Donghai Spa Zhanjiang

... cool. It is almost time for the harvest so the terraces are golden.

We walked from one village to another. It took us about seven hours of climbing but it was well worth it. The sights were breathtaking. If you get a chance you should visit here.

... of stock from stationery items to basket balls and chicken feather dusters!! We were then taken for a drive around the main shopping area before heading to the restaurant for a welcome dinner.

Some of the challenges we are facing are the small amount of English that is anywhere so we really feel like foreigners and are certainly the ones that stand out in a crowd, being photographed by every other camera in the area !! Hand ...

... flight very much. Arriving at Shenzhen airport I took the coach to Wanchai, via the border controls. The ride was very nice in the air conditioned coach, and I arrived within 100m of my hotel.

The hotel was very posh and nice, a great break from the hostels I had been staying in, and I had a twin room, even though it was just me, so loads of space and a TV :)

I'll put the rest of the HK stuff in the HK stories

... 7 week trip! I was pleased with myself that I found my 1st hostel, the Haikou Banana Hostel, & bonus they were able to switch my room to one with a western-style toilet (pretty much the last one that I'd see for the whole trip). I didn't get to see much of Haikou at all. I just explored my immediate area, found some yummy food & then rested up for another morning flight the next day. The fact that it was New Years Eve kinda passed me by. In spite of Haikou being the capital, most ...

... the finish on good Chinese expressways. We will have a brief celebration at the finish line and move to our hotel and a farewell dinner. We are 29 trucks with 24 participant trucks and 5 control trucks . We lost 2 participants trucks back down the track do to mechanical problems and they were shipped home. Everyone will finish however after ...

... yhteensa 4 tuntia. Olis ollu helponpaa laittaa ihmisia junasta laivaan. Laivalla menna yli ja sitten vaihtaa toisella puolella taas junaa. Olisi ollut paljon nopeampaa. Junassa oli Kiinalais porukka joka osasi ihan muutaman sanan Englantia. Yksi heista osasi jotenkin kirjottaa englantia. He tulivat aamulla juttelemaan minun kanssani. Minulla oli Suomi Kiina sana kirja. Ja sen ja paperin kanssa yritimme kommunikoida. Oli siina valilla pokassa pitelemista ku ...

... syomaan. No mikas siina. Mentiin syomaan nuudeli paikkaan. Oli kylla aika maukasta sapuskaa. Taisin vaihteksi syora jotain riisi sapuskaa... Mark kertoi myos olevansa lahdossa Sanyalle seuraavana paivana. Illalla katsoimme joidenkin heebojen kanssa jotain varmaan kauhu komediaa hostellissa. No eihan mulla pysyny silmat auki. Elokuvakin oli todella huono. Tai ainakaan mina en siita pitanyt... Olin aamulla laittanut kellon soimaan kuudeksi ...

... on the intertnet,and when I express it her answer is "Me too". We are sitting down for a meeting in a corner of the hall. The boss of the company is greeting us welcome. Her name is Ms Long. She is giving me the surprise, which is an invitation for me to write articles and also publish pictures from my trips around Hainan. The have just started the work with a new homepage. I am very honoured and glad for the invitation and will do my very best to ...

We did a bus-ride around the town, intending to get off at the fish-market, but realizing too late that we had already passed it. We stayed on the bus until it returned to the stop where we had picked it up, leaving the bus driver bemused at the strange sight of the crazy foreigners taking a trip to nowhere. Taking the local buses is actually a good way to see a wider area of the town, except when they are packed to the brim with sweaty ...

... which sounded good but over-priced. After spending most of the day at Silver Beach we went back to explore the town further. Having eaten so well for lunch we decided to see what the Gofar Paris Hotel had to offer. We had actually tried to go there for Christmas dinner the night before, but the restaurant was closed for the hotel's own private party. It turned out to be a dim-sum meal, packed with locals. We took several dishes from the passing trolleys ...