Yan'An Grand Hotel Liuzhou

... and happened to meet the whole household having their dinner. They invited me to join them. The family was very hospitable and served me their home-made strange meat, such as sour fish (uncooked), sour duck (uncooked), pickled pork etc., but my gorge rose when I put them into my mouth. The daughter of the family is very beautiful and graceful but fattish. She filled my bowl with brewed rice wine again and again, I drank a lot and became fuddled ...

Welcome to the craziness that is Vietnam! Upon arrival, it was evident that we had left behind the tranquility of Laos and drastically pumped up the noise and energy level! The sheer number of people on motorbikes surpassed any logic but as time went on, I found it amusing to spot the strangest combinations of people, animals and things that could possibly be balanced on a set of moving wheels. The range included a family of 5 to a man with 6 kegs to another with a ...

Despite our hopes that we could negotiate a late check-out, we were reminded that we had to leave the room by 12 noon. Thomas had offered their left luggage facilities to us a few times - at a price of Y10, which we thought was outrageous. After all we had stayed there six days. Other staff, however, said there was no charge, and when we checked with Larry, he said "Of course". Yoong wanted to try the Y20 breakfast buffet at the Regent Hotel across the road from us, though we ...

... unwieldy woven costumes. Meanwhile the sun made its way up the mountains and turned our once-indigo hills into giant sentries of green jutting into the blue sky. A multicolored hot air balloon floated overhead, and we were in bliss with our private boat and own captain. Rafting in Yangshuo This taste of travel by water was so enjoyable we planned to take a bamboo raft all the way down river ...

... Luckily they also presented us with beers and the inevitable shot of rice wine. Rice wine is lethal stuff - it has nothing to do with wine and lot more to do with vodka. Andy (being a guy and always up for anything) had many shots of rice wine and many glasses of beer to wash down the delightful Chinese lunch. That afternoon we went on a river cruise to see cliff paintings that are over 2000 years old. They covered a large area on the cliff and were ...

Everybody makes mistakes. Ours was to attempt to travel through China during Chinese New Year, which broke the records this year as the biggest migration of people in the world ever. Needless to say, this had a fairly damaging effect on the Chinese transport system... We had hoped to get to Yangshuo from Hong Kong via a comfortable overnight train. However, with all trains booked and crazy waiting lists, we opted for a bus instead. The next best option was the ...

... building, a bit run down and gloomy. When we got out, we walked through an open but empty bowling alley, through a dimly lit corridor, to find a huge floor with rows and rows of computers in this so-called cafe. More of an internet restaurant! There were about four or five 'rooms', all open-plan, with loads of young girls and boys playing online games or watching movies, with their headsets on, so it was fairly quiet. We had to get a User ID ...

... want to show their wealth in brand new white concrete, imitation Ming Dynasty hotels and shopping malls. The town is increasintly awash with tour groups marching after a guide holding a flag and loud hailer. It's a meeting of worlds and styles, but the irony could be that by following the prototype tourist theme park of modern China (you may guess that I'm not enamoured of it), the very fusion of cultures that defined the town and increased it ...

... quantities of both used in UK restaurants than I'd use in my own home. All concerns aside, I ate most of what we cooked (side salad excluded!), and it really was delicious. I just wish I could remember the recipe! A memory that will certainly stick with me for some time is of being on that rooftop overlooking the river and the pretty bridge with the willow-tree beside it, as day turned to night, with karst mountains surrounding us and lightning flickering in the sky.

... It was more like a big house. The whole bottom floor consisted of a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a large open room with 3 large round tables with chairs where the family and guests when there are any sit around either to eat, watch TV, play cards, and in the case of the Chinese men smoke. It was a very relaxing 3 days we spent in Ping An. It is truly amazing the effort people put into growing their food.