For our last few days in Sydney we made the most of having a place to ourselves in a fantastic location. Just down the road and under the Harbour Bridge is the North Sydney Olympic Pool and so we decided to spend a good half day there enjoying it’s facilities. For $18 we could use the gym and pool for as long as wanted to, so we spent the first part of the morning in the gym and the second part enjoying the 50m pool. It’s in an amazing location right under the bridge and next to Luna Park, pretty surreal to have so much of interest built around this historic pool and with a famous restaurant overlooking us. We enjoyed the location and the workout. The pool still has much of it’s original art deco styling around the site and large windows line one side so you can people watch as passers-by walk past on their way to and from the ferry.

Later that afternoon we enjoyed a trip back to The Opera House, this time armed with the Leica so that we could get some better shots than our ones from a few days ago. We also walked around the Botanical Gardens home to many tropical parrots and birds and the Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats hanging from the trees above. The parrots are very tame and create quite a raucous sound as they come back to nest or feed from people gathering around.

Around the corner we could see an event taking place where the Open Air Cinema is located, it was actually the opening night for start of the summer season and the Australian Premier of Marilyn was being screened. So there was quite a buzz about the place with media and red carpets all around. What a location though if you have the money, some tickets are available each night on a first come first serve basis but you would have to queue early as they sell out pretty quick and all of the pre-booked tickets were already sold out for the entire month. We weren’t sure whether you’d spend more time looking at the city lit up than the film on screen. Luna Park greeted us as we made our way back to Kirribilli on the ferry, along with moody skies over the Opera House. The Diamond Princess Cruise liner still dominated the Sydney Harbour, impressive but ugly at the same time. Not quite seen one that big before!

We managed to fit in a beach day on the 12th and jetted off using the ferries to Manly Beach, described by many as being the nicest beach in the area. It is certainly a nice spot but it does get so busy during the holidays so perhaps on a quiter day you might find see a little more sand! The sea is good to swim in though and we were getting a bit of a beach day on the go!

On the 13th we enjoyed a pretty low key day which involved washing, shopping for food, planning and cooking some cookies and chocolate brownies. Helen wanted to bake something for the picnic later on and to take to her friends place where we would be driving to the next day. We also got a phone call to say that the Leica was now back so we planned to collect it on Saturday. We also enjoyed a pleasant walk around the Neighborhood and to Milson’s Park taking in the architecture around us. It is a very Art Deco area, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the city (well as far as we’ve seen!) and it has also been maintained to a very high standard. We could tell it wasn’t cheap to live in this part of the city, and so looked on in admiration to our surroundings. We had been very spoilt – BIG thanks to Rob, Monica and Lottie for letting us stay at their lovely flat.

On our final evening in Sydney we finally managed to catch up with friends Amy and Amit who moved here after a stint of travelling last year. They actually left the UK on the same day as us in 2010 and are now settled and expecting their first child! We had a lovely picnic in Glebe Park and an all round fab night catching up with them. Best of luck to them and wish we could have had more time with them whilst we were there!

On the 14th we were ready to make tracks and leave our little home for the past 7 days. We picked up a hire car in the city and packed ourselves in tightly into the little 3 door Hyundai Getz. Happily back together with the Leica we bought ourselves a 3 man tent and a new stove before making our way to Helen’s Uni friend’s family home close to the Blue Mountains.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, 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 arrived Shanghai at around 7am and having being inspired by Rick and Beth (from the Japan to China boat trip) we proceeded to eat our breakfast of oats, banana and raisons out of thermos cups! Really nice! We went straight to The Mingtown Hiker YHA which is based close to The Bund in central Shanghai. The hostels are great over here as we always manage to get an early check in. This hostel is quite large, is in a good location and has a good social cafe for meeting people. The four person dorm was a good size, clean and the shared showers down the hall were steamy hot!

The Bund is a popular attraction in Shanghai with views over the river to Pudong’s famous skyscrapers. We walked from Mingtown to the Bund which takes around 10 minutes and strolled along the paved promenade. We were looking forward to some famous Shanghai heat and humidity after the chilly spell in Beijing however the clouds, wind and rain had moved in and it felt very much like a cold and damp December in the UK. Not happy! We followed The Bund walking tour as outlined in The Lonely Planet and walked by some art deco style buildings and famous hotels that play host to historical stories surround the gang of 4 and other war time events. One such place called the Fairmont Peace Hotel has a pretty impressive entrance way and interior. Following on from here we came across a temple in the middle of the shopping area in Shanghai. It houses a large silver Buddha statue which is quite impressive, but it’s all a little surreal placed in between large electronic ad campaigns and department stores.

The Propaganda Poster Art centre had some good reviews in the Lonely Planet and we were interested to see the collection which is located in a basement floor underneath a 20+ story block of flats. It was a little tricky to find but the security guards pointed us in the right direction. It was a great collection of art and design with some interesting historic information to back up the messages and put the posters in context with the political and social movements of the time.

Traveling for a year has its limitations on budget as you can imagine, so on the lookout for some cheap eats, we wandered around the streets looking for just that. This can be difficult if you end up in the wrong area of Shanghai so we chose a fast-food chinese food restaurant chain which had some fairly substandard food. It was cheap and filled us up but that is all. Back to the hostel we had a couple of beers and got chatting to a couple of Scottish girls who are teaching over here in China.

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

We woke up to another morning of blue skies and broad sunlight, funny that it all comes as you’re about to leave! We had the Hostel 64 breakfast which consisted of orange juice, some home-made bread, jam and coffee (for Helen) although it was okay it didn’t live up to some of the breakfasts we’ve been eating here in Japan.

We didn’t want to give ourselves too much to do today as the following morning we planned on making an early start with a train connection to Tianjin where we would leave on our slow boat to China. So with that in mind we picked up a usefully alternative guide to Osaka called the Osaka Field Trip, listing art and music venues along with cafe’s and various sights across the city. Had we been able to spend more time here this would have come in very handy indeed, but for one day we managed to pick out a few places of interest and started off with a local nearby park. The park was surrounded by tower blocks and busy roads but managed to carry a peaceful harmony, with many people taking a break on park benches, girls catching up with gossip and dog walkers taking some time out of work. The dog portraits certainly kept us entertained! We love to idle through these kind of spaces, with the flower gardens drawing in people from all around the local area, it’s great for a photo-opportunities. From here we set out towards the main river passing through Osaka and in search of somewhere to grab a cup of tea. We found an artsy complex next to the Museum of Art called Graf, although it was a cool place and the environment was really welcoming we didn’t particularly enjoy the sting of the cost of a cup of tea at around £7, it wasn’t your average cup of tea but we are supposed to be on some kind of budget here!!

So after this we set off in search of another cafe recommended in the guide called Coco, this one situated on the 2nd floor of a building block overlooked the park we had spent the morning in and had views of treetops, buildings and a crossing; somewhere you can watch the world and sky go by. Here Dave had a fabulous burger made freshly with pork mince, a Japanese style sauce and a fried egg on top, it looked pretty immense. For Helen though there were no veggie or fish options so she stuck to a milkshake and a piece of cake. Still it was a lovely little place, very quirky and attracted a pleasant bunch of customers.

From Coco we set off in the direction of Osaka castle via some the downtown shopping district Shinsaibashi. Here Helen found a Freshness Burger company, something we had enjoyed very much in Harajuku Tokyo, earlier in the month, so a veggie burger it was and then a walk into the mass of signs and shoppers. Already Christmas stands are setting up selling trees and decorations. Place all this in a centre with signs promoting beauty, food, clothes, DIY, supermarkets, sweets, bakeries and shoes it was a pretty intense place after our quiet experience of the park, but another side worth seeing if you make it to Osaka. It’s very different from walking around the tower block streets.

After purchasing some flip-flop socks for a bargain of £3 (perhaps the cheapest thing we have found whilst in Japan) we started the walk towards the castle. The route took us down backstreets with a mix of department stores, coffee shops, apartment blocks, older factory outlets, bridges, murals and busy traffic. We eventually found ourselves at the castle park situated in the centre of concrete and skyscrapers. It is very much separated off from all of this via a moat and does have land surrounding the grounds of the castle so you do manage to escape the busy streets. We didn’t go into the castle, instead deciding to photograph from the outside it’s bold structure and the people it attracted. We sat with an ice-cream in the sun, photographed and again watched the passers by.

We found a metro route back and got the first connection to our nearest tube stop. When we got back we loaded up another blog post, double checked our itinerary for the next day and decided we would try to find this Korean restaurant now we had got our bearings for the area. We managed to find the place around a 5 minute walk from Hostel 64, it was pretty small and cosy with only a few other customers in their having a post work feast. We still decided to give it a go as we had spent so long trying to find it the night before, the menu was all in Japanese with pictures but you couldn’t really make out what the meat was. He described a few things to us by making actions and sounds of a cow and pointing to his stomach, alarm bells should have been ringing by this point but we found some tofu and Dave went for a meaty looking dish. The beer was cheap and the company was good so it kind of shadowed the fact that Dave’s dish did in fact contain cow’s stomach or tripe as we call it back home. It was petty tough and chewy and he managed about 5 pieces before giving the rest a miss! Helen’s was a tofu dish with bacon on top, so off came the bacon and she managed to get through the rest. We did however have a great pancake dish with vegetables and squid and the owner brought out a few drinks on the house. It was definitely a food experience not worth repeating but all part of the fun that we’ve had in trying different foods whilst in Japan.

On our way home and a little giddy on booze we got our boat money out of an ATM at a nearby 7/11 store, some cheeky pudding and then went back to get ready for an early start the next day. What a time we’ve had in Japan. It’s been tough on a budget but it really has been an experience worth while with the variety of what we have seen, experienced, eaten and photographed.

We’re a little excited and nervous about the two day boat journey to Tianjin but there is a sense of adventure as we embark on the next stage of our trip to China.

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