A date with Kylie

Yes Australia. I get asked why I came to Australia. Still not sure. Do I need a reason? Maybe because I was in the area or so I have walked on every continent on the earth except Antarctica, or to take stock before the real adventure starts in SE Asia, or maybe the real reason was I was secretly hoping I would meet Kylie, we'd hit it off, get married and settle down in a little house by the sea.

So my route was from Sydney to Cairns by bus. At just short of 3000km this was a big distance in 4 weeks. The East coast of Australia is tourist central, maybe not my cup of tea. I'd have to try a little harder to find the good stuff. But it was definitely there to be found as I was to discover.

I arrived in Sydney and headed to the hostel in Kingscross. In the red light district but fairly tame. Kingscross had a bad reputation a few years ago for wild party's. Damn it, should have been there. Still, the smell of marijuana wafts though the hostel gardens most of the day and night.

Sydney's okay, big new city with opera house and big bridge behind it. Go to nearby Bondi beach on a Sunday afternoon, predictably very busy. Loose the hordes by walking along the cliffs to Coogee beach, more chilled out. The Coogee beach hotel has a big open terrace and we sit and drink beer soaking up the Australian culture.




Overnight on the bus to Byron bay. Let me say the similarity with Byron Square in Aberdeen ends with the name. This is a super cool surfer town / hippy hang out and just a little touristy. The town was established by Californian surfer dudes avoiding the Vietnam war. It's all low rise buildings and local people voted in the Green party to keep the big developers from coming in. The Arts Factory is one of the coolest places I've stayed in. Live in a tee pee, it's cool. Big lizards and spiders outside, I take a didgeridoo lesson and one night we go to a beach party. Big fire, and unlike the beach parties at home with the banging sound systems we were greeted by the sounds of the didgeridoo, bongo drums an amazing fire show by some Japanese dudes. All very cool and chilled out.

Near Byron Bay is a little town called Nimbin. Wasn't really on the map until the legendary Aquarius festival of the early seventies. From then on it became Australia's Amsterdam. Smoking and dealing of marijuana is tolerated by the police. Now I can't say I condone this behavior, but when in Rome..... It's a bit odd though because there are no canals or shops selling diamonds? The coffee shops were good though. That day I was lucky enough to see two snakes and and koala in a tree and no I hadn't been eating the hallucinogenic mushrooms they also sell. They grow on the cow pats. Mmme fine!!






Before I arrived in Australia I'd thought I'd spend a fair bit of time on the Gold Coast. I'm so glad I didn't. Concrete jungle. I stay one night at Coolangatta at the southern point. After Byron Bay it's pretty disappointing. Up the coast the high rise buildings of Surfers Paradise stand like giant black chess peaces ready to advance at the nod of the developers head. Not my paradise and goes to show all that glitters is not gold.

Can't say much about Brisbane other than the Castlemaine XXXX brewery is there and it's an interesting tour and tasting of the beer after. The old joke is that they couldn't spell beer and hence the XXXX name. There was however a XXXXX beer and also XXX so maybe I believe them. Not sure if I gave a XXXX though. Brisbane is known as Bris-vegas.... Really not sure about that. Although the hostel was surrounded by a pub, a strip club and a church. Got it all sorted there.




At Byron Bay I'd won a 3 day Safari to Fraser Island. I was well pleased! Me and ten new friends in a big old Land Cruiser 4x4 camping and living it up on the largest sand island in the world. Complete with rain forest, dune lakes and those pesky dingoes for company. The beach stretches for 90km up the coast, we drive the whole way past a wrecked cruise liner, towering sand cliffs to Indian Head. We climb to the top and drink a beer. Possibly the most amazing view I've had to enjoy a beer with. We sit at the very edge of a 100 foot cliff surrounded by shark infested waters. The south pacific crashes onto the beaches either side with an alarming ferocity. The dingoes are pretty cool. There know it's their island and they are the boss round here. They sneak up so quietly, and all of a sudden they are right next to you trying to steal your bag.






Somewhere on the bus up the coast I cross back over the Tropic of Capricorn. It feels like someone has turned the thermostat up several notches.

I arrived at my final destination and Cairns. I go to Cape Tribulation. One of the few places where rain forest comes right down to the beach. Yeah yeah does that in New Zealand as well. It was a really beautiful place though. I think I found a little paradise there, the beach house I stayed in was so nice. A proper holiday from my traveling before the adventures of SE Asia begin. Trekking through the jungle to find a swimming hole. So good to cool off in the cool fresh river water. It's crocodile country here so no swimming in the sea.







A trip to the Great Barrier Reef was a must. Cool old pearl lugger sailing boat, snorkeling and seeing so many brightly coloured fish and coral. A definite high light of the trip. So far it had proved easier Finding Nimo than finding the elusive Kylie....

It was his last day in Cairns and he was walking along the boardwalk to the Marina. He sat on a bench and looked at all the amazing yachts, thinking to himself - if he hadn't spent all his money on fast women, bikes and drink he too could have had one of these. Sitting day dreaming he hears a familiar voice call out - Hey stranger come have a drink on my boat. He needed no further persuasion. The slender blond haired girl welcomed him aboard and they sat down to drink the newly opened bottle of Dom Perignon. She told him she was setting sail for Tahiti in the evening and she would like him to join her because his lovin' was all she could think about. He had a flight to catch the next day to Singapore, but to hell with it. If he didn't go he knew he just wouldn't get her out of his head.




Merry Christmas everybody, from Tahiti!!!!

North Island NZ

I arrived in the North Island expecting an anti-climax after the incredible time I had spent in the South Island . Surely I couldn't expect the high of traveling to continue forever? I needn't have worried, it was full steam ahead on the Brainzworld Express.

Wellington was the first city I had been to in three months. It was time to party! I checked into the Maple Leaf lodge which was like an old 1960's student house caught in a time warp. My new friends there were similarly not working and some pretty drunken nights resulted. We were all still drinking in the morning when everyone else was just getting up. Somethings never change! Wellington was my favourite city in NZ. It has character and is very cosmopolitan. Yeah and it's got some pretty cool pubs and clubs. A city I could definitely live in.

Another visit to Lower Hutt to catch up with my relatives and meet some more of the family. Feeling rested and having been well looked after, it was time to head North. Taupo was my first stop. Within 30 minutes of arrival I was heading towards the airfield to do a tandem sky dive. Feeling very confident with my previous (sky) dive I enjoyed the 20 minute flight to 15,000ft, with amazing views over Lake Taupo, the volcanic Mount Ruapehu and across to the Pacific Ocean. The sky dive was amazing, I want to go solo next time!!

The next day I was up at 5.30am to catch the bus to do the Tongariro Crossing. A one day walk through craters of an active volcano and past Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings). It was mid October and still winter conditions, it snowed for most of the way and was very cold. I thought I'd left the winter behind. This was in contrast to the ground which was warm. Digging stones up whose undersides were way too hot to touch. Sulphurous steam belching from the mountainside. It's wasn't just my egg sarnies smelling bad. Unfortunately the views were not great with the low clouds.

I had done crossing with a French skier who had also been in Queenstown during the winter. We decided we must get one more day on the mountain and that mountain had to be a volcano. It was the last day of the season at Turoa Skifield on Mount Ruapehu. Another early start and after a 2 hour drive we were greeted with bluebird sky and some very icy pistes. The snow softened up nicely and a great day was had. I'd love to do a season there, the terrain was amazing and it is possible to hike to the rim of the crater. During an eruption there, just 2 months ago, a hiker lost their leg after a huge rock landed on him. Brings a whole new meaning to the (snowboard) term 'death cookie'.

The earths crust is very thin in New Zealand and there are numerous thermal areas, the best of which is at Wai-o-tapu. It's on the front cover of the 'Rough Guide' so it must be good. Lots of multi coloured bubbling pools and a sickening smell of Sulphur.

Snowboarder dude turns surfer dude, after a 4 day surfing course at Raglan. Stood up the first time. My instructor said my balance is good because I can snowboard. Having now seen the beaches at Bondi and Byron Bay in Australia, these were some pretty serious waves I had been in. The force of the current across the beach was incredible, one moment the water would be at knee level the next over my head. Quite intimidating for the likes of me. Waves more scary than avalanches, not sure about that one. Raglan was a cool little surfer's town, the hostel I stayed in was deep in the bush and very laid back.

So in one week I'd been sky diving, snowboarding and surfing. That rates as a top week in my blog. So far this trip has really focused on me and my pursuit of pleasure. This, I consider, I have pretty much excelled at. Time to give something back to the world in thanks. I think I should do some voluntary work in the less developed countries I will be traveling though.

My time in New Zealand was nearly over and I had to sell my car in Auckland. Checked into the Uenuku Lodge, and got my car sold in a day. Four months of trouble free motoring for less than 400 quid, should have parked it up for my next visit, yeah come on Toyota some sponsorship wouldn't go a miss! Even made a small profit on the car! With that task complete it was time to kick back, put my feet up and relax. After all it had been a tough couple of weeks. Okay lets get this straight, drink beer and have a crazy time with the cool crowd of people that were staying there. After a hard weekend of drinking we were all sitting out in the sun on the Sunday afternoon drinking beer and waiting for the food to cook on the BBQ. Nice!!

I had 3 days until my flight so I hired a car and headed to Northland. I wanted to see the giant Kauri trees before I left. Walking through the forest past some big trees, Te Matua Ngahere the 'Father of the Forest ' comes into view. The trunk is 16.4m across, it's incredible. Close by is Tane Matua, the Lord of the Forest which is over 2000 years old. In this company I felt very young.

Cape Reinga is the most Northerly point of New Zealand. This is the point where the currents of the Pacific Ocean meet the swells of the Tasman Sea, the sea is like a cauldron of crashing waves. It's a very sacred Mauri place, it's where the spirits leave to go to another world.

My time to go to another country. Come back soon for the next installment 'A date with Kylie'.

On the road in New Zealand

The last month in Queenstown was so much fun. There were road trips to Ohau, Treble Cone and Cardrona skifields with the Deco crowd. Deco Backpackers was definitely the place to stay, I met so many cool people and had lots of fun and crazy times.




Spring had arrived though, the snow was melting fast and it was time to be moving on. A sad farewell to Queenstown, again. I hope it is not long until my next visit.

Back up to Methven for a few days to catch up with my friends at the Mt Hutt Bunkhouse. Two bluebird sky days with great snow conditions followed, oh yeah and some party times too... not fit to be written about here. I was lucky that the South Face chutes had reopened. Probably the best area of Mt Hutt skifield.

I later discovered this was a double black diamond run. I am well stoked with my progress on the mountain this season, having been confidently riding these very steep slopes in good and not so good conditions. Another sad farewell to Methven and the Bunkhouse crowd.

So I was on the road again, over Arthur's Pass to the West Coast. A fantastic drive through the mountain pass with fresh snow down to the road and bluebird skies again.

Such amazing scenery, the road winds it's way down through the mountains to Greymouth where the Tasman Sea relentlessly smashes onto the pebble beach, and the sun was setting on the horizon.

I had to meet my friend Till in Motueka, so we could walk the Abel Tasman Track. So the next day I was on the move again. I arrived at 4pm and neither of us had the right gear for a 5 day expedition. With my friends German efficiency, we had everything sorted by 7pm, and were in the water taxi at Marahau by 9am the next day for the trip up the coast to Toteranui. I later discover on his last trek he got lost in a forest at night with no torch....... The track is one of the Great walks in New Zealand but not too long at 51km. Loaded up with tent, sleeping bag, stove and food for 5 days this was another story.

Without having done a season of snowboarding and hiking every day up the mountain, I think I'd have struggled with this track however as it turned out we made good time every day. The coastal track crosses golden beaches with emerald seas and then up over the hills covered with lush green forest and towering fern trees.

It had a real South Pacific island feel, a real South Pacific island adventure with only a little bit of imagination required. The only time constraint were the tides, we could only cross the river estuaries at low tide. Four days of sunshine, one of rain and an amazing thunder storm. At night listening to huge gusts of wind as they traveled through the trees and then almost flattening the tent as they past. The camp sites and beaches were deserted with it 'being out of season'. This gave it an extra wilderness feel to this already amazing area. A great success, the food even lasted the 5 days!

After a day to recover I headed to Takaka and Golden Bay. This is an incredibly beautiful and isolated area. Snow capped mountains, peaceful rural farmland and desolate windswept beaches. The only road in is over Takaka hill. At 800m this would be called a mountain in Scotland, and it's a treacherous road of hairpin bends winding it's way from sea level to the top and then down again, to get there.

Golden bay was the first anchorage and landing point of the Dutch sea fairer Abel Tasman, in 1742, after an incredible journey around the south of Australia. The calm and tranquil Pohara beach, the constant sand storm at Wharariki beach, the shear cliffs at Farewell point, and the endless sands of Farewell spit. After 3 months of travel in New Zealand I am still amazed at the diversity of the landscapes within the South Island.

Driving back over Takaka Hill I take the diversion for Harwoods hole. An 11km gravel road leads to the edge of the forest and to the path onwards. This mature beech forest reminded me so much of Lord of the Rings. It had a primeval, almost enchanted feel, I really expected to see little hobbits watching me from behind the trees. The hole itself is 50m wide by 176m deep, down to the cave system below. Carefully does it scrambling on the rocks to look down, there's no guard rail.



After a brief visit to Nelson, my time in the South Island was nearly over. I realised what a chilled out life I had been leading, it was two weeks since I had been in a bar! That was remedied by a chance meeting in Nelson with a friend from Aberdeen. Then along the winding road to Picton to take the ferry to Wellington and the North Island.

Queenstown News

Arrived in Queenstown nearly five weeks ago and very quickly fell ill with probably the worst cold I've ever had. My subconscious experiment in to how long it takes to reach burn out had come to an end. Just short of three months. My body said no more. Chilled times with much more snow boarding followed, as well as moving back to Deco Backpackers. There's a good crowd there, partying at the weekends and taking the snowboarding / skiing seriously during the week. It's been a poor season snow wise. That was until last week. POWDER DAY at the Remarkables!!!!! It's these days that are unforgettable and so much fun. 25cm of light fluffy powder snow, It's the sort of day you take a sickie, cancel the wedding, forget about everything else and become an obsessed single minded powder hound. On the first lift up after ski patrol had given the all safe. Fanging down the mountain, wide fast floating turns in the snow, hit rock, go tumbling get up go again and again, hiking the ridges later to get more freshies. Awesome, epic day it's what it's all about. So quiet, not so many people this late in the season.

The next day we hike higher to get fresh tracks again. 45 minute hike to one of the peaks, at times so steep having to use my snowboard to dig in and pull myself up. What a killer climb, 10 minutes to recover at the top and look down on the ski field and take in the incredible views. Three minutes later at the bottom it's all over we stand and contemplate what we have just achieved.

Then the last of the night skiing at Coronet Peak. Everyone is up on the mountain giving it maximum, all the nutters were out, probably the most dangerous evening of riding yet.

Yeah but what's been happening away from the mountain I hear you ask.

Went to Doubtful sound. It's south of Milford Sound, where I visited last year, in Fiordland and much more remote. First a 45 minutes boat trip across Lake Manapouri, allegedly NZ's most scenic lake, a 30 minute drive on gravel roads though lush green rain forest with a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains and down to Deep Cove.


The landscape could be a film set for Jurassic Park. The rain was coming down in sheets, it rains on two out of every three days. I'd have been disappointed if it had been sunny!?! There's only one person that lives at Deep Cove, the hostel manager. A Hermits life for sure. Captain Cook name the fiord, he was doubtful he could sail out again as the mountains were so steep and high and would prevent the wind from filling his sails.



I'm loving Queenstown again. I don't want the winter to end. Party times, chilled times out in the garden at the hostel, meeting so many cool and happy people. Meeting friends from last year. I really don't want to leave.... Being here for the second time I thought would be enough, trouble is I can't get enough!!! Another season here next year, who knows.

Queenstown by day

A good day at the Remarkables Ski Field, beside Queenstown. Pick up Italian dude hitch hiking to the mountain and we go ride the mountain.

After a quick warm up run we head for the homeward run, a lift accessed off piste black run. Early in the morning snow too hard and too many bumps made it hard work. The shuttle bus picks us up at the access road and we head back up the chairlift and go hiking. Fifteen minutes of hiking gets us to the top of the ridge and we have the choice of three black runs; Elevator, Escalator or the Alta Chutes. I liked the sign at the start of the hike warning 'MOST DIFFICULT'. The Elevator run looked too steep and narrow so we headed along the ridge to the top of the Alta Chutes. Wide, steep, wind blown powder snow and the slope to ourselves means big grins all the way down. The snowboarding addiction means we were back on the chairlift and hiking back up to the ridge again for more. We stand at the top of the ridge, the Elevator before us, and both agree it doesn't look too bad and really had to be done.





A group of four other snowboarding dudes looking at the run, disagree and wish us luck. Oh yeah it was steep and narrow, only just managing to get turns in before the rocky sides of the chute, surface avalanches of snow racing down the mountain overtaking my almost out of control riding. Our grins from ear to ear at the bottom were testament to the fun we were having but we both agree it was a bit too steep for comfort. It was in fact the steepest run within the patrolled area of the Ski field. Ten minutes of walking through deep snow beside the frozen Lake Alta, surrounded by high peaks, and we were strapped in and off again. Sweet as!

New Zealand - Winter

Arrive in Auckland, cold and raining. Depart two days later in the new Neil mobile, a 1992 Toyota station wagon, 2 litre, 16v babe magnet, ha ha. Purchased at an open air car market from a Iranian gentleman who insisted he wasn't an unregistered car dealer. He gave me his cell phone number and said if the engine blew up he would give me my money back. Nice chap. For NZ$1150 it was a good price but it's a pretty tired old car, straight line it'll pull well over 160 Km/H (on private roads of course) but slowly does it through the corners because the suspension is well shot.

Through the rain and down to Wellington to visit my relatives Doris and Ted, who had very kindly cleared and snowboard gear through NZ customs and took delivery. It was very nice to be looked after and fed having been living in hostels for six weeks. Two early morning swims with Doris showed how unfit I was after travelling across Europe and Asia. Not good preparation for a season of snow boarding.

Onwards to the south island on the ferry and the first sight of snow on the mountains.

I'd only planned a brief visit to Methven and Mount Hutt snowfield, four weeks later I finally managed to leave. No feeling of urgency on my travels. There was a good crowd at the Mount Hutt Bunkhouse, with some friends there from a previous visit. Even though it was lacking in snow some pretty good days were had on the mountain, with some pretty boozy nights in Methven and the Bunkhouse. We'd all be out the back late at night doing our snow dances. You can try it too, patting the dog with one hand, screwing in the light bulb with the other. Seemed to work with a dump of 24cm we were almost first to the top of the mountain for fresh tracks down. Riding most days with my buddies, oh so cute Japanese girls, German dudes and Hamish who at 53 rides for longer and harder (oo-er) than any of the rest of us. Remember age is just a number in your head.

Frank Zappa wrote a song called 'Don't eat the yellow snow'. That morning at Mount Dobson I was more concerned about the green snow under my car. 15km along a gravel road the car park was at a height 1720m, the highest in New Zealand. I wasn't reckoning that my breakdown cover would get me out of this one. Oh well, it wasn't as if I was driving through one of the most remote parts of NZ. Looked like the seal on the expansion tank cap had gone, no major worries. The day soon got worse on the mountain with snow falling heavily. Loaded up with water I continued my journey south, past Lake Tekapo and then Lake Pukaki. The snow was falling to road level now. The lake was a fantastic sky blue iridescent colour in complete contrast to the gray sky and brown landscape. The light was fast disappearing and the snow getting heavier until the car was skidding across the road. Time for the snow chains maybe, but the then the lights of mount Cook Village came into view. A good 5 inches of snow lay on the ground by the morning. An amazing winter wonderland in this extremely remote alpine area. The weather began to clear by lunch time I so walked up the valley to the Kea point. Strewn across the valley was the debris of a retreating glacier, the ice blue on the mountain side.
Mount Cook was obscured by clouds. Impressive were the sound of avalanches and rock falls from the mountains.




Back past Lake Pukaki, even more brilliant blue in the sunshine, and onto Ohau Lodge beside Lake Ohau (pronounced oh-how). My budget blown for the week I enjoy a beer in the out door spa pool with a view of the lake and mountains beyond. A really cool place to stay.

Ohau ski field is in my top two ski fields in the south island. One chairlift, 50-60 people on the mountain, great terrain and some good untracked snow well into the day. Hike to the ridge above the chairlift, climb, strap in and ride down the next ridge, more hiking, boots sinking up to the knees in the snow until the second peak is reached. Six of us had made the hike, we were rewarded with a steep untracked powder slope. 50 minutes from taking the chairlift I was back down. Who needs to spend money on heli-snowboarding when it's as good as this.



Feeling pretty stoked after my day at Ohau, I headed south to Wanaka. It was an easy decision to go to Treble Cone Ski field the next day. My other top NZ ski field. A concerned bystander asks if I know about the puddle of coolant beneath my car, I nod and she says 'I thought so'. The ski was blue the snow soft, the views of Mount Aspiring and Lake Wanaka below amazing, the trails; Shooter, Bullet and Side Winder giving so much fun, winding natural half pipes down the mountain side, the untracked powder after hiking to the summit, riding the best I've ever done in my life, my super new Ride DH snowboard, yeah man, life is good.

From Aberdeen to Aberdeen

Neil and Piera do the Trans Siberian Express

Moscow

Moscow, I liked!! Not the real Russia but very impressive at Red Square with the Kremlin St Basil's Church and Lenin's Tomb, I have seen on TV so often. Safe feeling in central Moscow, many young people on the streets, and no police harassment that I'd been warned of.



Trans Siberian Express

Across Russia, 4 nights on the train from Moscow to Irkutsk. But wait 4 nights on the train and only crossed half of Russia. The world is indeed very large. The global village is by air travel only. Nothing to do but sit and look out the window and drink beer. Not many chances to do this and not feel guilty that I should be doing something else. There was nothing else to do.

Endless landscape of birch forest, fields, wooden houses and Ladas .

Stopped at many stations, old steam locomotives lovingly restored, wagons loaded with rusting Soviet tanks lay forgotten at the side.

Keeping track of time was not easy, the train ran on Moscow time, local time as the train crosses the continent. In one day the train crossed two time zones. Less time to drink, we found ourselves at 4am and still drinking. 8% proof beer and mistakenly 8% proof orange juice from the station shop. The shop assistant had tried to discourage me from this, ha ha ha.

Irkutsk

Siberia meets Europe. Decaying wooden built houses next to decaying concrete. There is an air of wealth and redevelopment here. There are oil fields nearby.

A short bus ride away is Lake Baikal. A big lake! The deepest in the world with crystal clear water. It's cold in the morning when we arrive at Listvnyenka and hardly a soul to be seen. It was Sunday and the day trippers from Irkutsk soon arrived in their droves. The lake front full of people but not an ice cream in sight just fish. The local speciality is smoked omul fish eaten on a stick. A strange sight but very fine tasting.

Border Town

Arrive at border town between Russia and Mongolia. Rusting Lada at the side of the road with smashed wind screen. Syringes lie broken in the dirt road. Signs that all is not well with this town, but not so different from any European inner city scene. Somewhere to pass through quickly, not the 9 hours it took to cross this border.

Seemed like a comedy border crossing. Our carriage was checked by visa people, passport people and then customs people. Each time the compartment was checked. The officials, incredibly hot Russian woman in uniform. Then the carriage was boarded by 4 soldiers with face masks carrying batons posted at each door of the carriage. They motioned for us not to look out of the windows. Across no mans land, bombed out personnel carriers, lookout towers on the hills, how paranoid are the Russians. Looked like a mortar pipe pointing out of an old shed? How long is the Russian / Mongolian Border? 1000's of miles, surely not manned all the way with soldiers and Alsatian dogs. All we could see on the train were Mongolian people exporting beer out of Russia. Yeah, the Russian beer was good!

Trans Mongolian

We stop at Ulan Baatar, Mongolia's Capital. The main square named after the Axe hero Suhkbaatar. His statue faces the brand new front of the parliament building where a giant statue of Chinggis Khan sits in all his glory .

Mongolia is a vast country. We travel west on our tour and stay with nomad families and visit the old capital Kahrkorum. Our driver Jack is great and is also our tour guide and friend. The little yellow Hyundai bumped along the dirt roads and never started before the fifth attempt. Not somewhere to break down, further in the journey we pass only one or two cars in 3 hours. The vastness of this country is hard to comprehend. Herds of goats, sheep, horses and later camels. Ger tents sit uncomfortably beside their owners satellite dishes.

Mutton, mutton and more mutton was hard to digest, at least it was the wrong season for the fermented mares milk, and not a goat's testicle in sight.

Returning to Ulan Bataar we pass the entire field of the Peking to Paris classic car rally. A reinactment of the 1903 original. It was some sight to see these old cars, including Rolls Royces and Aston Martins, being driven hard on the dirt roads.

And onto Beijing crossing the Gobi Desert.

Border Town

The entire train is taken into a giant railway shed, jacked up and the bogies removed and replaced with new bogies the correct width for the Chinese rails. Five hours pass and then we are in China.

Past the Great Wall and onto Beijing

Beijing

Temples, temples and more temples. a good sense of imagination is required to get the most from the historic areas of Beijing. All the old temples have been restored (actually rebuilt) and really appear to be like new. The smog is pretty bad. Can't See Tiananmen Square from The Forbidden city and they are right next door to each other.

We arrived on 4th June which is the anniversary of the 1989 masacre. No demonstrations this year but lots of under cover police, I'm sure.

The Hostel we stayed in was in the 'Hutong' area, an original part of Beijing that has not been flattened and rebuilt in preparation for the Olympics next year. This area was full of winding streets with markets and had a really good feel to it. Struggling to deal with the heat, it had snowed the last night in Ulan Baatar, now it was 39 Deg C.

Authentic fake clothing in the shops. It's hard bartering for goods when you should pay a tenth of the original asking price. There is no word for 'no' in the Chinese language, and that makes it's harder. Still, good T-shirts for 2 quid is not bad.

As tourists we felt like walking dollar signs, fair game to be ripped off at every opportunity. Please just give me the price of the goods or service.

The Great wall. Really is this a great wall or not? Never kept anyone out, especially the Mongolians and Chinnis Khan. Great picture to have on the Chinese Visa though. Incredible sight the wall winding it's way across the mountains. How lucky we were to see the wall with no tourists, our group the only people there, having sweated our way up hill then up and down along the ruined path in the heat of Chinese summer and the smog.

Piera heads home, I continued my journey south by train.

Xian

Further south than Bejing but much cooler Xian is at the start of the old Silk road and the city nearest to the Terracotta Army. The smog hangs thick in the air just 100ft up from the pavement. The taste of burnt oil and coal is in your mouth.

I meet some Kiwi's at the hostel and at night we all go to the Water Show beside the Wild Goose Pagoda. A thousand fountains shoot upwards coloured by lights and in time to music. The square is full of Chinese people, our group the only Westerners there.

Back at the South gate of the city wall, lit along the top with red Chinese Lanterns, a large crowd has gathered. Musicians play, choirs sing and a processional dance with the women dressed in pretty silk dresses holding fans and tinsel parasols. Again we are the only westerners there. This is for the benefit of the Chinese tourists. The domestic tourist market is huge. A foreign holiday is all but a dream for the majority of the population. All looking so happy and almost in defiance of the Capitalist symbols of Gucci and Chloe and the towering HSBC bank that stand across from this scene.

From Xian to Guilin by Train

The train leaves early evening and it's soon dark. Long sleep, the first city the next day is Wohan, One of the 3 'furnace' cities in central china, the train crosses the mighty Yanzi river here. From the pleasant air conditioned carriage all is fine, the smog and heat not so outside. The train heads south passing by industrial cities and then more rural landscapes and finally immaculate paddy field lush green from the summer rains. The train now travelling much slower in this undeveloped area. Ever changing though, new motorways lie waiting for traffic, new rail tracks being laid and stations being built in expectation of the commuter rush. I venture to the restaurant car for my lunch. It's early in the day and I wanted water with my food. The answer was no from the waiter. I was to drink beer only, no hardship I suppose. I was the centre of attention in the restaurant car, the chop sticks I was given were impossibly short for my big hands and all eyes were on me to fail. Ha! Tucking into my meal they all go back to their business.


Yangshau and the Li River

This for me was the highlight of my trip to China. Famous for the Krast Mountains and the view on the 20 Yuan note. Most unusual limestone hills covered in lush green vegetation. Met up with some really cool people in Gulin, Nikki, Gavin & Lucie, Rob, Jim. We all met up in Yangshau and went for a cruise on the river, cycling, to mud baths deep in a cave and generally had a good carry on with maybe a beer or two thrown in for good measure. All right, lots of beers. The only way to deal with the heat and humidity was to drink cold beer.

Up at 7.30am for a Kung Fu lesson from our friend / guide and Kung Fu master, Terry. Far too early in the morning, down beside the river, mist still hanging in the hills. Learned some moves and kicked some ass! I think not. Feeling sick with the heat I slope off an hour and a half later for a shower and some breakfast.



Train to Shengzen

My first experience of the hard sleeper. 6 beds per berth in an open carriage. Much cheaper but hardly secure. I'm the only westerner on the carriage, it's not long before I'm invited to join some Chinese people and they are really interested to see my photos from home. They share their food with me and were very friendly. They are in awe that I am an Engineer! I play it down but later discover that engineers are held in very high esteem in China. My new friends make sure I know where I'm going to get my bus to get the ferry to Hong Kong.

From a shaky start in Beijing to leaving now three weeks later, I'm am left with a really warm feeling for the Chinese people, and their country. I hope it is not long until my return.

Hong Kong

The ferry from Port Shekou in China to Hong Kong takes an hour and it was well worth the extra traveling time to arrive by water and not by train. Past immense container ships in the bay then the towering high rise buildings on Hong Kong Island come in to view.
The ferry docks in Kowloon. I walk through the streets weighed down by my backpack, the heat and humidity slowing me down. The contrast with China was immense. The wealth immediately apparent.

I book into my hostel in the Mirador Mansions. Whoever named this building obviously had a sense of humour. This building would be condemned in Scotland. It's part residential, part business, part cheapskate hostels. The lifts creek, it's like constant rain outside with the drips from a thousand air con units. Once it would have been gleaming white, now badly discoloured. My room in the hostel is like a windowless cell..... Bathroom so small sit side ways on the toilet, shower above, nice... I'm told later, I've earned a travellers medal of honour for staying there.

Out side on the street the wears of the world are for sale; hookers, a shiny new Rolex, hashish or maybe a bespoke suit. Many African and Indian people, a big change after China.

I like Like Hong Kong, the view across to Hong Kong island from Kowloon I rate as a man made wonder of the world. The buildings all lit up, the light show and the fireworks display. At night a travellers hang out, sit there drinking beer from the 7 / 11. HK was expensive after China. The bar prices were up to 20 times the price they were in China. Three of us out drinking in Ned Kelly's Last Retreat, sit down by an English business man and strike up a conversation, but this is no joke, I think he took sympathy on us and when he left he threw down HK$200 for our bill. We didn't even know his name. Random act of kindness. Very much believe in kharma.

My last day in Hong Kong and I'd not made it to the other side of the island and to Aberdeen. The rain was coming down in sheets as I sail across on the Star Ferry and then under the mountain on the bus to Aberdeen. Home from home.... I waste no time and take a tour of the harbour, past many fishing boats junks and sampons. The fisherman's homes are on their boats. A thriving fishing port and a fancy marina too.

So Part I of my journey is complete. I have travelled from Aberdeen Scotland to Aberdeen Hong Kong, covering more than 10,000KM by train from Moscow and crossing the continent of Asia from it's land border with Europe to the South China Sea at Hong Kong. As I left Asia I had only just got used to the climate and my stomach used to the food after two weeks of quick dashes to the toilet!

That night I flew to Auckland, New Zealand. In 10 hours I'd covered the same distance it had taken me to travel in the last five weeks.