After a two week spell as lifestyle and documentary photographer for Aston Martin, I was joined by David for a week long holiday in the region of Catalonia where we based ourselves in the beautiful medieval village of Begur.

Begur is a stunning hilside village, it’s steep on the way in and steep on the way out and is surrounded by luscious landscape, mountains and the sea. Long gone were the Aston Martin Rapide’s and soon we were settled into the lazy days of the Catalonian way of life! Although this wouldn’t be a Notworkrealted post without some kind of activities going on.

Based on the wonderful world of Trip Advisor we found our lovely guesthouse; The Aiguaclara, which is located in the heart of Begur. Thanks to all the raving reviews we had no question as to whether this would be the right place for us to base ourselves during our stay. Straight away there was a warm welcome by the hosts Clara and Joan who rennovated this colonial-style built in 1866, and they’re personality is all over the place with vintage decor, quirky objects and antiques scattered throughout. It’s a considered design across 4 stories, with each room unique from the other.

Happy with our choice of accommodation we then went on to explore the village, which in 1 evening is easy enough to do. We ate in the restaurant at the hotel “Fet Amb Love” which basically sums this place up and then walked up to the Castle. Which at night with a full moon is very rewarding.

On our first day as tourists we ventured out on a coastal walk thanks to a walking trails map provided by the hotel. From Begur we took the downhill route to Sa Tuna, greeted by many locals enjoying the escape of the city, we explored a path off to the right and up to a viewing point at Mirador de St Josep, before turning back down to the bay and taking the coastal path along to Sas Vaques and before long Aguafreda. At this point it was a little unlcear as to where the path was leading us but we cut inland on the road and then found the path again a little higher up en-route to Sa Reira. Eventually the signs re-appeared and so it wasn’t difficult to navigate. We continued the walk to Sa Riera, at which point we stopped for lunch in a local Tavern before enjoying a quiet moment on the beach. From Sa Riera we took a pleasant forest trial leading back up to Begur by which point it was 4pm and we’d hiked about 11km. It was a lovely walk lots of steep ups and downs but on a clear day some beautiful bays to take in.

For days 2 and 3 of our time in the area we hired a car through the hotel from a local car-hire company based in Palafrugell. It cost us 101 Euros for 2 days including insurance and 2 drivers. Fuel is pretty cheap in Spain so we only spent 40 Euros in 2 days.

We drove up to Figueres once we had received our little Chevrolet Matiz which from Begur took about an hour. Once in Figueres we managed to find free parking a little away from the Dali museum and we joined the ever-growing queue to get into the museum, it took a further hour before we were paid the 12 Euro entrance fee and were inside!

We hadn’t really anticipated the Easter vacationers coming into the area from Barcelona. The Dali Theatre Museum cost 12 Euros each to get in but this is like no other museum either of us have visited before! Described as being the largest surrealist object in the world, the theatre is home to ideas, dreams, sketches, objects and just about everything Dali ever imagined brought into real life. It’s really interesting, fun and engaging. A little bit like stepping into a circus allowing for the imagination to gather and grow. The only problem for us were the hundreds of other visitors muscling their way in and out of each space, oh and not to mention those using flash on their cameras to document it all! Why?!
We were on a Dali-fueled mission and drove out to Cadaques and Portlligat, which is a lovely drive over the hills and down to the coast. Portlligat is where Dali lived and his home is now a museum, the only problem being that we didn’t have tickets to get in and it was fully booked until Easter Monday. So we wandered around the quiet bay, enjoyed some patatas bravas and then drove to Cadaques. This place is definitely worth a visit on a sunny day. Again it was packed full or visitors but it really is a stunning coastal town. Much bigger than Begur, oozing character and every corner holding a link to Dali.

We found a small gallery ran by local legend and photographer Joan Vehi who houses hundreds of photographs taken during his lifetime. Draws listing from the 1960′s through to modern day and famous reportage shots of Dali in the area. Really worth a peek if you are ever there. We finished our evening with a walk up to the castle and Paella at one of the local restaurants in the village.

On our second day with the Matiz we ventured further afield, I wanted to share a few places with Dave that I had taken in on launch with the Rapides. Although the Matiz isn’t quite up to scratch with an Aston Martin we managed to get to Besalu where lots of Easter celebrations were taking place. This is a really stunning medieval village again built up around churches and with a large characterful square in the centre. It’s a great place to explore, lots of cobbled walk-ways, cafe’s and bars as well as views across the river towards the bridge built in 1066 or there about.

We followed our sightseeing tour out towards Ripoll and after another hour of driving we landed in Fibes De Freser where lunch was booked up in Ventola at Anna’s mountain restaurant. You can’t get a better authentic Catalonian mountain hut than this for food and service. They took Dave and I under their wing and were fantastic hosts for the afternoon, only reassuring further their gratitude at being the Aston Martin lunch stop of choice for the Rapide launch. This time with no Aston’s in sight the restaurant was packed to the rim of tourists, locals, hikers and skiers all following their noses to this legendary restaurant. Owned by Anna, a former Olympic skier, and ran by her loyal staff they run up and down the stairs with hot plates of food, sweat on their brow there is never a rest at this place! We enjoyed a great lunch and vow to go back their one day. With 3 meals in one we didn’t need to eat out that night! So it was a DVD back in our Aigua Clara home and a glass of Esmeralda white wine.

On our final day in Begur it rained! It was very misty and we didn’t have a car, so we simply spent our day in and around the hotel, walked a little, read, edited some photographs and enjoyed food with friends later on. We really loved Begur as a place to base ourselves whilst exploring the depths of the Catalonian region and the comforts of the Aigua Clara Hotel meant we had a home from home to relax at in between the sight seeing.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, Nikon D600, Nikon 50mm f1.4, processed in Lightroom 3)

We were up early and packed ready for the off to Mount Cook, it was going to be a long drive today with around 300km to cover. Again we had fantastic weather which only mean’t we would get hot in our non-air conditioned van but windows down and with a bit of a breeze we would be fine. Our first stop was at the Moeraki Boulders, unusually large spherical boulders sitting on a stretch of Koekahe Beach. It’s a popular tourist stop as we were met with crowds of travellers making their way up or down the coast. They are pretty random though and worth a picture or two if you’re passing.

So onwards from the famous boulders we turned onto State Highway 83 and started making our way inland towards the Mount Cook region. Not far from Duntroon we stopped to check out some Maori rock paintings on the limestone cliffs, they’re talked about in the Lonely Planet and so we thought it would be a good little spot for lunch. So with around 150 km to go (which in ‘Po’ means a good 2 hours of so) we continued on with our journey. It’s difficult not to stop as you approach Mount Cook because the views and colours of Lakes Behmore and Pukaki are shockingly blue with snow-tipped peaks all around. It’s a breathtaking part of the country to visit.

When we eventually arrived in Mount Cook Village we nipped into the DOC to get some information on walks for the next day. After some good advice from the warden on duty we picked up a route map for the area and decided we would take the Mueller Hut trail the following day up to Mount Olivia.

Our campsite for the evening was at The White Horse DOC camping ground, it’s the only place to camp in the area and was packed full of camper vans and tents. it’s a really popular place and has a large communal cooking shelter with lots of extra toilets to so for $6 per person it’s not bad at all. In terms of location it is fantastic, we were practically at the foot of Mount Cook with a lot of major paths leading from the campsite to various sites and valleys in the area, we walked out along the Hooker Valley track for around an hour before getting back to the van for a night in!

The next morning we were up early and ready for our hike, we’d heard it was pretty tough so we were ready for a work-out. Plus this would be a chance for us to test out our new packs and start getting in some training for Nepal. We loaded up our packs although both of us knew that in reality we’ll be carrying more weight, but we have to start somewhere. The hike itself is very tough, especially the first 2 hours up hill, we weren’t quite expecting it to be so steep and so we really were getting quite a sweat on. The terrain is a mixture of large steps built into the pathway, rocks, shale and snow, so we had it all as well as more fantastic views throughout the valley. We knew this would go on our list of epic walks as soon as we started out.

Closer to the top we were hit with cool wind and so wrapped up again before making our way around the corner to Mueller Hut. Here we stopped for lunch and had a good nosey around, they have volunteer wardens who stay on a weekly basis during the season to keep an eye on the place, so we enjoyed a good chat with them. Not long after we decided to take the extra hike up to Mount Olivier, although we didn’t make it quite to the top (it’s a little unclear as to where this is) we were at around 2000m and enjoyed being there very much indeed.

The path down was steep once again and so we felt a little jarred afterwards, but we loved the hike, the views and the challenge. Perhaps it won’t be quite so enjoyable all the time when we’re in Nepal but we’re already starting to anticipate to the highs and the lows! Mount Cook is a must on the agenda if you’re travelling around South Island. Later that night we stayed at Lake Tekapo and decided we would be heading to Christchurch earlier so we could start planning the sale of the van.

(Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Up early to mist and rain we both headed out for an early morning run whilst leaving Barbara in her bunk bed. Today we head back to the centre of San Francisco, but before we did we headed out to Berkley to try and get some sunshine away from the coast. We didn’t find any and it continued to pour down. None the less we headed for a coffee shop for a hot drink and found some great newspaper / what’s on guides. Café Intermezzo was very busy and people were flocking inside to order soups, massive sandwiches and gigantic salads. We couldn’t resist and all ordered our very own sarnies.

We dropped off our beloved Hyundai Sonata at the returns parking depot a few streets away and checked into Parc 55 hotel, which Barbara kindly paid for. Overall we drove 3325 miles in 30 days. We attempted to eat our sandwiches, got half way through and then went for a walk around the city, our first proper look. As it was continuing to rain we headed to China Town and decided to treat ourselves to a foot massage which was a nice relaxing way to avoid the showers. The Cheesecake Factory above Macy’s in Union Square was recommended to us by Barbara and we decided to give it a go. The food was surprisingly good considering the vast menu and slightly Planet Hollywood / Universal Studios feel to the place. The cheesecake desert was very good but we were too stuffed and all shared one, struggling to even eat that!!

We enjoyed our night in the 4 star hotel very much but instead of going for the overpriced breakfast hotel menu we opted for Puccini & Pinetti over the street from Parc 55. It was after 10am when we set off for the Golden Gate bridge opting to take the bus there, we took two buses intact and as we were en-route the sun came out, but when we arrived at the bottom of the bridge it was foggy! There’s always some fogginess going on in San Fran! This was our first time walking on the bridge and we decided to walk from one end to the other with several stops along the way, walking in and out of fog as we did so. It was very atmospheric seeing the giant cables coming out of the fog and we couldn’t see the waves below, only hear them along with the massive amount of traffic driving by. It was pretty surreal and a great experience. It took us around an hour and 45 to walk the bridge but we were much slower crossing it the first time. At the headlands end the path is currently closed but on the other side cyclists could make it all the way across.

We walked back towards Fort Mason getting more views across to Alcatraz and the headlands,  and eventually we ended up taking a bus from the top of Fishermans Wharf. When we got to the hotel Barbara picked up her suitcases and as we were hugging and saying our goodbyes an airport shuttle bus came along so she hopped on and we waved and waved until they turned around the corner. Thanks to Barbara for joining in our adventure!

So now it was back to the two of us, but not for too long as Dave’s friends were flying out that same day! Although we weren’t planning to meet them until Wednesday so we collected the mass of our bags – 2 rucksacks, 2 small rucksacks, camera bag, camping gear in new wall mart $15 bag, a water container and a cool box!!! Jeez!! What has happened here? We packed ourselves into a cab and made our way to our next home, a basement studio underneath the home of fellow travellers Heather and Jamie. Heather found our blog when she was researching for their trip to South-East Asia and sent us a lovely email about how  helpful it was! Yay! So when she knew we were coming to her home town she offered for us to stay in their basement studio at no cost to us! Wow! An amazing help in hand towards our travels and we couldn’t say no!

So our next home was located in the Mission District in between Mission and Castro. We could tell straight away that this neighbourhood had personality and it seemed to suit us! We spent our first night in the area roaming around Mission, found a great Vegetarian Japanese place to eat at on Mission Street called Chaya and followed this on with drinks in a nearby cafe. On our way home we stopped off at Bi-rite, an organic supermarket heading back towards Delores Park on 18th street. We couldn’t stretch the budget to afford their lovely wines, cheeses and deli goods but we did find a few things for us. They also own the famous ice-cream parlour over the road which has queues going on for streets! Crazy but it must be good!!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We got up and spent a good part of the morning sorting out the car, making sure our bags weren’t quite so spread out as Barbara (Dave’s mum) would be joining us for a week from here on. The first part of the day was spent touring back into Point Reyes and out to the lighthouse, where many tourists adventure to. There were quite a few bird watchers on tour so we had to battle a little for the views but not as many people take the 300 steps down to the lighthouse so it was much quieter down there. A humpback whale had been spotted just before we’d arrived but there were no sightings for us. There are lots of rare birds around that area though and the sky was very clear too which is unusual for a mainly foggy  area.

The lighthouse is no longer in use and is a good spot to view from. The steps back up are not quite as enjoyable though but what is pretty unique about this area is that when you’re in Point Reyes you’re also standing on a different tectonic plate. So instead of being on the North American Plate we were standing on the Pacific Plate! You can see the area of land that was formed and ripped apart by the San Andreas Fault.

Moving onwards the road trip continued along Highway 1 taking in some amazing coastal views eventually coming out of the Waldo Tunnel to an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Before we picked up Dave’s mother for a family road trip, we decided that we should get the car back in tip-top condition, it was rather dirty on the outside as well as inside. Much fast paced fun was to be had at the self-service car wash, even though we managed to miss large patches of dirt on the outside

Upon meeting up with Barbara in the Cow Hollow district we headed out for our first taste of San Francisco walking up Lombard Street towards the famous eight tight hairpin turns which we would try to drive down the following morning. Onwards to Fisherman’s wharf for tacky tourist shops and hoards of tourists where we visited a recommended fish restaurant. The food wasn’t particularly refined but tasted fresh and wasn’t too expensive. Back to the hotel room for an early night ready to head south on the coast tomorrow.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We stayed at a great hostel in Bangkok called Hostelling International Bangkok, it’s around half and hour from Khao San road heading up river. It’s a little tricky to find, especially at 5 in the morning but once we got our bearings we thought the location was pretty good. We didn’t want to be in the hustle and bustle of Khao San and we had a ferry stop nearby at Thawet in the Dusit district.

We couldn’t check in until after midday so we decided to take the ferry south and head towards China town so we could get absorbed in some street photography. We always like getting to a big city after ambling through rural areas as there is an energy and buzz that definitely inspires us photographically. Bangkok did just this for us, we weren’t particularly interested in doing too many touristy things as per usual but we were quite happy to get lost in the streets and photograph people, places, food of course!

China town is busy at any time of day with no exception at 10am in the morning, we found alleyways with beautiful light, bizarre funeral gifts, food stalls and bizarre crafts. It’s dirty, hectic and a little tacky but all the while we took it in and enjoyed being flies on the wall. We spent a good few hours making our way through the Lonely Planet walking tour before hopping on the ferry back to our stop so we could check in.

The hostel houses some very nice retro 70′s wooden furniture and the retro theme runs throughout. Our room was very Germanesque in style with a nice hint of art deco in the decor, we loved it and thought it would definitely be a good place to hide away from the busy streets of Bangkok. We made a few plans for the next few days and caught up on some sleep before heading out to catch up with some friends on Khao San road. Nicola was Helen’s old neighbour in Leicester so it was lovely to finally catch up with her and Matt on their travels across the globe. We were relieved not to be staying in this area as the streets were packed and it’s really hit and miss for the accommodation around there. However we do know there are some good options if you don’t want to travel too far away from the backpackers hub of Bangkok.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 processed in Lightroom 3)

We were picked up at 8.30am or so from our guesthouse and much to our delight there were an extra 4 people booked on the trip and so we received $10 refund each off the original trip price. We were able to take our main bags and leave them at the Tourist Office securely whilst we would b out on the trip, after dropping them off we went on our way to the first stage of the trek.

There were 8 of us in total and we were a good mix of people with 2 cheeky tour guides carrying our food from place to place. We took a Song Thaw for about an hour towards the national park and stopped at a wooden bridge, this presented us with a problem; we couldn’t go any further in the vehicle over the bridge with all the food and people packed inside of it, so we off loaded, carried the food and walked to the village around 1km away. When we got there Mii was waiting with a scooter and took the food from us in preparation for the lunch-time spot.

After a short introduction to the village and our guides we walked for around an hour and a half and landed at our first cave of the tour. It wasn’t so big in size but was good enough to explore with head torches. Onwards from there we continued to walk through forest and farmland and ended at the lunch time spot which was at another cave, here there was also a lagoon going into the cave and so everyone stripped off and went for a swim. Helen wasn’t feeling up to getting into the water and was still surviving off re-hydration drinks. The lunch was served on a long picnic bench and we fought off the flies whilst eating barbecued fish, chicken, sticky rice and vegetables, it was okay but the flies didn’t help! We stopped at this spot for over and hour and then continued to walk to another cave. This cave was very impressive, for 15 minutes we all sat or snoozed letting the lunch settle in the peacefulness of the cave. Dave went off to explore a little and photographed the rest of us snoozing away. The tour-guides then led us through one part of the cave guided by torch-lights and out into another much larger section of the cave. There was water and a sand-bank that led towards a large exit point. At one side of the cave there are steps leading up to a Buddah shrine and fantastic views across the cave to the other-side where we snoozed. We were told that once a year there is a festival that happens in this cave and around 3000 people go there to celebrate for 3 days, as always in Laos style, we could only imagine what this would be like.

After leaving the cave we walked another 5 km to a Stupa and then a further 1km to the village where we were staying that night. The village farmed tobacco and we were surprised at the presentation of the village homes in comparison to those we had seen and stayed at in Cambodia. There are around 90 people living in this village with mostly young children under the age of 11. When we asked where all the older children were the response was that in the dry season they go to the town or city to work and send the money back to their family, coming back in the wet season to farm. The children were good fun to photograph but we got the impression they’re used to westerners coming into their village as they showed off, grabbed at the cameras and were quite cheeky. Still it’s all good for the purpose of photographing.

Our accommodation comprised of an eco-style hut with great views from the village of the surrounding mountains and we enjoyed chatting on the balcony of the hut whilst the sun went down. The bed’s were made for us with mosquito nets and bed covers provided. We will say one thing though; always carry a sleeping bag liner or inner sheet as they don’t clean their bed linen very well and we noticed a few bugs crawling around!

We played Putong with the locals (boules) and managed to beat the French couple from our group, one of whom plays it every summer with his brother!! Not bad! The locals cooked us dinner and we all ate together along with them on the balcony of the guesthouse. Later that evening we participated in a traditional Laos Bacai ceremony, this involved the group sitting around a circular table with a candle and flower arrangement in the middle. For each person there was a portion of sticky rice and chocolate bar that we would accept as a gift.  The head of the village came to each of us one by one accompanied by his two deputy leaders, he prayed for us, spoke of good things to come and all of us were predicted we would ‘live long liiiife’. He placed a cotton bracelet on our wrist and the gift was in the pal of our hands. Following him his deputy’s did the same so we ended with 3 bracelets each and many many wishes of a long life!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

The train arrived at Kunming station at around 8am and we fought our way through the masses of crowds out of the station and towards the bus station which is around a 10 minute walk. Our destination was the Cloudland Hostel which provided information about which bus to get and where to get dropped off. We got off at the correct bus stop and then proceeded to wander around the area for nearly an hour looking for the hostel, luckily is was fairly warm and the sun was shining. Eventually we found it and thankfully it was a really nice place with an open area for pool, table tennis and a nice cafe/restaurant.

We had booked a double room which was a nice size and lovely sitting on the bed in the warmth of the sunshine. Whilst traveling you do accrue lots of smelly clothes and when we have the use of a washing machine we most definitely make good use. The room was covered in drying clothes whilst we did some editing and writing. After having some breakfast in the cafe we headed out to explore the local area. A local attraction at this time of year is Green Lake which draws in the crowds to see the first Seagulls arrive in the winter and then they feed them bread which can be brought from dedicated street bread vendors. Only China could turn a load of Seagulls flying around a lake into a tourist trap, with stalls of dried fruits and souvenirs.

We headed towards a vegetarian fake meat Buddhist restaurant. We struggled to find the venue as the maps provided by The Lonely Planet and local maps put the restaurant on the other side of the street. We popped into the Yuantong Temple for a wander around which was nice, apart from the building work, with Turtles swimming in the lake. Eventually we decided that the vegetarian restaurant on the side of the temple was more than likely the one we were looking for. We headed inside and ordered our food, which you would struggle to tell that it wasn’t meat. The Peppered Beef was really beefy and the texture was spot on, the fake prawns with fake ham were ok but not our favourite. If you get the chance, either if you are a vegetarian or meat lover we would recommended giving it a go.

We went back to the hostel and had a drink in the bar and then had a quick game of table tennis before bed.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Traveling around China has been easier than either of us had imagined especially after hearing some dodgy stories from travelers in Japan who had come here and left pretty quickly. We left our hostel behind early on the morning and headed to the bus station via the metro. Its a bit of a walk from the metro station to the long distance bus station so be prepared for a walk of around 15-20 minutes with rucksacks. We stopped off at some shops along the way and bought some breaded goods for the journey.

Boarding the bus we were excited to be finally heading off into the country and away from the masses of skyscrapers and crowds of people. The bus left on time and we settled down to a five hour journey. The roads in China are some of the most deadliest in the world with a statistic of 500 deaths a day related to road traffic incidents. This is clear to see from crossing the road, you take your own life into your hands, drivers have little patience for pedestrians or road signs, and over-taking on the smallest of roads with blind hairpins is a fun filled adventure every time. The bus driver on this journey loved to put his foot down and over-take anything and everything. One more thing, they don’t believe in seat belts!

We arrived safely after a few hours and were dropped off right outside the Koala Huangshan YHA. There are two hostels in Tunxi with Koala in their name, according to the map we set off in completely the wrong direction and did a big u-turn to end up back where we started when we got off the bus only to see the YHA right there. It’s a pretty cool building, although in the winter there is no heating and as the space is so vast in the communal areas it gets really chilly. Central heating doesn’t make it much further south than Beijing either so you’re always relying on hot water, air conditioning heating vents and electric blankets. We had a double room booked here and it was bloody freezing!

From the hostel we sorted out our trip to Huangshan Mountain. You can do this from the towns closer to the base of the mountain but there is a good rail and bus link to Tunxi so it’s easy enough to get your sleeper train from here. We had a pick up for the next morning at 7am and from there we would get to the drop off point for the mountain trek.

So up until leaving we had a half day or so in Tunxi and wandered into the town to take a look around. It has a very old part to the town with some tourist shops, but the buildings and alleyways are particularly attractive and fun to explore. We watched the sun set over the river whilst the local ladies washed their clothes at the waters edge and others were leaving their pak-choi to dry out. Over the road was a little cafe tucked nicely into a backstreet called The Ying Yang Cafe, it is recommended in The Lonely Planet and offers a fairly decent range of western and Chinese food. It was a little empty when we arrived but the food was good in the form of a vegetarian pizza and tuna pasta. We’re really looking forward to getting the hostels and guesthouses that have kitchens and or cooking areas as it sucks to have to pay for someone to make it for you!

Back at the hostel we got an early night in preparation for the Huangshan adventure the next day.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We didn’t want to write too much about our visit to the Summer Palace as we feel the imagery may say more. We were really captivated by this magnificent site consisting of lakes, temples, bridges, paths, pavilions and hilly landscape. It truly is a breathtaking experience. We imagine that whether you go on a bright summers day, a snowy day or a misty day (as it was when we went) you will still be able to experience the beauty and history that exists here. Perhaps our favourite place in Beijing so far? We spent the main part of the day here wandering around the grounds, stopping for a pack lunch whilst looking across the foggy lake and we photographed until the sun came down. If you ever get a chance to come to Beijing the Summer Palace should be at the top of your agenda.

Enjoy.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We had over 30 hours to go when we woke up the following morning ready for our complimentary breakfast. Although the food announcements were made in English it seemed that the Chinese announcement was always much earlier, so by the time we arrived at the canteen they were already tucking in and the food left our for us was a little lukewarm. So we decided we would turn up for food 10-15 minutes before the scheduled timings and low and behold the food was always a little hotter and we were there at the same time as everyone else. For breakfast though we shouldn’t have bothered and on the second day Helen opted for porridge that we brought with us, whilst Dave had the left over cereal. We did have a few bowls and spoons with us which helped on the self-catering side. Chinese breakfast on the Yanjing consisted of Chinese porridge which is like a soupy rice and on this occasion flavourless broth, accompanied with some eggs that looked like they’d been boiled weeks ago. The fruit wasn’t free but was a good bonus to this poor meal. It would be good to experience Chinese porridge whilst we stay in China so that we don’t only have this experience to go by.

The only full day we had on the boat saw us catch up on our editing and writing whilst in between doing some more research and reading for China. We would pop out every so often to get some sea air on deck and noticed that the weather was changing. Leaving the calm seas of Japan led us out into some low-visibility conditions where we felt we were literally in the middle of no-where. The temperature up top had also dropped, but it was dry and we could still get outside as the sea was still calm.

We had bought a series of Peep Show, Misfits and The Hangover Movie from i-Tunes before we left Japan, however we didn’t authorise them on the laptop, so when we realised that we wouldn’t be able to watch them on the boat (no internet to authorise) we resorted back to more editing, writing and podcasts we already have. Still we did remember about the table tennis room and after hiring bats and a ping pong ball we had a few games following our own made up rules…Dave won best of 3 but Helen was starting to feel giddy due to the lack of oxygen down that part of the boat (excuses!) we were certainly better than the Chinese guys playing next to us!! Beth and Rick were busy writing but later on we arranged to meet them for another “tasty” Yanjing dinner followed by some more card games. We picked up a few more games for our travels that hopefully we’ll pass on and play with others, especially now Helen has written down the rules.

In between our working and walking around the ship we would photograph parts of the boat as there was always something to document. From the rescue boats, piping, old rope, left chairs, signs and the worn interior to the guests on board playing cards, learning their dance moves and posing for photos on deck. It was worth doing this journey for the content we have captured. A little like being in a Carry on Film at times! The staff who were all dressed in uniform aimlessly pursued jobs that didn’t really exist. We did watch one girl clean the upstairs area over and over again eventually she was tested for the cleanliness of the space, the finger test was complete and she seemed to pass with flying colours. Why they didn’t pay this kind of attention to the wash and toilet areas was beyond us.

On our final day on the boat we looked forward to arriving at the port in Tianjin at around 2pm. Our own supplied breakfast did the trick and we did manage some more editing and writing followed by another walk on deck. It had certainly become our little home for a few days but it was definitely time to leave. We noticed that the Chinese guests were dressed and ready for the arrival many having been in tracksuits and pyjamas for a few days. Bags were already starting to pile up next to the exit door in the lobby area. We still had a fair few hours left though so we weren’t in a rush to pack just yet. We had great pleasure in photographing some ladies practising Tai chi and ballroom dancing upstairs for an hour and they loved the fact that we wanted to photograph them. They all seemed to really enjoy their time on the ferry and the endless episodes of a Chinese soap opera had definitely kept most people enthralled for at least half a day. Apparently they even had it on full blast in the dorms for the entirety of the night, oh how special class did us proud.

Getting closer to the port we traveled through hundreds of anchored trawler, container and fishing boats, it was really surreal traveling through the middle of this and felt a little like no-mans land. The wind up on the very top deck was immense, Helen had to run through it to avoid being blown over. Close to the front was Beth, Rick and JP all enjoying the blast so we joined them in what felt a little like being on a roller coaster; arms in the air facing the sea at the front of the boat, hair standing up on end due to the blast of the wind. It felt amazing and pretty invigorating, Dave snapped away as our mouths were shaped by the wind.

We were ready to leave and the boat eventually got into Tianjin port at around 2.30pm. After we got off the boat we passed through passport control and stepped out to the front of the building only to by hounded by taxi drivers pushing us into their cabs. We travelled with Beth and Rick to the station in Tianjin which is a good 40 minute journey from the port. This was our first experience of Chinese driving and the manic layout of the roads in this area, something I’m sure we will get used to but after a 48 hour boat journey we weren’t quite ready for. We met up with JP at the station and we all boarded the high speed bullet train to Beijing south station together. Arriving at Beijing south we said our goodbyes to our Yanjing travel buddies and decided to get the tube to our stop as it was right on the same line as the train station.

We looked at the underground map and used the ticket machine to select where we wanted to go. It came up as 4 Yuan for two tickets which equals 40p, we were not sure if this was correct as it seemed so cheap! Xisi was our stop on line 4 and the hostel was not too far to walk from here so we jumped on the subway. We were booked into a hostel in the heart of the hutong area and when we eventually found the place in a dimly lit street, we were informed that they could upgrade us to their Templeside lodgings which is their luxury house a few streets away for no extra charge. It sounded like an offer we couldn’t refuse so our host walked us through the streets to Templeside and showed us to our room. Once again we have been spoiled on this trip, the room was huge with a bed twice the size of any standard double. It felt a little like some of the furnishings had been taken from Neverland, especially the fittings in the bathroom. The only downside was the drain smell. Something again I think we will be getting used to during our stay here.

We ordered some great Chinese food that was delivered to the hostel and certainly expelled the taste of any food we had eaten on the boat. We asked the hostel to ring the owner of the apartment we are moving to and we arranged a pick up for the next morning at 10.30am. Time to head to bed for our first nights sleep in Beijing.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)