Time To Head Home

Well, that's five months pretty much done!

Today, Nads and I will make our way to Hong Kong Airport to start our long trip back to the UK. In between leaving Hong Kong and arriving in London is the small matter of a 13hr stop in Delhi Airport and we can't leave the airport because we don't have a visa.

I don't think we can really say we stopped off in India but it does provide one last bit of adventure, which will be mainly trying to find somewhere to lie down and sleep/trying not to get too bored! After that, it's back on a plane and heading straight to Heathrow and by Tuesday night (Providing everything runs on time!) we will be back home. A bit of a scary thought and a bit of an exciting one too.

(Once I am back home I am going to think of some 'Travel Award' categories like 'Best Country' etc. and post a blog later in the week)

Whistle Stop Review Of Three Weeks In China

Three weeks is a pretty long while and China is a pretty big country (Even before you add on Hong Kong) so here's my attempt at an express review;

- It's been surprising.
Before I arrived in China I expected the worst from what I had heard from others. I thought that I would want to see The Great Wall and The Terracotta Army then get home but it has not been like that. China has actually been pretty nice!

- Forget Everything You Know About Chinese Food.
The food you buy from Chinese takeaways is nothing like the food you get in China, oddly. There isn't a battered prawn ball in sight and there's certainly no strangely red sauce that stains the carpet like no other substance on earth. Equally, it isn't all about turtle soups, shark tongues or boiled chicken feet either. Yes, those dishes exist but there is some amazing food in China too. From the popular Cantonese menus found in Hong Kong to the Middle-East inspired food of Northern China. If I could recommend one dish it would have to be pork steamed buns...delicious!

- It is old AND new at the same time.
China is an ancient country and therefore some fantasic history. Getting to see The Great Wall, The Terracotta Army and The Forbidden City up close was amazing but there are also so many new things too. The city of Xi'an is growing fast and a trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong will see you nestled in amongst shiny, modern skyscrapers towering over the streets. I just hope they keep working on the environment, the smog (A fog caused by pollution) is no fun to breathe in all day.

- There are some things that take more than 3 weeks to get used to.
Spitting. Well, not so much the spitting but the hocking. In China it is perfectly normal to spit out a wet, phlegmy spitball outdoors or indoors. Nothing has made me wince like a man or woman next to me hocking up what appears to be their attempt at a world-record sized spitball and then firing at the pavement/sink/floor of the train. Moon pants are also interesting, instead of nappies young children will wear no pants and trousers with the bum area cut out, this allows them to do a Number 1 (Or 2!) on the street. It is pretty good on saving plastic used to make nappies and I'm told it also means nearly every child is toilet trained by 2 years old but it still takes some getting used to seeing!

- The weather changes...like the weather.
Because China is such a huge country there is such a change in temperatures. When up in Beijing it was nice and just like a perfect British summer's day with blue skies and a breeze, Shanghai was a bit wet and smoggy when we were there and Hong Kong has been just like Mexico, pretty hot and sunny. On top of that are parts of China that are desert!

Overall, I have really enjoyed what China has had to offer and I can see myself coming back one day if I get the chance.

In The Photo: I spotted this for sale in Beijing. I'm actually pretty pleased to say I didn't try that creation.

One Direction Watch {China}

As with most of Asia there has been absolutely no sign of the fivesome so there's really not much to report!

Giant Duck

I did not expect to stumble across a 16m high giant rubber duck on my travels but today, while walking along the sunny Hong Kong waterfront, I did just that.

The duck started it's world tour back in 2007 and has since visited many cities including Amsterdam, Sydney and Sao Paolo. It has spent the past month in Hong Kong and it's creator, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, has said he created it to bring people together. Judging by the crowds it is still drawing after a month I would say it has done just that!

Did You Know?: In mid-May a malfunction caused the duck to deflate entirely!

Hit The Lights

Hong Kong has one of the most famous skylines in the world, especially at night and every day at 8pm they put on the largest permanent light show in the world; The Symphony of Lights.

The music did sound a lot like one of those bad ITV quiz shows you might find on TV if you are off school for the day but the show was still impressive. A whole array of different skyscapers and other buildings work together to put lasers, spotlights and multicoloured lights in time to music and flash them across the bay. Quite a sight.

Disney

It might not have been the most cultural of attractions but that didn't matter to me today as I travelled to Disneyland Hong Kong with an excited grin on my face.

I am not ashamed to say that I absolutely love Disney parks and am lucky enough to have now visited three different ones. The atmosphere inside is always so upbeat and I have to admit that I even got a little bit starstruck as Nads and I had our photo taken with Mickey himself.

Did You Know?: The Disney parks in California, Florida, Paris and Tokyo are all bigger than the one in Hong Kong, making Disneyland Hong Kong one of the least known and officially the smallest Disney park in the world!

Name That Brand

After Thailand and Cambodia, China is the third country on the trip that doesn't use the same alphabet as the English language. Mandarin (China's most widely spoken language) has it's own set of characters to make words and I thought I would attach a few pictures of some snacks you can buy in China. Can you work out which famous brand is which?

Once you have worked it out, have a think. Is it just the name that's important for customers to recognise or are certain colours and the way words are written just as important?