Coming back – southern Thailand

Coming back to Thailand was a weird thing. Is like going from Thailand back home to Switzerland. Almost everything improved at once. Getting super markets back, reliable public transportation and getting hostels back. Yap, in Myanmar they have guesthouses but hardly no hostels.

DSC_9134.jpg
Ready for a couple of days relaxing on the beach I headed down to the popular island called Phi Phi. Not sure since how long this place is so popular but latest since the movie ‘The beach’ almost 15 years ago. The most you can do here is to relax and to a few short hikes over the main island. To be a bit more active and to do some useful I signed myself up for a PADI open water course. Did that the next three days together with my swiss dive instructor. And during the curse I once more realised what the big difference is between Asia and Europe.
Here they use things till they break with minimal or no investment into repairing it. Back home we keep them in good shape. On our first dive we had to go with another schools boat since ours was under repair. Just before we wanted to go to water the engine stopped working. Took them several hours and tries to get it on again. Later on, my instructor told me that there were 3 dive schools on the same boat cos 2 of 3 boats were broken. The day after we went on another dive schools boat, ours was still not available.

IMG_20141128_215259.jpg
Not enough party? Lets go to the Ibiza of South East Asia – Patong. This beach place its not exactly what I was looking for but kind of interesting to see. Especially by night when all the dressed up lady boys were on the main walkway. They don’t like to be on pictures ๐Ÿ˜‰
Beside that, you get offered dozens of ‘Ping Pong’ shows or Russian strip shows. Not sure if that was for the huge number of Russians or more for the older guys hanging out here. In general a very touristy place which you will easily recognise in the prices. A taxi ride for 5km will coast about 400 THB. In Bangkok same distance would be about 65 THB!

The last few nights before my flight back to Europe I spent back in Bangkok. A totally different district than the first time. More likely the modern business district with all the big buildings and fancy malls. In the hostel I started to talk to one of the workers. A guy from Myanmar working in Thailand since 16 years or better since he is 13years old! He moved here together with his at that time girlfriend and now wife and living since then together.
He never finished school but instead started to work in a fish factory at the time he got to Thailand. And that all to send money back home. Six years ago they became parents but they haven’t seen their kid since over 3 years. At some point they handed the baby over to her parents in Myanmar. Now they both work in the same Hostel and send every month money back home in the hope their kid will have a better future. And both never returned to Myanmar since they left it sixteen years ago!!!

A similar story the receptionist in Patong told me. Coming from the north of Thailand, having a kid with a dad she doesn’t know where he is and a kid staying at her mum’s place she didn’t visit the last two years. And that just because she doesn’t have the money to travel there but working in a place which makes a town which is highly reliable! Fucked up world!

The hidden land – Myanmar

A couple of months back a friend asked me if I want to join for a trip through Myanmar. Having a quick look into it I decided to put it on my radar and to join him. Myanmar is relatively undiscovered by tourists since it was hard to travel till the recent years. Being a corrupt and unstable place still suffering from civil wars in some regions.
But since a while the country is opening up and improving the infrastructure such as getting ATM’s -which didn’t exist 3 years ago, more stable power grids -which still interrupt few times a day- and internet -which works once in a while but slowly. It also became more stable and opened certain regions for tourism which a few years back required special permissions.
Nevertheless, I had to change my plans to enter the country by bus due to a border incident. Instead I booked a flight and got safely to Yangon the former capital. I knew that traveling this country its more of an adventure than traveling other places in south east asia. But I didn’t expect not to get any money from any ATM at the airport. Yap, my bank card didn’t work anywhere during the whole trip in Myanmar. I should have followed the advice to bring some USD’s with me. Somehow I managed to get some cash and made my way to the center and with some help of locals even to the pre-booked guesthouse.
Later that night we went for some dinner and had to recognise how friendly people are. If you asked them for help they didn’t bother it also happened that random people just asked if they could help. In general it felt like they are very excited that foreigners come to their place. More and more we recognised the standard in services in this country. The strangest thing might be how they call a waiter to make an order or to get the bill. Just make a kissing sound and they will instantly turn around and face you. Some people even do it to get fire for the cigaret, seriously.

DSC_8326.jpg
First day in Myanmar and first adventure. Taking the so called circular train going around the center and some outer skirts of the city. One turn takes about 3 hours even if its just a ~50km trip. Its a bumpy, shaky as well as hot trip in an old British carriage from former colonial times. And the infrastructure seems to be from the same time with barely any maintenance done the last few decades.

DSC_8332.jpg
The center is full with some nice colonial style building but also dominated by simple apartment houses from old times. Doesn’t really look inviting but has some character. If the train once gets into the outskirts the housing changes to simple huts in the middle of fields and simple houses along the track.
The trip only costs 200KIB or 0.20USD but shows you the other site of this economical capital.

DSC_8435.jpg
Back in the center I made my way to one of the biggest Pagodas – the Shwedagon Pagoda. A huge golden temple near the center. The big pagoda is surrounded by countless smaller ones. The walk ways between them are almost spotless. Not really surprising after you saw the cleaning people. About 30 to 50 person are walking in lines withe brooms and mops keeping the place clean.

Our next destination was the one night bus away city of ancient Bagan. A mystical place with its thousands of temples and what is left is just a fraction of the original size. A huge complex of pagodas and smaller constructions scattered all over the place.
DSC_8507.jpg
Even though this place is a major attraction and to some part protected the space between the temple is used for agriculture. And that in an old fashioned way.

DSC_8504.jpg
Bagan is one of the main destinations in Myanmar for foreigners. Most of them will be attracted to the ancient city and come here at some point in their journey. And so do the souvenir sellers. After we got shown some viewpoint to take pictures from the girls wanted us to have a look at their shops. Not really wanted to buy something but feeling bad to refuse her I left with a handful of souvenirs. Finally, everyone was happy.
Another thing which I will remember from Bagan are the delicious Tamarin Flakes. A candy made from the fruit of the tamarin tree, super sweet but also super delicious. Unfortunately you only get them there ๐Ÿ™

From Bagan we headed east to Hsipaw in the mountains. Everywhere where you have tourists you might find some scams and so did we on that day. Changing bus at Pyyin Oo Lwin we were told we have to go to another bus station. Arriving at the place which was like a taxi stand they told us no more bus but we could take a private car for 30$. Not sure about what to do we ended finally up with the deal.
The drive through the mountains was fairly quick and on the way we got to see a lot of the landscape. As well as several accidents where as buses and trucks were most likely the ones which suffered. a truck on its side in the rocky wall, a bus on its side as well and a motorcycle driver which just got back up on his legs. Poor guy.
DSC_8702.jpg
Hsipaw is a small town in the mountains on the rail track to Lashio. A perfect place to head out to the villages of the Shan people. The next two days we hiked up into one of the villages and back down. Spending one night at one of the bamboo huts in the village. Getting into touch with some locals, with the kids at the school and get to know how it is to live in the hills. Most people here work in the surrounding tea plantations. The product is a black tea which looks like coffee and somehow taste a bit like coffee.
One thing which made me feel bad in this country and especially in these places were the extremely bad teeth of so many people here. An effect of chewing the betel nut which destroys the teeth as well as the gums.

DSC_8752.jpg
On the way back to Hsipaw we crossed this street service team fixing some bad ass potholes in the street. All done in perhaps the technique and with the material they once learned/got from the British.

PANO_20141111_083850.jpg
After another couple of nights relaxing in Hsipaw I took a train back to Pyin Oo Lwin. Another adventure for itself. At the station I met a familiar face I first met a couple of months ago in Mongolia. Together we got our tickets in a quite unusual train office. Everything is still done on paper like in all the guesthouses as well.

IMG_20141111_140037.jpg
The train ride itself is spectacular for the crossing of the infamous Goteik viaduct built during the colonial time and it’s already over 100 years old. Getting there takes quite a bit of time since the train goes very slowly on its choppy track. The carriages are torquing, jumping and shaking in all thinkable ways. A wonder that the train still goes and also not surprising that it is considered to be unsafe to take!

IMG_20141112_065323.jpg
Next adventure was waiting for me on the next morning. After one night in Pyin Oo Lwin I was heading for Inle Lake one day trip away. First mean of transportation was a pickup to Mandalay. On the way there I once more recognised all the places which change tires and cool the disks of the trucks and buses brakes! Not much profile left on that rubber … and just shortly after we saw one more truck lying on its site almost rolling down the slope.

Since I didn’t want to take a night bus I ended up in doing my transfer from Mandalay to Inle Lake on my own. First I got a bus to Meiktila where I got dropped off. Some locals then pointed me the way to the office selling mini bus tickets to the place. Not really happy about the place I finally had to agree since there it was the only option I had. At least the drive was much faster than expected and just ‘after’ sunset I got dropped once more. But still a 10km march away or a short ride on a vehicle. After I started to walk just to escape the moto drivers which were once more quite annoying i approached a street check point. The person in charge must have been sorry for the poor guy walking and waved down a pickup which agreed to give me a lift. A free lift was not enough but he also went straight through the checkpoint at the villages entrance where tourists have to pay a entrance fee for the region which saved me 10$!
At the end he dropped me at his family’s restaurant which became my lunch place for the time i spent in Inle Lake. Thats once more about the hospitality in this country.
DSC_8816.jpg
Iile Lake is well known because of its gorgeous lake and the culture around it. One of the spectacular things to see are the fishermen which manoeuvre their with their leg while using the hands for the fishing net.

DSC_8895.jpg
There is also some agriculture on the lake. The floating gardens are literarily floating. The people here grow tomatoes for the whole country. Huge gardens which you can enter by boat. Second time I saw something like this after lake titicaca in Bolivia.

After all the impressions of this amazing place I headed back to the south. Next destination Mawlamyine, just a night bus to Yangon and another six hours from there to the south. The first place which felt like not to be a main destination for the tourists. A quite worn out city on the shore of the river. Stretching around a hill and along the water site.
DSC_8961.jpg
Its the capital of the Mon state and the fourth biggest in the country. From here you can head out on a day trip to the nearby island which is civilised by mon people. A place you will see many ancient things. This ox trailer is not very uncommon though out the whole country.

DSC_8982.jpg
Never thought about how rubber bands are produced but for me was sure they come out of a machine. Not here … they are handmade made from natural rubber. Dried in a smoking chamber, sliced by an old machine and sorted out by hand.

DSC_9001.jpg
Another example was an ancient rice cleaner which shall be in operation for over once century. The shaking tower is powered by this steam engine which is regularly maintained. I don’t wanna know whats the ratio of operating hours to maintain hours!

DSC_9025.jpg
Back in the center many old colonial buildings can be found. Most of them are in miserable conditions. No renovation and that perhaps since the english left many decades back.

Next on the list was Dawei even further in the south. Final destination would be a border crossing back to Thailand in the far south. The street to Dawei was almost not existing so bad were the condition and that without rain. Sitting in the overnight bus and watching how the headlights of crossing vehicles approached was kind of fascinating. Especially the manoeuvre they did to cross on the narrow jungle street. Although, sometimes there is not enough space and so we saw one more wrecked bus on the side of the street.
DSC_9037.jpg
To get some rest I spent a night in a beautiful place near Dawei. A laid back guesthouse surrounded by coconut trees. Here I learned what they to with the dried coconuts. They press the oil out of the flesh wich later on is processed to cosmetic products.

My last mean of transportation was a 10hour speed ferry to the border town in the far south. A trip which was not without especially since you have to check in to the office at 1am. Being transferred to a harbour somewhere and leaving that one at 4am in a boat which after half of the trip was packed with people.
While floating to the end of this amazing part of my trip I was thinking about all the nice impression of this country. All the extraordinary friendly people, the unbelievable beauty of the nature here and the ancient infrastructure of this country.

Northern Thailand

Coming back from Laos we had to spent the first night in the border town of Chiong King. Giving us the chance to see a small city without all the tourists. Although, soon we had to figure out that this place can be quit calm. The only place we found to get a drink and perhaps something to eat was closing down just in the moment we arrived but opened again later on just for us!

The day after we moved to Chiang Mai with the plan in mind to see the Yi Peng festival – a buddhist festival during the full moon time in November. Unfortunately we missed hundreds of thousands of lanterns going up into the night sky! It was already to late to go to the place by the time we came back from dinner. Thats the price you pay if you don’t plan. Instead we headed out for the nearby night market which was packed with people. Getting some cheap snacks and to do some windows shopping.

DSC_8249.jpg
Chiang Mai has many temples around the centre as well as in the surrounding. One has a bamboo wat and another temple is built in tunnels well hidden in the nearby forest.

DSC_8270.jpg
To escape the intense heat and humidity in the centre I went to a jungle trek. Unfortunately just for one day but enough to see at least some of the jungle around the city. First stop was at an orchis nursery and butterfly center. Getting taught how much it takes to create some of those flowers. Would you have guessed it could take several years till you get to see the beauty of it?

DSC_8295.jpg
Later on I jumped on an elephant like the guys in the picture. Perhaps the most touristy thing I’ve done the last two years. Somehow I expected the ride a bit more adventures but it was a slow and shaky ride. Even though, our elephant over took all the other ones ๐Ÿ˜€ Good fun was the command โ€˜bon bananaโ€™ which means โ€˜give me your trunk and youโ€™ll get a bananaโ€™. The only command he was really listening to as you can see.
The rest of the trip contained a short hike into the jungle. On the way there we were discovering interesting plants and butterflies. One of the plants –Mimosa– collapsed it leaves as soon as you touched it – awesome. Finally we took a raft and went down the river. The ending with the bamboo raft was a failure since we were too heavy …

After four nights in Chiang Mai I was looking forward to something out of a city and decided to go to Pai. A place four hours north. The place consists of two a few roads and numerous guest houses. Nevertheless, it is a really small and laid back place just a bit over ran by foreigners.

DSC_8323.jpg
Since the place was quite small it only took a few minutes to get out of it and into the green. Waterfalls, a canyon or rice fields are just a few things which make this place so relaxing. Even though most people discover it by scooter it is easily possible to hike to the suggested spots. If you don’t mind the sun. Shame on me that I spent four nights in Chiang Mai instead of one more in this beautiful place!

Unfortunately, I already had my flight for the first of November to Yangon – Myanmar. A new adventure is waiting out there ๐Ÿ™‚

Traveling the Jungle – Laos

I headed out for the northern bus station of Vientiane to catch a bus to Luang Prabang. A place 9 hours in the north of the capital. As soon as the bus left the city I had to realise that this country might have a lot of bush land. During the whole journey we could enjoy all the fabulous green environment which once in a while got interrupted by a small town or settlement.

DSC_8115.jpg
Luang Prabang itself is surrounded by jungle, green hills and the river Mekong. The place is well known for its monks and the numerous monasteries around the town.

DSC_8109.jpg
A new kind of temple and also my new favourite. This time a ‘Temple surrounded by palms in the jungle’.

DSC_8121.jpg
The centre of the town is dominated by a big hill with a temple on the top. On the way back down I found a couple of Buddhas and for the first time I realised that they have one for every week day. Not sure why the Saturday Buddha looks kind of creepy and the Tuesday Buddha seems to be tiered for some reason. I guess the weekend was too long ๐Ÿ˜€

DSC_8168.jpg
Hidden in the jungle near Luang Prabang are some beautiful waterfalls. The perfect place to escape from the heat and humidity in the town. There is one big drop and later on couple of cascaded basins which are perfect for a bath. The water on top of the waterfall is crystal clear and becomes turkish coloured on the bottom of it. The free fish massage was awesome. It just became a bit scary after a big fish started to feed itself. I decided to stay safe and to keep my toes and left the bath after the attack.

DSC_8211.jpg
Another reason than the monks and temples that this place is popular are the slow boat trips down or up the MeKong. Most of the tourists coming from Thailand by boat and keep traveling Laos later on. A few go the opposite way against the mass – up streams. And so did I – as usually.

DSC_8191.jpg
The trip takes two days with a night in a small place in the middle of the jungle. During those two days you will see a lot of green. Seriously, its all green except the water and the sky. And the few moments when the jungle is opening up to give you a view on a hill tribe settlement. We could see kids playing on the water site, women washing the laundry or guys fishing in their boats. Normal life for those living here.

DSC_8206.jpg
For those who are in a hurry or who don’t want to spent 2 days in their life on a slow boat, there are also some speedboats and they go fast … So fast that a helmet is required and that you might feel your bones for a couple of days afterwards;)
However, everybody is ending or starting at the border to Thailand. Our drop off was just next to the ‘former’ immigration office. Unfortunately not opened anymore to foreigners. For us was the brand new ‘friendship’ bridge a couple of kilometres away.

Somehow it is a shame I left this country after just five nights but there might be the opportunity to see more of it when I’ll be back in Thailand. Getting into it in the south to see the islands there. Lucky me that I do not need a visa ๐Ÿ˜‰

On the way to Laos

As much as I enjoyed my time in Bangkok I didn’t really want to spent too much time there and left it after a few nights. To get a train ticket was super easy. No queue at all and the girl working at the counter was speaking english as well. Out of curiosity I ordered a first class ticket to Khon Kaen. Trip duration nine hours, cost of it about 40$.

I got my own compartment or at least I was thinking the second bed might not be sold. At 8pm I was ready at the station and shortly after I inspected my tiny room. A bit old fashioned and not rally much space for baggage but there was a sink and huge beds. Seriously, the beds are small double beds. You could easily share it! Later on a english-thai couple were demonstrating that. Yap, they took over the spare bed after their roomies didn’t want that a couple is sharing a room. Somehow I can understand if you think that he was a mid aged european guy and she a mit twenty thai! girl!

DSC_8054.jpg
My arrival was early in the morning around 5am. A station with straight tracks running through it. While I was looking for a place to stay some locals started to ask me to help me out. The first person couldn’t help me but he called around a friend which further on called a family member able to speak english. It was just after 6am. No, I didn’t get refused but she couldn’t help me neither. So she went back in and after a few minutes another girl came out. And that one just got woken up to help me! I couldn’t believe it!

standingBuddha.jpg
The only reason I came here was to see something else than the majority goes for in Thailand and to slow down the journey to Laos. Roi Et is a small town near Khon Kaen not very well known among tourists. But it shall have the tallest standing Buddha in the world. At this place I recognised the first time buddhist nuns. Instead of the orange fabric they got white ones.
Back in Khon Kaen I had a walk around the night market and finally ended up in an expat bar. On the way home I had a look into one of the most popular places which was kind of a club with life music. The impression: Very loud music, watery drinks and crazy people:)

The morning after I had to hurry to get my train to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. 35Bahts or 1$ for a three hour third class ride on a local train. Well, it was not the nicest ever but didn’t change the fact that the views were amazing. The rail way is terminated on the Thailand site. Therefore you have to go to the border by yourself. The tuktuk bringing me there overcharged my quite a bit. However, I could save the money at the Laos border since Swiss citizens are together with Luxembourg citizens the only ones from Europe getting a visa free entry into the country. Strike:D
Everybody else pays at least 40$ to the custom. Furthermore, I didn’t have to queue for immigration. Instead I walked straight through, bargained the price for the next tuktuk and tried to get it cheap this time.

DSC_8067.jpg
Vientiane is a laid back town which doesn’t really gives you the impression of a capital. Life is slow and people friendly and relaxed and so are the few tourists staying there. Even if the number of people living here is small it feels like the density of temples is much higher. Meanwhile I saw quite a few of them but somehow there were two I really liked here. Pha That Luang is one of the most important of the country and with its wall around it also kind of different to others I saw.

DSC_8102.jpg
Another site had countless little niches in the walls of the temple and side buildings and all of them kept at least one tiny buddha. And for sure there were also bigger ones around it.

DSC_8085.jpg
Another new thing to the temple was the markets around it. First time I saw they were selling tiny birds int little catches. At the beginning I was thinking they eat them. Lucky them, they just release them into the wild which shall bring luck as I got explained.

DSC_8092.jpg
One of the biggest landmarks in the city is the Patuxai Gate. Built to honour all those who were firing for independence against the french. Looks a bit like the Arc de Triumph in Paris but has its own style on the top.

Vientiane doesn’t really offer much. Although, its worth to stay for a few nights to relax and to enjoy the laid back street life of the city. There are a certain amount of tourists but not as much as on the other site of the border. And a big part of the internationals are just here to extend their Thailand visas. And the others will most likely go to the north like I did.

Don’t worry be happy – Bangkok

China was a great experience about the culture as well as the Nature. Nevertheless, I can’t lie that I was happy to leave it for another place. And I guess Bangkok – Thailand was a great choice to continue the travels. Arriving in this city felt like discovering a new planet. People are so friendly and easy going somehow the opposite of Chinese. And it seemed like that everybody could talk a little english. So much easier to travel since I don’t speak any Thai.
First mission was to get the Myanmar visa around the corner of the ‘Miles Map’ hostel. The application process is quite straight forward and easy to get through. Besides that you have to spent some time in the application queue and later on in the pick up line. I got my passport in the afternoon back with the required old-fashioned passport stamp in it. Mission accomplished:)

DSC_7948.jpg
The image I had in my mind of Bangkok was the one from the movie ‘Hangover’. A huge loud and very busy city with ladyboys all around. It was not exactly like that. Bangkok its much better and actually not even that busy. At least not on week days.

DSC_7920.jpg
Bangkok is famous for its nightlife as well as for the cultural heritage situated in the city. The best way to explore parts of the city is by taxi boat on the canals. From this perspective some of the most famous temples can be spotted. Its also quite interesting to see all the activities along the water. Houses with basketball fields on the roof, a guy diving with an old fashioned diving helmet or just the regular fishermen taking its nets back.

DSC_7957.jpg
I didn’t really do any research about the city and therefore I was quite surprised to find all those big temples in the middle of the centre. The most famous one might be the ‘Grand palace’ which is a fairly big complex of temples, side buildings and gardens. Protected by some ancient statues …

DSC_7980.jpg
… and awesome looking real guards. In old fashioned British uniforms with the funny hat on. Just looks so amazing:)

Bangkok is definitely worth seeing it and especially if you come from China. Feels so good to see smiling people, to taste different street food or just to feel free and not watched by a crowd. Looking forward to see more of Thailand and south east Asia the coming weeks. Next will be Laos with a stop over on the way ๐Ÿ™‚

Living in a Skyscraper – Hong Kong

Somehow I felt like Hong Kong is a must see place if you travel China. Arriving by plane I had the spectacular pictures of approaching the airport in my mind. But at the same time I knew that we will land at the new airport built on an artificial island and not flying to the former one which is in the middle of the city. Once rated as one of the most difficult airports to land at.
Since at the time protests were going on in Hong Kong the public transportation was a bit limited. Not knowing that I was waiting for 20min for a bus just to get told that it won’t stop at the place I needed to go. The solution was the 3 times more expensive MTR train. However, I got fast and save to Hong Kong Island. One thing I realised on the way: The Chinese did much better in designing a metro station than the brits!

DSC_7866.jpg
Ant another thing you will realise getting on the streets of Hong Kong is the high rising building all around. I think I never saw a normal house around the island. And yes, people live in there and not just work. My hostel was based on the 13th floor and my room was called deluxe. The space we got was ~11sqm for eight of us. Bunks with three levels were standard, sleeping in a shelf in a cramped place!

DSC_7872.jpg
Although, if you were willed to walk up to the victoria peak you could first of all enjoy a nice walk through the city and secondly escape it. And finally you got a great view down. Around the peak I found some leftovers of old british fortification. According the signs built before the war and destroyed during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

DSC_7879.jpg
Back down in the centre I passed the main area where the demonstration takes part. It was much bigger the days before our arrival and became much bigger afterwards. No more to see at least at that time.

Staying in Hong Kong made me realise how much more lifestyle costs in the west. Compared to China which I think is not cheap at all is Hong Kong super expensive. For a night you paid at least 30$, a burger menu in a restaurant its around 15$ and so on. But thats the price to be back in the west I guess.
Unfortunately I missed the most famous thing – the light show in the evening. There was no second time as we were believing. Too late for that night and the day after I left it … Thailand next.

Another China – Shanghai

After over a month in this country I was kind of over it. Too different cultures and not always easy to be tolerant to the ignorant Chinese! But before I left China I wanted to see Shanghai. The perhaps most western like city in China beside Hong Kong.

DSC_7825.jpg
Since it was still Chinese National Holiday Shanghai was packed with tourists. Especially throughout the pedestrian area which goes to the infamous ‘the buns’.A area along the river with the some historical building. It also faces the banking district of Shanghai with its skyscrapers. A must see area in Shanghai and that how it felt during holiday. Especially in the evening all the people showed up to see the lighting of the high rise buildings. And it was also the evening where as the police started to route the people through the streets. From subway to the bund on one street and back on the parallel street. No contraflow. When the pedestrians crossed the street the police kept them inside of a human tunnel or where putting up ribbons.

DSC_7838.jpg
Perhaps the most famous at the moment is the Pearl Tower on the left. The most famous in the future might be the Shanghai Tower on the right which will be finished up till 2015. An over 600m Skyscraper which gets narrower to the top and torques around its on centre. And somewhere between you can find the ‘bottle opener’. At least it looks like a xxl opener. If you get the chance get into that one, get up to the 91 floor to the bar and enjoy the few.

DSC_7839.jpg
During night time The Bund looks amazing with all the skyscrapers. Some of them are simple lid up others like the Pearl tower is flashing and chaining colours.

When the holiday finished Shanghai calmed down and it was possible to walk freely and quick from A to B. I got a totally different experience than the days before. And at once you could realise that people living here are more western. Less people spiting on the street, making weird noises or kids shitting on the sidewalks.
Initially i was planing to take the train down to Hong Kong. But since it would have taken so long I booked a flight there. First flight after all the trains from Europe to and through China. And another reason was to take the Maglev train to the international airport in Shanghai. Never traveled so fast on the ground before. Approaching the exit point with 431 km/h. I have to admit that the regular trains feel more comfortable at speeds exceeding 300 km/h. At top speed it became a little bit shaky but it was an awesome ride ๐Ÿ™‚

Jangtze river cruise – Three Gorges

Back in Chengdu I quickly got my ticket for a train to the east – to Chongqing. A city on the longest river of China. The Yangtze river goes from the west of China to Shanghai in the east and its famous for the three Gorges and the three Gorges Dam. From the station to my hostel I took the metro which is quite unusual. Several lines are based on an elevated train system giving you a great view down to the nearby surrounding.

DSC_7669.jpg
At my arrival I quickly had to figure out that this city is suffering from heavy smog. My hostel was based next to the river around some dock area but I could barely see the other site of it in the smog. Ant not even think about the possibility to see the sun. No, nothing, seriously there was not even the usual round halo of the sun on the sky just this homogeneous grey wall.

DSC_7687.jpg
To get to the hostel you had to pass through some market/dock area. A steep stair went down the hill, through buildings or between them. The guys were working like ants carrying huge packages up the hill to the storages and stores. It looked like this place is never sleeping.

DSC_7700.jpg
My aim for this place was to book me onto a boat down the Yangtze river to the three gorges dam. Nothing fancy just something simple and quick. What I got was a third class ticket in a six bed dorm ensuit on the YunChun a old Chinese cruise/ferry boat. Except me everybody was Chinese and older than me. Together with my lovely roommates who were talking loudly to each other, shouting into their phones and littering the river I embarked the boat.

DSC_7711.jpg
Our journey started in Wanzhou and went downstream to Taipingxizhen at the three gorges dam. After the first night we arrived at the first and most spectacular of the three gorges. The river became at once quite narrow and the rock cliffs were rising high up into the sky.

DSC_7735.jpg
Just hours later we were stoping at Wushan which is the gate into the second gorge. Lying on one site of the river on a deep slope of the mountain. First the city looked mooring to me till I started to climb the stairway up the hill which finally brought me to a lively centre. Soon I found another stair going even further up. Chinese must love their open air staircases.

DSC_7744.jpg
Few hours later we left this place and cruised through the canyon. Not nearly as steep as the first one but still making you feel so small. While it became dark we went into the third and last one and finally stopped in a side river for the night.

DSC_7756.jpg
The next morning we broke up for the last bit of our cruise and approached the three gorges dam. A master piece of modern civil engineering protecting the region below of it from floods and generating power. 14% of all Hydropower in China shall be from the three gorges dam or around 0.84% of the total generated electrical energy. Sounds small but the nameplate capacity of 22.5GW and the total annual power output of 80TWh just give you a glue how much energy China must consume!

DSC_7763.jpg
The final part of the tour was a visit at the site of the three gorges dam project. To get a view over the massive site you have to climb the visitor hill. From there you can have a look down into the locks and to the dam…

DSC_7771.jpg
…which is not finished yet. The last piece will be finished somewhen in late 2014 or early 2015. To get the boats quicker from the Shanghai site up to the Chongqing site they build a huge elevator. At the moment hey have to be happy with the slow five stage lock system. Takes about 4 hours to get through that one.

DSC_7781.jpg
During the boat cruise I recognised couple of times how much wast there was in the river. Wondering where all this trash will end I found the answer at the dam. There was a spot which looked like it is an island. It took me a while till I realised that boats were not wrecked ones on solid ground but working recycling boats getting the trash out of the river.

There might be more spectacular cruises you can do like the Hurtigruten cruise in Norway I did before but its definitely something different to do in China. Giving you a taste of how Chinese people travel, the culture and some great looks at the Nature away form roads and rails.

On the edge of Tibet – Huanglong & Jiouzhaigou

First time after long time I changed from the rails back on wheels and went for an eight hour bus ride to the north of Chengdu to Songpan. A small town in the reach of the Huanglong national park. Situated in the county of Sichuan on the border to the region of Tibet high up in the mountains. Compared to Chengdu which was humid and smoggy this place is full of fresh air.

DSC_7542.jpg
Even if it feels huge to me it is a fairly small place in Chinese scales. Although, its also very touristy since many people take a night here before they had out for horse trekking or hiking around the national park.

DSC_7575.jpg
Off the touristy centre into the hidden roads behind the rebuild old town we found the market place were they slaughter the animals and sale the meat on the market. Where kids play between sculls and skeletons of yaks.

The day after the arrival we headed out to the Huanglong national park which is a ‘short’ two hour car ride away from the place. On the way there the car climbs higher and higher up the mountain. Finally we were eaten by a cloud. The visibility left was just a few meters and didn’t allow the driver to go fast.
DSC_7633.jpg
The park itself is on a lower altitude on the other site of the mountain. The lower part was out of the cloud which allowed us to see the landscapes which was shaped by the water streams running over the stoney ground. Forming those amazing little ponds wight the turkeys coloured water in it which was inviting for a bath despite the fact that the water was cold.

DSC_7641.jpg
The weather became more miserable the higher up we climbed and finally it it started to sprinkle. We kept going and on the way to the top we found this little tibetan temple.
Even if the weather was ‘shit’ people kept coming here to see the national park. After mt. Hua Shan we had to recognise again that national parks in China might be designed in a different way than those in the west. More about mass tourism than sustainable tourism.

DSC_7665.jpg
Next stop was at the national park of Jiuzhaigou just two hours further to the north. This one was much bigger so that you needed to take buses inside of it to get to the far ends. And it was designed for even more people. In Songpan a Chinese couple told us that there on their day of visit might have been up to 20k people. We didn’t believe it till we were there.

DSC_7648.jpg
The park holds a couple of small tibetan settlements which became part of the ‘attraction’. Quite interesting to me were those mechanised prayer wheels which are powered by water. Engineering everywhere ๐Ÿ˜‰

DSC_7649.jpg
As Huanglong this place also has crystal clear water which is glowing in turkeys colour. But additionally there is old wood hidden in the depth of the water which makes it kind of mystical. There was almost no wind going so that the surface became almost a perfect mirror reflecting the colourful trees along the bank.

DSC_7662.jpg
Its weird to say this but in some moment it felt like this place could be in the alps. For sure not when the forest was presenting exotic plants but if looked into the distance … it could be, couldn’t it?

For me those national parks are amazing place to see some of Chinas nature. The only problem with them is that they are over developed and therefore overrun by the Chinese mass. Its sometimes hard to relax if you get pushed around or you have to walk slowly behind someone not used to walk at all. Its also hard to see how they treat the nature, littering around or just to scare off the few animals left.

Lucky us that we got could leave. Since it was raining the days before the local stream was on its limit. At some spots the street got damaged by the river, some small landslides came down the slopes and even some boulders were caught by the safety nets along the streets.