Hong Kong, China (Asia)

Hi, the 25th in the 30 country World tour. Hong Kong is a very beautiful city and I enjoyed going round all the sights. The people are very friendly and most of them talk English which makes it easier. Hong Kong continues my travels in the far east which will eventually take me to Australia and New Zealand.

I stayed at the Renaissance Kowloon Hotel which was in Kowloon near to Victoria Harbour. The hotel took a deposit of HK$3500 which took half of my moeny to start with and because the prices in the hotel being so expensive I wanted to go to cheaper places but because of this had to use some of it for meals but got my laundry done which I needed to do anyway so not all bad. Instead of walking around with a map I decided to book some tours to different places and on the Tuesday have a stroll around the harbour. I booked to go to Lantau Island in Hong Kong, a tour around Hong Kong, train tickets to go to Guangzhou, tour of Macau and a tour of Shenzhen. I would have liked to have gone to Shanghai or Beijing on the train but it was about HK$4500 return just for a few hours or pay out for a hotel to stay the night so I thought it wasn’t worth it and I would be most of my time on a train when I can be exploring other places.

The tour to Lantau Island set off at 8:25am. The first place they took us to were the Avenue of Stars which is an avenue dedicated to the Hong Kong film stars with hand prints, a little bit like Hollywood. They then took us on a boat cruise to the other side of Lantau Island which wasn’t very good as all you saw was grass and hills. They said we would see dolphins but nobody saw any. When we got to the other side of Lantau Island we stopped off at the Tai O Fishing Village which is a big fish market where they sell all types of fish and other products. The market was very old and the guide told us that the fishing villages are getting fewer due to modernisation in Hong Kong so in a few years the village will have probably been built over. The next place we went to was the Po Lin Monastery which has the biggest Buddha statue in the world called Sakyamuni Buddha. We had a vegetarian lunch in the monastery which was quite nice and then we went to the Ngong Ping Village which has the 360 ̊cable car. We went on the cable car which lasted 25 minutes and took you over Lantau Island. You could see over the entirety of the airport and all the apartments that was on the island. You could also see people walking on the path that went over the hills directly below the cable car. I got back to my hotel at about 5pm. The day was quite good but I felt as if I still hadn’t really seen Hong Kong. Also I had to give my passport in to get a Chinese visa so I can go to Guangzhou which I thought was a bit strange as Hong Kong now belongs to China.

I went on another tour on Tuesday around Hong Kong itself. Firstly you went to the Man Mo Temple which literally means Literature and Martial Arts. The temple is well known for burning lots of incense which people did in handfuls. I could hardly breathe. Next we went to Victoria Peak on the steepest funicular railway in the World. We went to 428 metres in the air and I thought we were going to get some great views but because of the so called haze (smog) we couldn’t see hardly anything which was a shame. After that we went to the Aberdeen Fishing Village which is like the Tai O Fishing Village but for HK$55 you could go on a cruise round the Fishing Village in a sampan and see all the boats and fishermen at work. The tour said we should drive through Repulse Bay but we only got a catching glimpse as we came down a hill so I think that was a bit of a con. Next we went to Stanley Market which was very nice and probably a highlight of the tour. Nice shops with nice people that didn’t hassle you to buy things which is a bit different to what you get in Africa. The tour was alright but nothing special. After this he was supposed to drop us off at our hotels but I got off earlier and decided to walk to Victoria Harbour and go on the Star Ferry. I took a photograph of the clock tower and waited for the boat. I could not prepare myself for what was going to happen next. They called it “A Symphony of Lights” and it is probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Music, lights, Victoria Harbour and some of the best buildings in the World. Just amazing, you would have had to have been there to really take in the brilliance of it all. Probably the highlight of the whole holiday. If you ever go to Hong Kong do all the sight seeing at night as it is quite amazing how all the buildings are lit up.

On Tuesday I decided to go around Hong Kong and take the MTR to Hong Kong Island which is at the other side of Victoria Harbour, I was staying in Kowloon. I squashed myself onto the train as there were lots of people wanting the same train. I went around the 3 most interesting buildings in Hong Kong which are the Central Plaza, Bank of China Tower and the International Finance Centre which is the tallest building in Hong Kong. I went up to the 56th floor in the Central Plaza where there is a city view. I then went back to hotel and relaxed and watched a film. After that I had my dinner and that was my day over.

On Wednesday I went to Guangzhou in China and I could not believe that you had to get a Chinese Visa as I thought Hong Kong now belonged to China but I daredn't complain. They checked your passport coming out and going back in. You had to fill out and immigration card both ways. I got to Guangzhou and I was quite disappointed as the only good thing I could find was the park at the side of the railway station with the high buildings around it Every where else seemed to be closed or dangerous.

On Thursday I went to the Chinese city of Shenzhen which has a population of 12 million people and 1 in 3 mobile phones in the world are made here. The city is full of factories that make cars, mobile phones and other items. The factory workers do a 12 hour day and sleep in dormitories next to the factory. As well as that there are some nice parks to look at. I got on the tour bus at 12:15pm outside the hotel and that took me to the ferry terminal in Hong Kong. We all then had to go through all the procedure of immigration even though we was going to a city in the same country. It took us 2 hours to reach Shekou by boat and then we got on to another coach which took us to the Nuwa statue. The statue is of one of the first Chinese Gods with a lower body of a dragon. Next we went to the Mangrove Forest which was nice but a bit boring as there was nothing there and no real reason why we were there. The we went to Splendid China which is two parks stuck together, one half of the park shows China's different cultures and the other half is a miniture size of the famous places in China such as the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. I found the park very interesting as it showed all of China in the different houses people live in and what there is in China. After looking round the park we had Dinner which was a really nice Chinese buffet. After dinner we went to see the Dancing with the Dragon and the Phoenix Show which was superb and probably with out it the day would of been quite flat and bland. After that we got the train back to Hung Hom, Hong Kong and a coach was there to take us back to our hotels.

On Friday I went to Macau, the city with 28 casinos. The first thing we did was go and see the ruins of St. Paul's Roman Catholic church that got burnt down so many times that they gave up rebuilding it but still stands the facade of the building with original carvings in it. Next we went in the Museum of Macau which was boring to be honest but I am not a museum person unless there is something famous in it. It had sketches and drawings from the artists that lived in Macau. As well as that there was information about the culture and people that live in Macau and the history and what kinds of people lived in Macau when it was founded. On top of the Museum there is an old fortress that Macau used from 1617 to 1626 as a primary defense position as it covered 10,000 square metres. Next we went to the Temple of A-Ma which like all the other temples they burn incense and give offerings. Next we went to the highlight of the tour which was the Macau Tower. We went to the 58th floor which is 223 metres from the ground. I also went even higher to the 62nd floor which has an outside observation deck but because of the haze (smog) you could not see anything. You could see most things on the ground from the 58th floor but you could not see into the distance because of the haze (smog) which was a shame. There was also some glass floors so you would be walking for a few feet and then it would seem that the floor had vanished. Scary. We had a lovely dinner on the top floor of the Babylon Casino in Macau before going into the Casino and seeing some people lose some money which was fun. We then all went back to our hotels and I got back to mine at about 7pm.

Hong Kong is a very nice city and so is Macau but I think that is because it has been westernised. Mainland China is a different ball game completely.Hong Kong and Macau are in China but it is like they are different countries to China with checking passports, going through immigration and the way that you are treated differently in Mainland China than in Macau and Hong Kong. People tend to stare at you, may be because they have been so isolated for so long and haven't seen anyone from other parts of the world. I definitely felt threatened by the gangs of people on the street and the police didn't look very official. I would advise if you go to China on your own to go with a tour or only keep to the big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai as there are tourist spots and things to do there. All the other places really are just for shopping and don't have really anything for a tourist. Hong Kong was superb and I would advise anyone going there to go to every part of the city because there is something every where you go. Macau was alright but there is nothing there really apart from casinos so I would recommend that to all the gambling people. The tower is good but that alone would make you visit Macau but not stay in it.

Next is Singapore for 15 nights so I have the time now to do what I planned to do which is go to Pulau Bintan, Indonesia - Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth (Penang), Malaysia - Bangkok, Thailand. After that I will go around Singapore itself and then hopefully I will have some time to relax as the last 3 weeks has been quite hectic. I will let you know how I get on and put a separate post for each new country.

Take care.

Robert.

Tokyo, Japan (Asia)

Hi, this is the 24th of 30 countries in the World tour and probably the place where it has been the hardest to communicate with people. Tokyo reminds me very much of New York with all the sky scrapers.

I was staying in Tokyo which is the capital city. It is very busy and people are dashing about the place trying to get to where they want to go. The public transport is very good and you can get any where in Tokyo by using the Metro or the JR Railway Lines. As well as that there is the Shinkansen which is the Japanese Bullet Train which takes you miles very fast. I went on this when I went to Kyoto, Nagoya and Nagano.

The people in Tokyo are very friendly and often bow at you when walking round which in England is the same as nodding your head at a friend or an acquaintance. Life in Japan is very Japanese and the society is not very multi cultural or national as in England. Also if you are thinking of coming to Japan I would suggest learning a bit of Japanese as the Japanese don't speak any English at all which is understandable. As well as that dining at a Japanese restaurant is very expensive but McDonalds is just the same and I think they have more varieties than in England.

I did as I did in Helsinki and planned to travel around and not just stay in where my hotel was so when I got to Tokyo I went straight to the Railway Station to buy some tickets for other cities. I got there and went up to the desk and said which trains I wanted to book and he looked at me blankly so I went to another desk and they did the same thing, I then went to the machines and luckily enough they had an English option on them so I booked all the tickets by using the machine. I had booked to go to Yokohama, Kyoto, Nagoya and Nagano. I went to the busiest train station in the world which is the Shinjuku Station in Tokyo with over 3 million people passing through it everyday. It was like dodge ball trying to get through all the people but managed to get to the other side. I also went to the Ueno Zoo, Sony Building, Tokyo Tower and the Mori Tower.

I got to Yokohama Station Tuesday morning and got a map from a police man after it had taken me 40 minutes to demonstrate what I actually wanted. I did this by pulling a woman up and walking away with a piece of paper in her hand. Then I kept walking round in circles, I couldn't get through the station to the other side as it wouldn't let you so I gave in and took a taxi tour for 2 hours. I did this at every city I went to. Yokohama is the second biggest city in Japan so it has lots of industries and it also has the biggest port in Japan for importing and exporting goods. Also there is a beautiful garden called Sankeien Garden and in with the tour I got a guided tour around the gardens which most things were taken from Kyoto and put in the garden. Also there was a lot of tea houses.

Next was Kyoto which has some very nice buildings and great architecture. In Kyoto I went on another taxi tour around the buildings and the sights. I was interested to visit the Heian Jingu shrine which I have seen on TV a few times.

I went on the 8:45am train to Nagano, the home of the 1998 Winter Olympics. As it did then it snowed which made the whole city very picturesque which was lucky as there is not many things to go and see in Nagano. I went to a few shrines and a battlefield and that is pretty much it.

On Friday I went to Nagoya. I tried to get another taxi tour but nobody spoke English so I gave up and had my dinner in quite a posh cafe on the 52nd floor of the Nagoya Railway Station, the biggest railway station in the world. The meal was great, traditional Japanese noodles, also there was a great view and you could see all over Nagoya so I didn't really need to look around.

Next I shall be going to Hong Kong, China and I plan again to travel about. I hope to go on the 24 hour train to Beijing but that depends on availability. If thats not available then I am sure I can get 3 train tickets else where and I will let you know.

Take care.

Robert

Helsinki, Finland (Europe)

Hi, this is the 21st country in the World tour and the first country in the around the world trek. This is the 16th different European country I have been to.

On coming to Helsinki I thought that this would be quite a boring city but having been here I now think it is very interesting place with quite a lot to see. The highlight of the trip for me was when it snowed and I was in front of the massive Tuoiokirkko Cathedral. Helsinki has also got great transport links and I used the metro and went on the ferry with ease and no hassle at all.

In the middle of the city there is the very impressive railway station. I don't what it is but I am fascinated by the Railway Station building in some cities as they look amazing. There was an ice rink at the side of the station. You can also go to the Olympic Stadium which is at the top of the city. It was quite cold so you had to wrap up warm when going outside on these long walks and stop occasionally for a coffee to warm you up.

All in all it was something different and I really enjoyed it. For me the next 3 destinations are what this trip is all about. If it all goes to plan this could turn into a tour of the far east. Hope it all goes alright.

Take care.

Robert

Tallinn, Estonia (Europe)

Hi, this is the 23rd country in the 30 country world tour. Another excursion I made from Helsinki with an overnight ferry there and a 3 hour ferry back.

On going to Tallinn I knew it was the capital of Estonia and a former Soviet Union state but apart from that I knew very little about it. Tallinn is divided into two parts - Old Town and New Town. The Old Town is very old, full of churches with beautiful architecture. It has a wall that goes right round the old town and you can climb up some stairs onto the wall and have a great view of Tallinn. It has the pink Toompea Castle where the parliament of Estonia is. Across the road from there is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. St. Olaf's Church is another site that you mustn't miss as it is the third heighest church in the world and beautiful to look at. I also went to the Town Square which still had a massive Christmas Tree all lit up in the centre.

The New Town was nothing sadly to the Old Town and lacked character and identity. I only went to see the bus terminal and the railway station and I was not too impressed. I think they are just trying modernise things there by putting up modern bigger buildings. I much preffered the Old Town.

Got the ferry back to Helsinki which took around 3 hours so got back to my hotel around 8pm. It had been a good day and I probably enjoyed Tallinn more than Stockholm just because it had more character.

Take care.

Robert

Stockholm, Sweden (Europe)

Hi, the 22nd country in the 30 country revised world tour. Not actually in the original plan of the places to which I would be going but I researched Helsinki and from the books knew that I could catch a ferry to Sweden and to Estonia, which I will be going to tomorrow.

I got to Helsinki on Saturday and then on Sunday I spent the whole morning trying to find a place to buy tickets for the ferry. In the end I had to go to the port itself and the Viking Line office at the Katajanokan Terminal. I booked the 5:30pm ferry that got to Stockholm at about 10am. I had my own cabin so was able to get some sleep on the crossing.

I got to Stockholm and got the bus from the port to the Central Bus Terminal which is across the road from the Central Railway Station. I bought a locker so I didn't have to carry my bag around. It rained a bit whilst I was there but generally the weather was good enough to walk around in. It was quite a bit colder than England but it was alright if you wrapped up warm. To be honest there isn't that many well known sites in Stockholm but the City Hall and the Royal Palace is well worth a look. I walked around the centre of Stockholm and the streets are full of shops and shopping centres that you can buy cheap goods. The currency is the Swedish Krona. I spent the day there and went back to the port at 3:30pm to catch the 4:30pm ferry back to Helsinki. When you go from Helsinki to Stockholm you o across a time zone so you put your clocks back an hour when going to Stockholm and forward an hour going to Helsinki.

Got back to the hotel in Helsinki at 10:30am. The snow is still on the streets and it looks very nice. Tallinn, Estonia tomorrow and Tokyo, Japan on Saturday which is very exciting.

Take care.

Robert

Hammamet, Tunisia (Africa)

Hi, the 20th country of 28 in the world tour and this makes it 14 countries for 2007. I go into 2008 with a new way of travelling which is not coming home and move from country to country which will be a new challenge.

To be honest I did not like Tunisia that much as every where you went people were just pestering you to come into their shop and buy something. It got quite intimidating and they used to do it in groups and block you off so you couldn't get out of the shop until you have bought something. I just went down to the beach for a relaxing stroll and no one was there and then out of no where appeared this man with necklaces wanting me to buy a coffee from a hotel on the beach.

I went on a two day excursion which took me into the south of the country and visited various places such as Matmata where all the houses are built into the mountains. We went to the gate of the Sahara Desert and went on a camel. We went to a fruit plantation and saw how people grew and picked dates from the trees. We stopped over at a hotel for one night and ended up sharing a room with a Spanish rock and roller who told me he had dabbled with drugs and liked alcohol. The next day we made our way back to our hotels but stopped at Kairouan which is the 4th holiest city in Islam. We saw the grand mosque and went in the only shop that had fixed prices.

I went to the Medina in Hammamet centre and there was no one there so I got swamped by market sellers try to sell me all sorts for cheap prices so they said and harassed me so I only spent about thirty minutes there and went back to the hotel.

The hotel was very nice but because of the people in Tunisia and the tricks they try to pull on decent people I would never go back and would think again before travelling to Africa unless it was with an organised tour with plenty of activity. It was not all bad though as I met two really lovely couples and a girl that I really got on with and they made my holiday. I owe them a lot and hopefully will meet with them in between my travels. They were really nice and I really enjoyed there company.

The next holiday is the big one. The build up has been intense and the support has been immense. I will prepare to go sixty eight days around the world. Sixty eight days, eight stops, one man, one dream and the penultimate goal for me in travelling. This would only be topped for me by going to all seven continents.

Take care

Robert

Great Rift Valley, Kenya (Africa)

Hi, this was the 19th of 28 countries in the World tour which brought me to the continent of Africa. A country struck by poverty and corruption with people living life on very little. I saw this as we travelled to the different places on my tour.

I set off from Leeds/Bradford for my flight to Nairobi from London. Thankfully there were no delays and I got through to Nairobi at 7am on Monday morning. Kenya is 3 hours in front of England.

On the Monday I joined with the people on the tour and we drove down to Nyeri, which is a 3 hour drive from Nairobi, to the Out Span Hotel. I stopped there for a night and the hotel had electric but had no heating so a man came round at 7pm to light my open fire so I did not freeze.

On Tuesday we travelled to the Mount Kenya National Park Mountain Lodge for a night where they had a water hole in front of the lodge. Animals came up to the hole day and night and the lodge had lots of view points to see the animals in there natural habitats. As well as all of that there were monkeys which tried to get in the lodge and steal all of the food.

On Wednesday we travelled to Lake Nakuru National Park and Lake Nakuru Lodge. We had a game drive in the afternoon and we saw the famous flamingos in the lake. Also there was the Rothschild Giraffe and the Rhino.

On Thursday we went to the Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge which was the best lodge on the holiday. It was as if I was in a dream world. The lodge was at the side of the lake and the lake had hippos in it so when they came out of the water to graze on the hotel grounds at 7pm we had to be escorted to dinner by a security guard. As well as that we got to have a boat ride on the lake and see the hippos and wildlife on the lake.

On Friday we travelled to the Masai Mara which is the Kenyan part of the Serengeti plain. A place where they believe that all the cows in the world belong to them. We went to visit a village and see the houses that the people live in. These are made out of cow dung and wood. There were flies everywhere and a lovely smell. We went to the Mara River and saw the dead animals on the bank from where they tried to cross and ended up breaking their legs or getting crushed. As well as that some of us went on a hot air balloon for an hour which was really good as we saw lots of animals and had a champagne breakfast.

I stayed at the Masai Mara up until Monday where we went to Nairobi to stay in the Hilton Hotel. We had dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant where we ate Ostrich and Crocodile plus all the usual meats such as pork, lamb and beef. I also went to a Giraffe park where I cuddled, kissed and fed the Giraffes.

Got up at 5am in the morning and went to the airport for my plane back to Heathrow and then my flight back to Leeds/Bradford. I finally got home at 10.30pm.
I had a fantastic experience and was very lucky to see all the animals in their natural habitats.

Thank you to all the people I went with for a truly amazing time and we had a laugh.

Take Care.

Robert