Fun times China

China, China, China... My love and hate for you are almost equal. You're a fascinating place that is changing rapidly. To see all of you would take years. Rich in history with delicious food, I'm sure to never forget you. So to say good bye I'm going to highlight a few things that provided endless laughs and amazement.

 

Spitting inside buildings, busses and trains

Tee shirts pulled up over your bellies, and rubbing said belly

Staring, oh the endless staring

Shoving your kids in front of us to have their picture taken with us

Creepily sneaking photos of us

Whole families on one scooter Yes, all five of you

Sleeper trains that reak of instant noodles

Pollution so horrible that it's hard to breath

Food that no humans should ever consume

Shoving and pushing to be first to get anywhere and everywhere

Cutting in 'line' at any possible chance

And shirts that make no sense like... 

 - Just be myself robin hood

 - What I'm doing, I don't know, next in

 - Smile sign is nature, refull, bottomind

China's fragrant harbour

Hong Kong is easily one of the most densely populated areas in the world, and it definitely feels like it. With a whopping 8,096 buildings for it's 7,300,000 residents in only 426 sq miles. A former british colony, taken by the British empire after the first opium war in 1839. China resumed sovereignty after 1997. I won't try to go into that many details about it's history since I don't want to stay up until 5am writing this post. Let's just say it's why Cassie and I explored one museum for an entire afternoon learning about this city's history.

We set out to view Hong Kong as many ways as we could. Initially by exploring the streets that make this city tick, the shopping, dinning, and cultural sites were endless. Then we hopped on the peak tram for a view of the city below. Unfourtantly like most of the cities we visited in China the views were a dissapointment since the smog was so heavy. Never giving up hope for a great view, we also walked along the river front for the nightly light show displayed on the buildings. The music was cheesie but fun (I might have been dancing) and the lights were pretty cool.

It's windy on a dragon's back

Since Cassie and I love our hiking, once we got to Hong Kong we knew there was one hike we had to go on. With a name like Dragon's Back it had to be good. Plus our good buddy Tom suggested it to us, on top of that it was voted best urban hiking trail in Asia by Time Magazine.

The hike was an easy 4.5km and the views were stunning. We packed a light lunch of Pabst Blue Ribbon and cheeseburger chips which were pretty tasty on top of the mountain. The unexpected powerfull winds were entertaining, As you'll see below. We finished our hike with some swimming in the South China Sea at a small but quite beach. Which is the perfect ending to any hike. The unfourtante part was on the way back I was feeling under the weather. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I spent the next few days laying in bed recoving while Cassie explored Hong Kong with a friend recommened to us by Stacy.

That's one Biiig Buddah

Outside of Hong Kong we took some public buses to see the Tian Tan Buddha, which I just read, is also called the Big Buddha (important fact for the next paragraph). The statue was built to symbolize the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. Surrounding the Buddha there are six smaller statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" Presenting buddha with flowers, incense and fruit. Symbolizing what's needed to enter the state of nirvana: charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation and wisdom.

While walking around I could not stop saying "that's one biiig Buddah", which now seems like it might be a popular trend. We thought I was just going delirious from all that we had experienced in mainland China. One never really knows when they are losing it while traveling, it just sort of happens over time, or maybe it was my own personal chant on my way to becoming enlightened.

Am I walking on a dragon?

After exploring Yanghsou for a few days we took a mini bus to the famous Logji Terraced Rice Fields aka Dragons Backbone. Once you've hiked to the top you see why this nickname has stuck. We arrived in the planting season when the terraces are filled with water and workers spend everyday from early sunrise to sunset planting young plants for the coming season.

This work seemed hard and it made me happy that I spend most of my time these days only writing blog posts in the comfort of a bed or sitting along the beach. Most workers had extremly arched backs from working low to the grown their whole lives. It was especially sad to see all the old ladies who's bodies are so contorted that their natural position is now looking at the ground.

Not a lot of things are similar with working the rice fields and blog writing, but one thing is essential for both: lots and lots of beer. If there is one thing that's rewarding after a long day we can all agree that an ice cold brew is the way to end a day, or in my case… start the day.