Guangzhou, China

Geoff and have had a really nice time in Guangzhou, China for the last 3 days...

We went to an amazing fabric area where there were about 8 levels taking up a few blocks, just of fabric shops. Quite overwhelming! We picked out some nice fabric to have some pants (we brought along) copied & Geoff is having some shirts made. We will get them in a few hours - its very exciting! :)

We went to a really nice book shop yesterday that has a level of amazing stationery... I did some shopping & we found a really nice book on cherry blossom painting by a local artist which we will be bringing home with us.

We have been staying with friends of friends, Joan & Garrick at their flat. They have been so amazing > we've explored some of their favorite restaurants (& pubs) with them in the evenings. Last night we went to a Thai restaurant that has crazy musicians from the Philippines who evidently perform there every night. The food was really great.

The night before, we went to a park where the local people go to dance in the evenings for fitness. There were so many different dance styles! There were also people relaxing in the beautiful park under trees with pretty lights. It was quite amazing to see!

Geoff had a mild ankle sprain (he twisted his ankle on a hole in the road whist trying to get a taxi) which we were quite worried about....Joan recommended the massage place around the corner from the flat for a relaxation massage > the lady working on Geoff really knew what she was doing: his ankle seems to have healed really well post massage! What a relief! I had an oil massage....I had to keep telling the masseuse to work softer (TONG! TONG! "sore, sore!"). I bruise very easily > especially from a hard massage, so I'm feeling rather tender today!

Geoff has gone off to have the oil massage - I think he will really enjoy it as he likes powerful massages!

Today we are heading off to Yangshou which seems, from all the pictures we've seen, to be one one of the most beautiful places in the world. We will be there for 4 nights before heading to Beijing. Here is a picture sent to us by our hotel:


I have had some serious excitement butterflies for the last 2 days as I'm going to be an auntie again today!! ...Stan & Karen's little boy, Joshua arrives today (round about the time we arrive in Yangshou I'd imagine) & I'm really feeling the distance between us & my family today...!

We have a week and a day left of our wonderful adventure...

Some news from Hong Kong

We are in Hong Kong....we have extended our time here by a night as Geoff has not been to HK before & we were enjoying it too much after the 3rd world-ness of Lombok, Java etc

We went across to the Kowloon side yesterday...walked around a lot..went to the Temple Street night market. We met up with Geoff's friend, John Stevenson (who lives in Hong Kong) for a friend of his' exhibition on shark-finning called Man & Shark.

Afterward, we went on the tram up Victoria Peak to look at the city from above. It was spectacular!

*It had been so smoggy all day that we thought we wouldn't see anything from the top.. but it started raining really hard just before we went & everything cleared up beautifully so we had a brilliant view :)

Geoff and I grabbed some food at a Chinese restaurant at 11pm & headed off to our little haven for a great night's rest.

It is raining today > we are quite pleased as it makes it a bit cooler. We will probably just mooch around today... go see some galleries & take things easy, and then meet up with John again this evening for some dinner.

We cross into China tomorrow...We will be spending the night in Dongguan for the 3F (Famous Furniture Fair) and then heading to Guangzhou on Sunday to stay with Joan & Garrick for a few days before moving on.

Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon...caught the bus in from the airport & our silly bus driver skipped our stop (we're sure on purpose) and we had to walk for ages in the crowd & in the heat to find our hotel. We are staying in a fantastic boutique hotel called the Hotel Bonaparte by Rhombus in Wan Chai.

This is a pic of the outside

This is what the rooms look like > ours looks like this but with 2 beds...It is REALLY small but so beautifully designed that its not too bothersome! Luckily there's space under the bed for the surfboard! :)

This is the hotel's restaurant & internet zone down stairs.

Here are some more pics.

After settling in last night, we walked down the road to find some dinner. Geoff had a beef rice sort of dish & I had tempura vegetables & a side order of steamed rice. It was all really delicious! :)
 
We've been walking around shops for most of today & have visited the Man Mo Temple in the antiques district.... We will meet up with our Cape Town friend, John Stevenson this evening for dinner...
 
One more full day in Hong Kong & then its off to China......