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| Charmin' Xiamen, Bonkers Honkers
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OK, a bit of a shorter entry this time after my last epic.
After leaving the delights of Jingdezhen we arrived in Xiamen not expecting too much (it ain't exactly on the tourist trail). Imagine our surprise, therefore, when we arrived to be told that the hostel we had wanted to go to was fully booked. Turns out there's a Dragon Boat festival occuring.
We eventually managed to find rooms in the International Students block of Xiamen Uni. Happily they have set aside a floor as a hotel with very nice rooms with views across to the South China Sea. Venturing into the city that night we were surprised to see how busy, bright and pleasant it was. A few streets were traffic free and so we wandered past street food stalls without worry.
Just about everywhere we have been in China we have been stared at as if we were the strangest thing to pass through since Marco Polo. Xiamen, however, was different. People seemed to be more worldly wise and didn't shout 'Hello' at you from across the street.
On our first full day here we took a 5 minute ferry across the water to the car-free island of Gulang Yu. Owned at various times by most of the Western European countries, the buildings left behind by the British in the early 20th century remained intact, albeit draped in lianas and other creepers. We breathed in the air of faded glory mixed with oppressive humidity. All around were sm,all beaches where we sat and gazed across to where Jianmen, owned by Taiwan, would be if there wasn't a large bank of sea mist in the way.
The other main attraction of Xiamen is a large temple which we had a quick look around on our last day. Starting to get a bit templed out; they all look the same after a while. Hopefully Angkor Wat will proove me wrong.
Arriving in Hong Kong was like being hit by a luminescent wave of sound, sights and, fortunately, not too many unpleasant smells. No sign of the floods here, although it has rained a little. We headed straight to the Peak, which is a handy viewpoint to which runs a 120-year-old tram. From here we watched as dusk fell and lights were switched on to provide a dazzling visual sensation.
Today we have visited Kowloon and it's many electronics shops. Rode back courtesy of Star Ferries and saw how a huge part of the bay is being reclaimed into land. Tonight we'll watch the sound and light show which bounces off of and around the myriad skyscrapers, then tomorrow evening it's back to China and hello to Yangshuo.
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