China - the South

Shanghai my personal equivalent of „far, far away“. As a child I had no idea where it was but I was sure to visit someday.

What to see:

"The Bund" Wai tan

Have a stroll on the bayside where old meets new. "The Bund“ or Wai tan is the most famous part of Shanghai and simply breathtaking. Take a ride through history here with all the historic colonial houses which take you from Gothic, Baroque to Renaissance. From there you have a perfect view of the skyline of Pudong and its surreal new buildings. A must see for architecture fans.

Pudong

lies just on the opposite site of "the Bund“ and represents Shanghai´s finance and trade zone. Especially beautiful with the old sailing ships cruising down the "Huangpu river".

The old centre

I loved the old city centre although very crowded with tourists. The perfect place to attend a tea ceremony and do a little bit of shopping in the small stores around the place.

What else:

It happened to me that taxi drivers neither understood the latin alphabet nor where they able to read a map which made moving a little tricky.

Watch out what you eat! Even in fast food restaurants you can find rare stuff in your dessert. As I was eating my pudding I couldn’t believe my eyes as I found three little worms on the ground of my dish. People assured me that this was perfectly fine as there were in there to give the pudding the right taste.

Just to tell you: The whole time I spent in China I totally fell in love with the food. It was delicious!! But you need to know what to order, if not, you can get some nasty surprises.

Located in the south of China the city of Guilin is embedded in an extra ordinary landscape. The cast topography invites climbers from all over the world to come here. It was the first city where I actually saw some signs in English. At nighttime you can hang out in one of the many bars and shops.

What to see:

Reed flute cave

Near Guilin you will find the „Reed flute cave“ a natural limestone cave with a lot of stalactites and stalagmites inside  - amazing. The only thing I was not so fond of was the fact that the whole cave was illuminated in various neon colours which made the impression more artificial.

Lijiang river

I love boat rides and the “Lijiang River” invites you to a spectacular tour through cast mountains and beautiful landscapes. See if you can find the point where the picture for the 20 yang was shot.

The rice terraces of Longsheng

A 1.5 hours car ride away from Guilin lies "Longsheng" from where you can visit the rice terraces in this region and take a hike up the mountain to get a scenic view.

Now, Hong Kong is a totally different story. It´s loud, it´s busy and it´s torn apart in between old Chinese culture and western world capitalism. I wish I could have stayed longer to explore more of this amazing city.

Shop in down town

Hong Kong Island is a very busy and lively area with incredible high humidity. The facts that the shops are cooled down to around 18 degrees Celsius and the outside temperature lies around 35 degrees Celsius makes it an adventure not only for the wallet but the body as well.

Cross to Kowloon

For a skyline shot of Hong Kong Island come to the Kowloon pier. This is also the place to be for the light show at night, a rather rare performance of some laser lights above the skyscrapers. But hey, it´s for free :)

Ride the Victoria Peak tram

The tram to Victoria Peak let´s you have a spectacular view down over Kowloon and the island of Hong Kong.

See the largest escalator on earth

The Central Mid-Levels Escalator is the biggest outdoor escalator and connects downtown with the suburbs around. In the morning it´s centre bound in the afternoon it changes direction into the suburbs.

Relax at Repulse bay

You have enough of the hurly-burly in the city centre than go and relax at repulse bay beach.

Ngong Ping 360

Well, I admit it, I missed this but it looks like fun. Try the cable trail and let me know about your experience.