We packed up and were ready to check out at around 11am. We’d read that we could leave our bags in luggage storage at the MTR station at Kowloon’s Hung Hom so that we could make the most of having some more time in Hong-Kong. Getting there is fairly easy on the metro with a few stops and walking distance. There is a little problem in that when you buy a through ticket to Hung Hom from Causeway Bay you’ll have to go through an unpaid walking zone to reach the connection to the western line. You wont find this out though until you’re ready to change lines at Tsim Shu Tsha and the machine takes your ticket and you have to buy another one way to Hung Hom!! We tried to explain that we didn’t know about this but they didn’t really want to know and told us we would need to buy another ticket to get there!! So we lost some more dollars on this and gritted our teeth in fury! Well Helen did but the moment soon passed and we found ourselves at Hung Hom with a decent one off fee of 20 HKD per bag for the day which isn’t too bad.

We walked across to the main strip in Kowloon via the Hollywood stars walk along the sea front. It was good to have clear views across to Hong-Kong Island and we enjoyed this along with several other tourists. The sun was out and it was very pleasant indeed. As we wandered through the streets and endless shopping malls we found ourselves a good little knife shop and bought us a wee Christmas gift in the form of a Swiss army pen knife. Sad but these things do make your lives a little easier when traveling and having those practical items to hand. It didn’t stretch the budget too much either which was a nice bonus.

After the excitement of buying our little present we went on the search for some food before our over night bus journey. We found a street that had a mix of establishments and chose Red Ant, which appeared to have some nice rice, noodle and soup dishes. The food was average with Helens particularly bland. Not what you expect really but it did the job. Afterwards we made our way back to Hung Hom station, collected the bags and went for the next train to Shenzen. It’s a much cheaper method of getting to and from Hong Kong than using the Kowloon express from Guangzhou. For 33 HKD each we got the MTR to the furthest stop on the line Lo Wu, from here it was clearly signposted to get to Shenzen and the bus station, there are exit and entry points from Hong Kong to back into China and the whole process took around an hour and a half from leaving Hung Hom. When we arrived at the bus station we had another hours wait, so we proceeded to play some more card games. We thought we’d lost our other pack and managed to pick up a new pack of cards for around 20p! Bargain! The bus left at 7.30pm and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the bus wasn’t as bad as the reports we’d heard and also seen on the roads. We didn’t realise but this was the luxury bus and not the cheaper 3 tier sleeper option. The bedding was clean and fresh on and it was only a two tier bunk bed layout with only a handful of people on there. You need to use the seat belts as you’ll get jerked around quite a bit and there were a few stops coming out of Shenzen before we were well on our way.

Our destination was Guilin and we were told the bus would get in at around 6am, but we were way ahead of time and arrived at 4.15am. Luckily the station was very much anticipating the arrival of the buses so we weren’t alone at the drop off. It was a little confusing but we walked out of the station, found ourselves a taxi driver who knew where we were going and landed at the Wada hostel at around 5am. The hostel was all locked up and in the dark but eventually someone came out to let us in, fortunately the room was available and she checked us in at no additional cost. This is one thing that we’ve found to be really helpful in China, you can arrive at pretty much any time of the day/night and get into your room as long as the date is the same as your check in date then there’s no extra charges for getting your room early. So we were able to get some sleep and set the alarm for 10am.

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

After a little lie-in we got ourselves ready and headed out into the hustle and bustle of Hong-Kong. We wanted to explore the area on foot so we hit the streets and wandered the many little alley ways and roads. Far more Christmas decorations were here than in China and it started to make us feel a little bit seasonal especially around Times Square. The streets are very much alike to those in London with the same traffic lights, double yellow lines on the roadside and even double-decker buses. We headed to Soho as the Lonely Planet had recommend the area for something a little different and more creative. There are hundreds of trendy restaurants and bars situated around Hong-Kong and you have a good choice to pick from, with many all ready very full with patrons.

We found a cool little place at the top of Soho so we sat inside and enjoyed a few drinks. Helen’s pear Halmsted cider (from sweden) was lovely and made for some easy consumption. Just up the road we popped into a small gallery and also found a Canon powered photography exhibition at the former jail in the centre of Hong Kong island. We could feel a lot of history here and quite a few areas were sealed off, we have spotted a fair amount of asbestos in China and we bet this place could have been the same. The exhibition (hkphotofest.org) was ok with a selection of old photographs showing the old Hong-Kong in its Colonial days and also some more modern photographers exhibiting their work. The building for us was the highlight, both wanting to use the space for a photography shoot. We even took our Christmas card photos of each other here, ready to be comped together with our Christmas best wishes.

After purchasing some Santa hats for some festive fun we continued to explore the streets on foot and found a great local restaurant that specialised in Wonton. We had a clear broth, with a free refill, and then started on the noodles. Helen’s wonton was packed with around 5 or 6 prawns and the lemon and honey cold beverage was great. Jumping on the underground network we made our way to Kowloon were on Christmas eve we were informed by the Alison Guest House that there would be fireworks on the Hong-Kong island and looking across the bay was the best way to see them. We asked a local police officer and they told us no fireworks, but there is an event taking place up the road, a street carnival.

People in the Hong-Kong territories really celebrate Christmas Eve more so that the actual day and there were lots of people walking the streets as a lot of the roads were sealed off to traffic. For a few hours we wandered around Tsim Sha Tsui and were absorbed further into chaotic streets and neon, they were getting ready for street parties and around the pier looking across to Hong-Kong Island thousands of people were waiting and photographing the Christmas decorations. It was rammed!

Not wanting to get stuck on the wrong side of the bay once the street procession had passed we headed back to Causeway Bay via the Star Ferry. For 1 HKD it’s a great view of the skyline and an essential part of any Hong-Kong visit. Not far from our accommodation was City Super which is like a food hall at Selfridges in the UK. They had some very nice items to buy so we invested in some Christmas Day luxuries and a really good smoked salmon wrap and a chicken caesar salad.

The streets were packed with people at any time of the day or night, maybe last minute shopping, some carol singers and others just out to feel the Christmas vibe. Once the sun had gone down the streets were even brighter with neon fluorescent and shop interior lights. We felt like we were inside the indent for Channel 4 in the UK which uses neon lights and signs to create a big number four. The inspiration must have come from here.

(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)