Puerto Princesa - Arrival

Puerto Princesa

It rained quite heavy when we left the buzzling Metropolis of Guangzhou this night. The streets turned into rivers and the ride to the airport would have probably been easier by boat than by cab. However, as the plane arrived in Manila at five in the morning, temperature was already at 28 degrees and the appearance of the sun was accompanied by the friendly smile of the Philippine people which could be found in almost every face of the busy crowd in the arrival hall.

Puerto Princesa is located on an island called Palawan. It was another one hour flight - and it`s definitly close to my imaginations on paradise.

Off to Manila

Yangshuo - Rainy Day

 

Although it was very rainy on the weekend in Yangshuo, you could imagine the atmosphere of this town and its surroundings. Again, it is a city full of tourists but if you just get to the outskirts and into the terrific rural area around Yangshuo - you can easily stay for several days.

The way back was like a ride on the monkey rock. Between steamed chicken feets, bacon soup and Chinese soap opera I travelled along the countryside of Guanxi and Guangdong province for eight hours accompanied by a whole villlage of Chinese people; perhaps my most authentic Chinese experience during my trip so far. 

Dragon's Backbone - Rice Terraces

The rice terraces in Longsheng, called the Dragon's Backbone. Although you might directly realize that this area will soon turn into a place filled up with hotels, hostels and tourists it's still worth a trip. You can see some original part of China, where farmers are planting their crops without any machines just with a buffalo, some bamboo tools and their own hands.

One of the most important ingredients of the Asian kitchen, the fields of rice also offer stunning views and plenty of options to switch through all the parameters of your camera in order to catch just a little of this amazing atmosphere. 

The area is famous for its honey and the bamboo shoots. This are barbecued bamboo sticks filled with rice and vegetables.

Guilin - Star Lake

Beijing - Great Wall

The Great Wall, nearly as massive as impressive it is definetly worth a trip - although it might take you hours of traffic jam - I took the Jinshangling section which is more remote and therefore less crowded. You just stand on top of one of this watchtowers and see the roughness and beauty of the country. This uncomparable building seems to have required a lot of effort and I asked myself why to build such a wall. However, in the end its lots of bricks, nobody can hinder you to get around and you might argue that there is nothing to defend so far (but, in fact, you did not had a Mercedes or BMW to impress your neighbour - so why don't build a wall?).

Beijing - Hutongs

Beijing is beautiful (at least compared to my expectations, which weren't that high at all). I was overwhelmed by the little Hutongs which are part of the ancient city. An ancient city which is currently vanishing - little alleys which offer a calm and peaceful retreat in the middle of the buzzling city. But maybe it was even more about the blue sky and the sun. For the first time since several times I could see both of them at the same time when I was breathing the fresh air in a green park in the south of the city - the heaven's temple park.

Train to Beijing