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Hong Kong, Sunday 27.10

Laura (my roommate) and I went to the Stanley Market together. Today is the last day in Hong Kong. A new tour starts tomorrow morning:).

Hong Kong, Saturday 26.10.

Although the group officially disbanded yesterday and our tour guide flew home for a well-deserved vacation, almost the whole group is still staying in the same hotel for one or two more nights. In the morning, we met up to go to Victoria Peak, the highest viewpoint in Hong Kong. A tram took us up there comfortably. After a leisurely walk through Victoria Garden and lunch at the Hardrock Café, we returned to the hotel. Some of us took the metro in the evening to the other side of the river to see the skyline of Hong Kong and a light show.

Yangshuo, Friday, 25.10.

Transfer day from Yangshuo to Hong Kong by van, high-speed train, and metro. We arrived in the evening around 7 pm and had a group dinner and a walk along the river.

Thursday, 24.10

Today is biking day. We rode through Yangshuo with a local guide. Yangshuo is still very rural and has a well-designed bike path. Many photo stops, a group lunch, and a cave visit rounded off the tour. For dinner, we will meet at a small restaurant. Afterward, because it's the last official evening, we will go to two more bars and end up in a techno bar.

Yangshuo, Wednesday 23.10

Unfortunately, it's raining today and biking is canceled. Instead, we went on a bamboo raft tour. The rafts are not made of bamboo, but it was still very wet and the motor slightly destroyed the romance. But all in all, a cozy tour with very little content. In the afternoon, we went for a stroll on the main street, which became way too crowded in the evening.

Yangshuo, Tuesday 22.10.

We arrived in Yangshuo by train at 5 am. Another 4 hours on the bus awaited us. When we arrived in Yangshuo, we couldn't go to the hotel because the street was closed due to a bicycle race. Our alternative program was to go to Moonhill. We climbed 1000 steps to reach it. All the mountains here look strange because the area was previously underwater and the mountains, including Moonhill, were formed by water. In the evening, we took a leisurely walk through the city, shopped for rice noodles for dinner on the crowded main street.

Yangtze River, Monday 21.10

Complete transfer day. In the morning, we left the ship, stopped at a supermarket to buy provisions, and spent the rest of the day on the overnight train.

Yangtze River, Sunday 20.10.

Day on the ship. Short excursion with a smaller boat.

Yangtze River, Saturday 19.10

Sleeping in, lunch, listening to a lecture about the river, relaxing, evening show, dinner. That's the program for today on the Yangtze River cruise.

Leshan, Friday 18.10

Early in the morning, we set out to visit the largest Buddha in the world. The boat provides a good overview. Later on, we took various trains and buses to Chongqin, the largest city in the world with 30 million inhabitants. We boarded the boat around 8 pm. On the way to the boat, we were almost forced by old little men to let them carry our luggage.

Emei Shan, Thursday 17.10

In the monastery where we are staying, we are awakened at 5 am to participate in the morning prayers, and breakfast is served at 7 am. I didn't participate in any of it. We met for breakfast at a small restaurant and then walked through the hills and temples of Emai Shan. In the evening, we celebrated Ebi's birthday with guitar music and a surprisingly good cake at a group dinner.

Chengdu, Wednesday 16.10.

In Chengdu, there is a panda reserve where about 2,300 pandas live. Tourists can visit a few pandas and red pandas in a kind of zoo, which is also visited by many Chinese tourists.

In the evening, we took a high-speed train to Emai Shan, where we will be staying in a monastery.

Chengdu, Tuesday 15.10

Today, we strolled through the city a bit. We visited a beautiful park where many sports groups practice activities like soft ball Tai Chi or opera dancing. The groups meet daily on a voluntary and unpaid basis.

Afterwards, we walked to the oldest part of the city (about 400 years old). Only the buildings here are very old. They contain modern restaurants, local snack stalls, and small shops.

Chengdu, Monday 14.10

In the afternoon, we arrived in Chengdu by high-speed train. We had dinner together, a hot pot. It's similar to fondue. There is a pot of boiling broth on a stove in the middle of the table, and then various things like meatballs, beef, seaweed, tofu, potatoes, pumpkin, etc., are cooked in it.

In the evening, we went to karaoke together.

Xian, Sunday, 13.10

We started relatively late and had a typical lunch with rice and vegetables at a local family's place. After that, we visited the Terracotta Army Museum. It was built by an emperor to protect him after his death. You can only grasp how impressive it is when you stand in front of the thousands of clay warriors.

Afterwards, we walked through the Muslim Quarter, where there was a lot of street food like octopus on a stick, many people, and colorful lights.

Xian, Saturday, 12.10.

We arrived at the hotel around 10 am after the overnight train. We visited a temple and the square around it. Then we biked around the city wall (14 km).

Shanghai, Friday 11.10

Today, we explored the French Quarter. Many French people used to live here, but not anymore. Only the buildings and the food are very European, and you can even eat with a fork.

In the afternoon, we took the overnight train to Xian. It's not my thing. Very cramped, no place to sit or put your luggage. And after 16 hours of travel, the toilet (which is just a hole in the ground) and the sink don't look very pleasant anymore.

Shanghai, Thursday 10.10.

Sightseeing day. We first visited the Museum of Shanghai, then continued through the tourist area with lots of small shops and restaurants, and finally went up the Shanghai Tower, which is the tallest building in Shanghai at 600m and has the fastest elevator (15 m/s).

Shanghai, Wednesday 9.10.

Today, we took the high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai. The train has a maximum speed of 350 km/h, so the journey only took 4.5 hours. However, it was quite exciting with 14 people and so much luggage in the metro and on the train. In the evening, we took a boat tour on the river and admired the skyline at night.

Beijing, Tuesday 8.10

A visit to the Forbidden City. In the past, the emperor and his entourage lived here. Once inside, you couldn't leave, and once outside, you couldn't enter. Since 1920, it has been a museum and accessible to everyone. You can walk through the different areas and admire the beautifully designed buildings. Everything is in red and gold. Fantastical creatures like dragons adorn the roofs.

Afterwards, we walked through the old part of Beijing. The houses here are very old, one-story, barely have electricity, and several families share a public toilet.

We then went to the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. In the past, when there were no clocks, the bells were rung in the morning to signal the start of work, and in the evening, drums were beaten.

In the evening, we had a really delicious dinner. In China, you order several dishes, put them on the table, and everyone takes what they want.

Beijing, Monday 7.10.

Today, our group took a trip to the Great Wall of China. It takes about 2 hours by car, but whenever we asked about the time, we were told, "It depends on the traffic." There are different ways to reach the top of the wall: cable car, elevator, or on foot. Once on top, you can walk from tower to tower. Towers 1 to 21 have been restored and can be entered.

The path is still very challenging because there are many steps and it goes up and down. When returning to the parking lot, you can also take a summer toboggan ride in addition to the cable car and chair lift.

I arrived in Beijing safely. Today, I checked into the hotel where I will meet my travel group tonight. The first hurdles and insights: I was taken to the wrong hotel. No one speaks English here. Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google are completely blocked.

It remains exciting.