Hong Kong and a bit of China
Door: Karen
11 December 2011 | China, Lijiang
Yes, finally got this website to function so here is an update of my first week in Asia.
I arrived a week ago in Hong Kong, was couchsurfing Christopher's couch. He was such a good host, with a supercomfy couch! He lives together with his boyfriend and the father of his boyfriend, very modern and open minded people.
He showed me around in Hong Kong,I had breakfast with him, his boyfriend and mother of his boyfriend in a very local and cheap place. We met with another couchsurfer as well: Manish from Dubai. Had a great time exploring the city, together with Christopher, Manish or on my own. Hong Kong is a lively and crazy hectic city! There's some great nature in Hong Kong aswell, good for hiking, I will explore that at the end of my travel.
After Hong Kong I wanted to take a very long trainride to Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan Province. But I soon got stranded in Guangzhou, 2 hours away from Hong Kong, 26 hours away from Kunming. The train to Kunming was fully booked, the first possible train was the next day in the evening! So there I was, in this huge city with no information at all since I didn't have a travelbook of China... But thanks to my travelangel Josien (a million thanks chiquita!), I finally found a hostel which was fantastic! Met some really nice people, Giacomo from Italy and Melissa from the US. Melissa could speak and read Chinese, we spend the whole day eating streetfood. Guangzhou is known about the food, so eventually it wasn't really that bad being stranded in Guangzhou!
The 26hour trainride to Kunming wasn't that bad at all, I liked it actually. I was just being lazy, lying in bed, reading, eating, sleeping, and repeat! Great way to be legally lazy! And I was glad spitting in the train was forbidden! God, these Chinese people love to spit!
I stayed in Kunming 1 night, went to visit a beautiful temple and got on a nighttrain to Lijiang. Lijiang is a really beautiful city, but super touristy! And quite cold in the night as well! We went out in the night to dance along with other Chinese, which was so funny! It was some kind of line dancing, in a circle! Well, it kept me warm and I had fun together with other guests from the hostel haha. And it was a special experience, dancing along with other Chinese people, with this beautiful scenery and the moon eclipse!
I wanted to stay for one more day, and then head to the north close to Tibet: Shangri La. But two very nice people from the hostel, Eva and Yuval, convinced me to go with them to a beautiful lake close to the Sichuan border: Lugu Lake. So here I am, in a village at Lugu Lake. So freaking beautiful and peaceful here! The people here are also very beautiful, they look like people from Tibet!
I will hike some tomorrow, enjoy the scenery and the people! After this I will head back to Lijiang and Shangri La, and stay in the cold for a while haha.
Travelling through China is quite challenging, since I don't know the language and I can't read at all. The little problem I encountered here is that everybody expects me to understand and speak Chinese! You should see their faces when they talk to me and I go like: Sorry, I don't understand a word you say, and my fellow foreign travellers, who most of the time do speak (a little) Chinese, take over the conversation!
Well, that's it for now. Keep me updated about your lives ok!
I arrived a week ago in Hong Kong, was couchsurfing Christopher's couch. He was such a good host, with a supercomfy couch! He lives together with his boyfriend and the father of his boyfriend, very modern and open minded people.
He showed me around in Hong Kong,I had breakfast with him, his boyfriend and mother of his boyfriend in a very local and cheap place. We met with another couchsurfer as well: Manish from Dubai. Had a great time exploring the city, together with Christopher, Manish or on my own. Hong Kong is a lively and crazy hectic city! There's some great nature in Hong Kong aswell, good for hiking, I will explore that at the end of my travel.
After Hong Kong I wanted to take a very long trainride to Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan Province. But I soon got stranded in Guangzhou, 2 hours away from Hong Kong, 26 hours away from Kunming. The train to Kunming was fully booked, the first possible train was the next day in the evening! So there I was, in this huge city with no information at all since I didn't have a travelbook of China... But thanks to my travelangel Josien (a million thanks chiquita!), I finally found a hostel which was fantastic! Met some really nice people, Giacomo from Italy and Melissa from the US. Melissa could speak and read Chinese, we spend the whole day eating streetfood. Guangzhou is known about the food, so eventually it wasn't really that bad being stranded in Guangzhou!
The 26hour trainride to Kunming wasn't that bad at all, I liked it actually. I was just being lazy, lying in bed, reading, eating, sleeping, and repeat! Great way to be legally lazy! And I was glad spitting in the train was forbidden! God, these Chinese people love to spit!
I stayed in Kunming 1 night, went to visit a beautiful temple and got on a nighttrain to Lijiang. Lijiang is a really beautiful city, but super touristy! And quite cold in the night as well! We went out in the night to dance along with other Chinese, which was so funny! It was some kind of line dancing, in a circle! Well, it kept me warm and I had fun together with other guests from the hostel haha. And it was a special experience, dancing along with other Chinese people, with this beautiful scenery and the moon eclipse!
I wanted to stay for one more day, and then head to the north close to Tibet: Shangri La. But two very nice people from the hostel, Eva and Yuval, convinced me to go with them to a beautiful lake close to the Sichuan border: Lugu Lake. So here I am, in a village at Lugu Lake. So freaking beautiful and peaceful here! The people here are also very beautiful, they look like people from Tibet!
I will hike some tomorrow, enjoy the scenery and the people! After this I will head back to Lijiang and Shangri La, and stay in the cold for a while haha.
Travelling through China is quite challenging, since I don't know the language and I can't read at all. The little problem I encountered here is that everybody expects me to understand and speak Chinese! You should see their faces when they talk to me and I go like: Sorry, I don't understand a word you say, and my fellow foreign travellers, who most of the time do speak (a little) Chinese, take over the conversation!
Well, that's it for now. Keep me updated about your lives ok!
-
11 December 2011 - 19:46
Suzanne Marcelis :
Hee Karen, leuk dat je zo'n goeie tijd hebt! Hier gaat alles z'n gangetje, niet zoveel te melden dus ;).
x Suuz -
11 December 2011 - 20:08
Janne:
Chicaaaaahhh!! Goed om -eindelijk!- wat van je te horen :) Zie je helemaal voor me, traveling, socializing, lekker lazy treinhangen en many many nice meals :) :) haha, en oja dan ook nog die taalbarriere :) In Afrika vonden ze het al raar dat je geen Chinees kon dus laat staan in CHina ja, haha! Nou enjoyyy en tot snel weer mails/skypes
xx! -
12 December 2011 - 08:29
Willemijn:
Ha Karen,
Ik sluit me helemaal aan bij Janne! Wat een mooi verhaal! heerlijk lui in de trein, lekker VEEL eten, en genieten van de mensen, natuur en al het moois wat China nog meer te bieden heeft!! GENIET!!! xx -
12 December 2011 - 15:30
Diane:
Wauw chica, leuk om je verhalen te lezen. Hier gaat alles goed en is het ook koud. Sinterklaas was leuk, nu op naar kerst in Noorwegen, erg zin in!!!! Even over je foto's: staat je keigoed die Sari(??), very feminine!!!!!
XX en geniet! -
12 December 2011 - 21:51
Vera:
Ha Karen, klinkt goed zeg die reisverhalen. Heerlijk zo'n treinreis. Erg grappig dat ze je allemaal in het chinees aanspreken, even oefenen en je hebt zo een antwoord terug. Veel plezier nog! x Vera -
12 December 2011 - 21:51
Vera:
Ha Karen, klinkt goed zeg die reisverhalen. Heerlijk zo'n treinreis. Erg grappig dat ze je allemaal in het chinees aanspreken, even oefenen en je hebt zo een antwoord terug. Veel plezier nog! x Vera -
13 December 2011 - 13:22
Petra:
Hola Chica! Ik ben jaloers, heerlijk reizen en je nergens druk over maken (behalve de taalbarriere dan ;-))! Maar je hebt het ook verdiend!
Ook al veel nieuwe mensen ontmoet zo te lezen, helemaal leuk!
Hier gaat het (redelijk) oke! Mn spaans gaat vooruit, maar moet nog wel even flink oefenen hoor!
Verder heb ik afgelopen weekend mn kerstboom versierd, ja ja ik heb een echt kerstboom in mn kamer staan! Echt super gezellig, jammer dat je dat nu moet missen ;-). Ik zal een foto maken en deze opsturen, hihi!
Verder wil mn rug nog niet zo meewerken helaas, maar goed er loopt van alles, dus hoop dat er snel vooruitgang in zit!
En is de legging met de linnen broek erover nog voldoende ;-)!
Wel regelmatig blijven schrijven he!
kus -
14 December 2011 - 15:24
Femke En Adrian:
Hè Karen, klinkt zo ontzettend goed dit! En kijk uit voor die spugende Chinezen schijnt echt erg te zijn, haha. Daarentegen is het eten de theetjes cultuur en het landschap gelukkig wel fantastisch! Geniet van deze bijzondere reis!
Groetjes x Femke en Adrian
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