Today was to be our sightseeing day with a half day stint at the Grand Palace. We took the boat again to Tha Chang stop not far from the Palace area and followed some of the Lonely Planet’s walking tour for the area. We followed the first part of the route to the Bangkok’s Fine Art school which is located opposite the front gate of the palace, what a great place to study art and be inspired! Unfortunately there weren’t any exhibitions on so we sat in the courtyard for a while people watching and photographing the area. We crossed over the road to the Palace and as we passed through the gates were told we would both have to queue for longer length clothes to cover arms and legs all the way to our shoes. Helen thought she would need something but Dave’s passed the knee cropped trousers didn’t make the cut either so we both had to queue for half an hour for an assortment of sweaty shirts and skirts that had been worn by other tourists earlier that day. Nice! The annoying thing was that it was so hot, it was difficult wearing simply shorts and a vest let along trousers, a sarong and a shirt!!

Once dressed we continued onto the ticket office and purchased 2 tickets costing 350 Baht each. It is a very impressive sight indeed starting with pagoda’s, temples and shrines that glisten and sparkle in the sun. Vibrant golds, emeralds an ruby’s dominate the area with intricate gold leaf descriptive paintings along walls. You can’t go into the actual Palace or residence but walking around the grounds and visiting museum rooms, enthroning rooms and various formal occasion temples is pleasant enough if you don’t mind queuing with the many tourists who are also there. We watched the changing of the guards and after about 2 hours we decided to move on. It’s on a similar level to the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in terms of decadence, architectural design and intricate detailing.

There is a market around the corner from the Palace near to the ferry stop which we wandered through and people watched as they bargained for small collectible amulets. We also explored some back alleys where we got a glimpse of old Bangkok, houses on stilts on the river side and children playing in the narrow streets. After the long queue’s and heat of the day we’d had enough of sightseeing already and decided to head back to the hostel for a few hours as we were planning to make tracks on the sky-train later on to check out the night market and get some food.

We got a taxi to take us to the Ratchathewi sky train stop and from there took the sky train to Nana. This is the stop for the Paptong weekend market, perhaps an area that should be described as Bangkok’s red-light district! Although since 2004 Helen has noticed that things have been toned down a little and although there are many ping pong shows available it’s perhaps not thrown in your face as it used to be. We had a little wander through the streets and then got back on the sky-train for one more stop to Asok where we had planned to find a Tapas restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet. We decided this would be our date night and we would spend over budget for our meal. The Tapas restaurant is located next door to Suk II hostel, a place Helen has stayed at many a time when she has been in Bangkok before. So we had a look around after enjoying a buy 2 get one free deal at the restaurant, it didn’t really soften the final bill but we did enjoy some lovely western food for a change. The main reason we didn’t book to stay at Suk is that they’re prices are now quite high starting at 700 Baht for a double with shared bathroom, we were paying 430 Baht a night at our hostel with our own bathroom.

On our last full day in Bangkok we went off in the direction of Siam, the business and shopping district. We directed our attention onto buying a few items for our camera gear, and purchased a tripod and a small camera bag from the MBK shopping mall. We also bargained for the first series of The Wire as well as experiencing their food hall which is a must-do if you’re having a long day shopping in Bangkok!

We had a few galleries earmarked on the map that we were intending to visit, the main problem being that we couldn’t find 2 of them, one was in between exhibitions and one was housing a small photographic exhibition. So Wooden Postcards at the La Lanta Fine Art Gallery was the only one that was open.

After this slightly disappointing search for off-the wall Fine Art we promptly found a taxi and decided to head back. Our taxi driver had only been driving for 2 weeks in Bangkok and didn’t know where we were heading to, but he was determined to get us there so we gave him a chance, he made a few calls and got on the right tracks. It started raining heavily too so we were happy to be out of the down pour. We couldn’t get dropped off at our hostel as their was a problem with a demonstration taking up the top end of the Phitsanulok Rd. We thought we would walk right through it on our way back and were amazed by the amount of demonstrators there were, it seemed to be a peaceful demonstration taking place outside government buildings and the UN building. We managed to pick up on something to do with the release of Thai Nationals, but we couldn’t get this confirmed. As soon as we stepped out from under cover the rain came down hard and we were drenched by the time we’d walked 100m back to the hostel. The rain halted our plans that night so we stayed at the hostel and caught up on the blog.

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

We were due for a pick up at 7.30am but it wasn’t until around 8 that the bus turned up, we ended up doing the rounds of the town picking up fellow travellers and en-route passed our place about 3-4 times! Once on our way it was a pleasant journey, we were pretty chuffed as we had the whole of the upper back row sleeper seats to ourselves – that’s 5! It’s a good tip actually when you’re doing the sleeper buses over in Vietnam the upper top or lower back end of the bus means you get a little more room and windows to get rid of the smell (if there is any!). Helen was feeling ill so slept and awoke for a few photos every so often, Dave happily snapped away through the back window and was rewarded for his efforts we think!

We arrived in Mui Ne at around 1.30pm and it was scorching, somewhere around 30 degrees or so. Very nice indeed but we had to look for somewhere to stay so onwards we walked to find accommodation, fortunately we bumped into Justin and Jules and they let us put our bags in their room at Mellow. A nice vibe place that is what its title says; Mellow! Oh and yellow!! We booked to stay there for the following nights as they had availability and found a room at the back of a restaurant a few doors down from Mellow for $15. For the ease and the fact that it was clean we stayed there for the night.

We managed to walk along the beachfront to catch a glimpse of the sunset before meeting up with J&J at The Lam Tong restaurant for dinner that night. Lam Tong is nicknamed ‘Long Time’ for good reason, the service is pretty poor, they don’t always get the right food to the right table and you may have to wait a while to eat. Still it’s cheap and pretty good for what you’re paying, they also do an excellent fruit plate which is tour 5 a day right there. We went along the beach for a few drinks and then went off to our beds!

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well we can’t all say that we’ve spent Christmas in Hong-Kong…but WE CAN!! He he! Although to be fair we could have been anywhere in the world and still made this a day to remember. It was a slow start to the day with our customary oats, yoghurt and fruit breakfast followed by some prancing around in our Christmas hats. Dave slept in a little longer and enjoyed the cosyness of the apartment. We got ourselves a little pack up so we could go to Victoria Park for a Christmas picnic. We were also downloading a Christmas film that we would watch later in the day; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and strolled out with our Christmas hats still on.

The park is just around the corner from Causeway Bay and was packed full of the local overseas contingent mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, we’re pretty sure they are mostly maids and restaurant workers and had read prior to going that it’s a very common sight to see them all to get together in public spaces, hanging out with each other on their days off. We assumed this was the case. We walked around and found the central open air swimming pool which is an Olympic-sized pool left empty in the park. Its really eerily located right at the foot of sky-rise apartments and office blocks and left us with a great photo-opportunity.

Moving on from this we continued to walk and found a nice quiet spot in the park where we would have our picnic. For Christmas brunch we opted for the much anticipated and longed for hummus and carrot, a good tomatoe relish, rivita crackers, posh crisps, dark chocolate and cider. Oh how we enjoyed this sipping cider with the local monks passing by and just simply enjoying our little moment.

After this satisfying and overpriced picnic we went back to the apartment via the shipping area, photographed more of the locals and went back to settle in for some Ferris Bueller action. This was Dave’s first time…Can you believe it?? It was enjoyed along with a bottle of white wine and dark chocolate…oh how the other half live!

After the film we got ready for our Christmas meal we had booked the previous day. Most restaurants offer a set menu from day to day and they tend to be good value for money. We had noticed a little pub underneath our guesthouse offering a Christmas menu that didn’t look to shabby at all and was at a relatively good price considering the cost of other things on offer. So we didn’t venture very far at all, we did get a few Christmas presents to enjoy with our meal of which you can see us modeling the best below! The meal started off okay, but it just went from bad to worse and by the end Helen felt like it was the toilet that was calling her rather than the local dessert. Hmmm! You can’t win them all!

So after a slightly disappointing meal (although the picnic did make up for this!!) and a good Skype call to the Roscoe’s we went off to Victoria Peak via the metro so we would take in the Hong-Kong skyline by night. It was a good little journey, packed with many other tourists waiting to go up to the Peak, and the tram ride up was fun. Once we were up there it was really cold, so it was a good job we’d put on some extra layers. We experimented with slow shutter work on the Leica which provided us with an alternative view take of the skyline. Helen’s dinner didn’t do her many favours so she was not a happy bunny but after a good hour or so we got the tram back down and made our way back to Causeway Bay.

You can walk down from the Peak and on a nice evening this would have been a good option and alternative to getting the tram. We didn’t buy tickets to the highest viewing platform and the main building contains a lot of shops which we more or less bypassed to get outside and photograph the views.

Back in Causeway Bay we walked around a little longer, took in some more neon and then went back to our little room to enjoy the rest of our Christmas evening together.

(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)