost 10 weeks ago to the day - holy moly, has time really gone this fast?!

The first part of the day was spent resting, before venturing out in search of a temporary replacement for our broken digital camera. During our search we paused for lunch down a narrow cobblestoned alleyway, drawing us away from the crowds of the nearby pedestrian shopping street! Lunch was the usual fried rice and noodles, which we are enjoying at the real Chinese price - i.e. cheap!

The search for the camera was far more difficult than we could have imagined, but after an hour or more we came across our first disposable, initially quoted at a ridiculous price. Finally we found a cheap film camera (complete with batteries and a couple of films), which will do us just fine until we find a new digital on our shopping spree in Hong Kong. We think we may hold onto the film camera and sell it back to an antique dealer once we're done!

On our way home we did some grocery shopping for dinner supplies (i.e. 2 minute noodles and veges!) to help save pennies for Hong Kong, where our budget will double to allow for just the basic necessities!

Tonight we plan to rest and start our rejuvenation process, in preparation for the hectic atmosphere we expect to encounter at our next two destinations - Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Adlibing it back to where we started.

Day 69 - Trapsing in and out of the famous Hakka Tulou

Waking after a restless sleep, and early - the villagers obviously waking as daylight enters through multiple 'windows' throughout the Tulou. But what a view to wake up to: We went across to 'Backpaker Station' (a hotel across the road with a toilet!) for breakfast and a meeting with yet another Aussie - seems like we can't escape them - who slept in the same Tulou as us and (like us) had thought he was alone.

After filling up, we walked into the tourist Tulou village where we spent the next few hours exploring. In complete contrast to the Tulou outside the tourist village, many of the Tulou inside came complete with souvenier shops! Despite the tourism, we were spellbound by the sheer size and variety of Tulou.

As many of the Tulou are constructed with wooden beams jammed into the earth, stairways and flooring there is always a risk of fire. We therefore took notice of this stern warning (Mumbles have you been here educating the locals?):
Making the rounds we passed Zhencheng Lou (with inner and outer circles, as well as a large ancestral hall), Kuiju Lou (a square Tulou dating back to 1834), and Rusheng Lou (the smallest of the village with only 16 rooms). We also dined in Hong Tulou Hotel, by far the most commercialised Tulou we came across - but an experience nonetheless, especially when we we overcrowed once the tour buses arrived! We had been shocked as we wandered through the gorgeous village, that we were some of the very few tourists - until the tours arrived at lunch time, en masse.

The lowlight of the day was the final breaking of our camera, after a fall! Adam likes to keep positive - now at least our plans of purchasing a camera in Hong Kong are validated. However, this means no photos for at least the next five days, though we'll try and buy a disposable so at least we have a record of the next few days... Luckily the fall happened after we got lots of photos of the village, and tonight we head to familiar territory as we head back to Guangzhou - the starting point of our Chinese adlibing tour. The culprit of the 'camera incident' will remain nameless, though he is feeling rather stupid!

Back at our Tulou we packed up ready to return to Yongding, and ventured into yet another downpour of rain. After only waiting 10 minutes (remarkable by Chinese standards), our bus arrived and we farwelled our gracious and wonderful hosts.

In Yongding we headed straight for the computers - luckily after the camera incident we can still download the photos we have already taken. Now it's a case of food, and finding something to do until our train arrives at 10.55pm tonight, to begin our 12 hour journey back to the beginning!

Adlibing it amongst the Hakka people.

Day 68 - Headed for the Hakka Tulou villages

Waking up much earlier than we needed to, out of fear of missing our bus, we made our way (much more easily than anticipated) to the bus station a good two and a half hours before our departure time. This proved beneficial as we managed to swap our tickets for a bus leaving in only half an hour!

On board our bus to Yongding, we prepared ourselves for the six hour journey ahead of us - and were slightly thrown off (though quite happy) when we arrived after only three hours. Attempting to buy onward bus tickets to Guangzhou for tomorrow, we were shocked to find there was no bus - throwing out our belief that you can bus anywhere from anywhere in China! However, we were informed there was a train station across the road with trains to Guangzhou, so we made our way there only to find 'across the road' meant 'across town' - meaning we got a nice walk in the rain!

When we arrived at the train station we found the ticket booth unmanned, a first in China. After we deciphered the timetable, Adam went to find somewhere to buy tickets, eventually walking into the control station where he conversed with the guard using a mixture of sign language and his basic Chinese. Returning to Liv, Adam was extremely proud of his achievement, only to be told by Liv that she had simply read the Chinese sign that set out the ticketing hours, moments after Adam had set off! With a few hours to kill before the next ticket time - we did what any self-respecting traveller with time up their sleeves would do - we indulged in local cuisine - well sort of, we ate some more fried noodles! At least this time they cost us what we have become used to paying - just over a $1 for the both of us!

Braving the rain again we made our way to the train station, where we purchased our overnight train tickets with a breeze - Liv has the ticket ordering down to perfection!

Having our train tickets purchased meant we could finally make our way (how else, but by dodgy local bus?) to Hukeng - the sole reason we had come to Yongding for in the first place. Yongding is famous for its 20,000 Tulou (earth buidings) scattered around the region. Tulou are huge communal homes (capable of housing entire clans), usually round, but also sqaure, semi-circle or even shaped like Chinese characters - the rooms are positioned around the edges with an open roof above the courtyard in the centre. Made of rammed earth, rice and reinforced bamboo chips, the Hakka people initially built the Tulou to protect themselves from bandits and wild animals.

We had been expecting about a 20 minute bus ride, and after an hour and a half, we were dreading the point when we were to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere and be told: this is your stop - as has happened in the past!

At our stop, we were dropped off (as usual) at the busdriver's friend's place, who was in charge of organising for tourists to stay in a traditional Tulou. The Tulou we were shown to was absolutely amazing, and despite the basic conditions we jumped at the chance to sleep there along with the locals. Our Tulou was 4 stories high, with over 400 hundred rooms and was more than 500 years old. The first floor of the Tulou is reserved for cooking, while the courtyard houses a well and animals. The second floor is for storage, and the third and fourth are the sleeping quarters. We were lucky to have penthouse accommodation on the top floor, though without a toilet in the Tulou, Adam got the experience of peeing into a big concrete pot during the night!

After being shown around our Tulou, we were lukcy enough to view other varieties of Tulou scattered around this area of the village (tomorrow we will enter the 'tourist' village), by a wonderful English speaking local. The Hakka people are renowned for their friendliness, which we certainly experienced as we wandered in and out of their incredible Tulou. Of note was getting to see the oldest, and now crumbling and uninhabited, Tulou in the village - that our guide had lived in only ten years earlier. After our 'tour' we had a delicious feast for dinner, getting to try one of the local green veges! Venturing back in the dark to our room, we got semi-lost and found ourselves trying to break into one of the local's rooms, only to get smiles, laughs and points in the right direction by our lovely housemates! Making it back to our room, we settled into bed - after completely dousing ourselves in insect repellant!

Adlibing the night in a Tulou.

Day 67 - Exploring Gulang Yu

Today we spent the day exploring the island we currently call home (for 2 days, anyway). Gulang yu is a small island off the coast of Xiamen, in Fujian province. It has been inhabited by British and Japanese, among others, over the years - this is why it has a colonial feel, with maze-like alleys creeping around the island past old villas and churches (some now merely remains).

We also came across something we've seen all over China: makeshift barbedwire - OUCH! At times this makes us laugh as it is sometimes surrounding peaceful places such as temples and churches!
Gulang Yu has a history of music, and we were treated to delicate piano playing as we walked the streets - even the stone speakers hidden in the grass played piano tunes.

Our first stop of the day (after we had walked a third of the way around the island lost) was the Organ Museum - while this is not something we would usually choose to pay to see, it was included in the sight-seeing ticket we bought, and it was airconditioned, which was a welcome retreat from the heat. Here we got to see a collection of antique organs in all shapes and sizes, including one that would take up half a house!

Next we headed to Sunlight Rock - the highest point on the island at only 93m! From the top we got great views over the island and ocean, and if we weren't engulfed in the constant haze, we would have been able to see Jinmen Island (claimed by China and Taiwan, but occupied by the latter).
Ambling down the rock, we stopped in at the 'swimming beach', but despite the heat we were not enticed to take a dip amongst the floating debris. Instead we headed to Shuzhuang Gardens, which started off with a zig-zag walkway built over the ocean and around the coast. Finding ourselves following one of the many paths, we were soon out of the garden before ever really entering - almost meaning we were prevented from going in again through one of the many entrances! In the gardens we found a cool rock park, a LOT of pavillions, and a piano museum, but were disappointed as we couldn't find the highlight of the gardens: a bonsai garden.
In need of a rest we returned to the hostel navigating through the alleyways awash with people trying to sell us dried seafood, and past restaurants with very sad looking fish and exotic seafood barely alive and crammed into small plastic washtubs - in order to provide patrons with 'fresh' seafood.

Ready to face the world again, we made it to Haoyue Garden - our last destination for the day, finding the island semi-deserted as most tourists had returned for the mainland. The Haoyue Garden houses the enormous 16m high and 1,400 tonne statue of Koxinga (a famous military figure) overlooking the ocean to Taiwan. Later on, we braved the rain in our search of food, and once again came home less than satisfied after greasy and tasteless (and overpriced) dishes. Our only saviours were delicious roti-like bread from a street vendor and McDonalds chocolate sundaes that melted as fast as we could eat them on the way home.

Adlibing the alleyways around a hot Gulang Yu.