Exploitation

Halong Bay

After our stint in Sapa we went straight onto Halong Bay, a 18 hour bus journey away.

Halong Bay, a UNESCO heritage sight, is a bay that features thousands of limestone 'karsts' that jut out of the sea in dramatic fashion.

This was the first time we went somewhere with an organised tour group and found it remarkably easier to have everything organised for you. From your meals to transport to tour guides, accommodation etc. There really was no other way to do the Halong Bay tour than with a tour. So we caved and were glad to do so (organised tours is not our thing if you have not noticed). Shortly after arriving at the pier we were shown to our 'Junk Boat' where we would be staying for the night.

met some really interesting characters on the did the booking Met really cool people on the boat.

First night spent on the Junk boat surrounded by the towering cliffs which make the bay famous.

Guangzhou locals & markets

Guangzhou city, the export hub of Asia, is one hell of a mega city consisting of an urban area populous of nearly 14 million people (precisely double the size of Joberg)! Wherever you go there are always people, masses of them! Never a quiet moment in this city. The towering buildings and transport systems are truly 1st world, this in complete contrast to the vast majority of their population who are very, very 3rd world.

TV tower near new town area - massive structure with a rollercoaster attached to the top floor

Why you may ask? Spitting for one. The vast majority is accustomed to hocking very public 'loogie projectiles' and strategically placing them at various, and frequent, positions along the sidewalk. Awesome.

The signs we encountered are obviously broken as no one adhere's to them

Another favourite pastime of the local inhabitants is the growing of the 'Poo nail' - a lengthy baby finger nail that comes with many nifty uses, the most common being PUBLIC nose picking. This ergonomic nose picking tool sure is popular as we have yet to come across a Chinese male without one of these nifty gadgets! Siff.

The poo or nose picking nail

Our travel around Guangzhou were mainly on their highly efficient underground Metro system. This is a very clean and efficient service and would cost less than 8rmb (R10) to get across town and back, a 2hour journey. The Metro is littered with slogans like the one below as well as others teaching the locals to be polite to one another, not to push and to let elders sit. Through first hand experience, I can tell you for free that these signs do not work.

Be careful

The infamous 'please don't touch me' sign

Clean and efficient

The Metro is a pushing festival and thankfully us westerners are taller and generally bigger than the Chinese so we usually win these pushing bouts. If you don't push, you don't get on. It's true i'm afraid, there's no politeness here at all! You begin to become an agressive and impolite human being and forget the values you are taught back home in a more polite society.

We were in Guangzhou for nearly a month and did, however, enjoy our stay here. We were treated to lodgings in Julie and Dave's 5 star apartment situated in the heart of the new CBD area. Every amenity within a 10 minute walk. Lekker.

The main draw card fr foreigners to Guangzhou is the bustling export trade and the numerous export markets that Guangzhou offers. To name just a few of the markets we visited:

The shoe market - keep the ladies away from this one;

Leather market - selling expensive handbags, Jimmy Choo accessories, Louis Vitton products (as real as they get, complete with packaging and price tags that do not break the bank);

Handbag market - another female mecca;

Button market - yes, a 5 story building comprising of thousands of tiny tiny stalls selling every type and size of button imaginable;

Watch market - every type of analoge watch available, look through the phone book sized catalogue and choose your wrist accessory. After making your choice you'll find yourself being whisked into an elevator, through a few sneaky doors and corridors and BAM, a 'secret knock' opens the doors to the pirate watch making area of the world. Seedy looking individuals armed with magnifying glasses and briefcases, meticulously scan through the different watch displays and brands, picking only the finest copied to sell back home. Eg, a ZAR25,000 Patek Philippe lookalike would go for a mere ZAR700 in these knock off 'stores'.

The amount of stock on offer at these markets is truly mind blowing! Many international brands on offer are in fact 'Made in China', so I pose the question:

Are we purchasing oversupply of certain items (eg, Jack Wolfstein or Due South apparel) or have these items 'fallen off the back of a truck'?

Are they made in the same factory and stolen/smuggled-out by employees to sell on the black market?

The above listed product (North Face) would fetch nearly ZAR2,000 back in good old RSA, but at the export market you could pick one up for ZAR250, same materials, same Gore-Tex layers. Who is really the one being ripped off here?

Table Mountain sleep over

The mission: Run Constantia Village to the Nek, up the Hoerikwaggo Trail singletrack to the Mountain Club of SA overnight hut.

The 2nd last day of 2011 brought with it some scorching afternoon sunshine with a dose of sterk south westerly winds. Off I went, up the hill's of Constantia along Southern Cross Drive and into the lower Cecilia forest contour path. A left turn heading south allowed a gentle contour until reaching the Constantia Nek fork. From here on the path provided some up up and some more up. Having a pack in tow sure does make the legs burn and no amount of heavy breathing allows enough O2 to reach the now tired thighs and calves. Shoudl've left the 6 pack and meat at home (I'd be grateful later) cause damn it sure was heavy.

After 25 mins the top was in sight and the luxury stone cottages came into view. A much needed bottle refill at the water spout provided a moments rest before setting off once again along the single track contour. This route winds along the mountain ridge above Rhodes Drive and Kirstenbosch and provides spectacular views of the southern suburbs and the winelands. Passing Nursery Ravine a sho't left was taken bringing me along a much more overgrown foot path heading in the direction of Kasteelpoort and closer to the overnight hut. Although mid summer this area was unseasonally wet and marshy making the running through the compressed reeds and mud difficult. Up and over the final ridge I emerged and the view in front of me from this vantage was truly awesome. Henly Hutchinson dam straight ahead, Hout Bay and Orange Kloof to the left, Cape Town nature at its best!

Upon entering the mountain hut I was greeted by the trail expert Charl as well as the friendly folk who were also staying in the hut. They had all been there for the past 3 nights, braving the wind and cloudy weather. After a sunset braai on the front porch and a douse of 'spook-n-diesel' Charl and I grabbed the head torches and set out for a night hike. Charl chose the route. It looked like an 'easy' one according to the map. A cool hour and a half or so...... NOT.

We shortly found ourselves clinging to the rock face high up on one of the 12 Apostles. The glistening lights of Camps Bay flickered below. A descent or two and a 300m vertical climb had us back on a very faint trail as we tried to make our way through the shrubbery back towards Echo Valley.

Through the Valley of Isolation we went and finally popped out above the HH dam once again. the lights of the Pumphouse were off in the distance - we were coming home. Two and a half hours later we cracked open our last two remaining beers in the warmth of the mountain hut. The others had been rather worried that we had lost our way....

The Hippie town called Dali

Jim and I were so excited to get back on the road, that we didnt sleep a wink the night before heading west to Dali. Making the 4:30 wake up call, not so inviting... However it didn't take us long to get in to the swing of things and before we knew we were on the hour long bus ride to the airport, followed by a two hour flight to Kumning, we then hopped in a taxi to the bus station to catch a six hour bus ride to Dali new town and then got into a tuk tuk which drove us the half hour drive to Dali Old Town. Needless to say we were buggered by the time we got there, and finally after getting lost for about an hour we found our humble abode - The Jade Emu.

To be honest my expectations were not high with regards to the backpacker vibe in China. The thought of the toilet situation we were potentially facing alone was enough to put me off. So I am happy to report that the Jade Emu is honestly one of the best best backpackers we have stayed in our entire trip... and believe me, we have have stayed in quite a few. Firstly it had a massive courtyard with tables, chairs, umbrellas and an awesome bar with pool table and all. The menu had both western and chinese cuisine on offer - very much a bonus as the chinese food can get a bit much, there is only so much oily fried rice and veg one can eat.... and unlike Jimmy I am definitely not a pork stuffed steamed dumpling dunked in soya sauce fan. The bedrooms were spacious with a tv and dvd player with a vast selection of dvd's on offer to watch at your disposal. Then the last little touch which I thought was quite nice was the fact that they supplied, Body wash and Shampoo and Conditioner... what a win. This might not sound like much, but trust me, when you on the road for a long time, it is the small things that count.

The Jade Emu