After smoggy Shanghai we retreated to Suzhou, a smaller city just a couple of hours away on the super fast Maglev bullet train. Our hostel was quiet, peaceful and best of all, there was an amazing little eatery just yards away that served some of the best noodle soup we had eaten on all of our travels. A huge chunk of meltingly soft stewed pork placed on top of perfectly cooked wheat noodles in a meaty broth. The perfect breakfast! Seeming as breakfast was so good we went back for dinner too and had some delicious crispy sweet and sour pork!! To anyone staying in the Suzhou Watertown hostel, I highly recommend eating at this restaurant, just a minute walk from the hostel towards the main road.
Fully charged after our rest in lovely Suzhou we took a trip to Huagshan to climb the famous Yellow Mountain. We arrived at the small city after another long but comfortable train journey in the sleeper carriages and found our hostel close to the station. The climb up the mountain was relatively easy but Melissa was annoyed with me because I befriended a simple Chinese boy who wouldn't leave us alone. We didn't hang around long at the top because it was starting to get busy and unfortunately, we got stuck in a queue of people coming down the mountain. On the bright side it gave us lots of time to take in the beautiful scenery and takes lots of photos of the stunning mountain.
We didn't waste any more time in Huangshan and travelled directly to one of the most beautiful places yet on our travels, Yangshuo. The views of the karst landscape from the rooftop on our hostel were other worldly and the food available in the city's many restaurants was top notch Cantonese fare. We enjoyed juicy meat stuffed peppers, crunchy stir-fried broccoli with garlic, beer fish, a local delicacy and the most delicious sliced duck that I've ever tasted. The weather was fantastic and everything was just that bit more laid back than the rest of China. We soaked up the more relaxed atmosphere in Yangshuo for nearly a week before we had to leave China for Hong Kong.
There's a noticeable difference between Hong Kong and the rest of China as soon as you cross the border. We stayed in the 'notorious' Chungking Mansions which were like a big breath of fresh air to us. The fact it's home to travelling immigrant tradesmen, dodgy dealers and some delicious little hole in the wall restaurants from all corners of the world felt more like the world we know. The streets were spotless, you could browse the internet without restrictions and enjoy some world class nightlife. There was freedom of choice and the language barrier that proved problematic at times in China was not a problem here. I was lucky enough to celebrate my 30th birthday here and had a fantastic night watching Tom Stephan at a 25th floor bar with panoramic views of Hong Kong's amazing, 'Bladerunner' night skyline.
We stayed in Hong Kong for two weeks whilst we waited for our Indian tourist visas to arrive and ate some fantastic Cantonese food and more surprisingly, some wonderful Indian food. One of the first things I noticed about Chungking Mansions was the number of little eateries selling Indian food. The tempting smells and very cheap prices (for Hong Kong) persuaded us to eat at the Mansions on our first night. We chose a selection of curries with a pilau rice and chapatis, the highlight being the unusual black chickpea curry, all washed down with a can of coke. Mmmmmm.
Around the corner from the Mansions was a simple Chinese restaurant that sold Cantonese food similar to that of a UK Chinese takeaway where we enjoyed some good, old fashioned Chinese chicken curry and rice. Strangely enough, we were really craving Chinese takeaway food after two months in China!
For breakfast we found the most fantastic noodle soup shop that served the best bowl of prawn wonton noodle soup ever for under 2 quid a bowl. The juicy wontons were stuffed with sweet minced prawn and placed in a slightly salty, clear broth with egg noodles. A divine way to start the day.
Hong Kong is so mixed compared to the rest of China and we managed to find a little Filipino restaurant one day where we enjoyed a meaty liver curry for lunch with some mince and peas, rice, pork and shredded mooli. Fantastic, hearty food served in a little hole in the wall, canteen style.
One night we treated ourselves to a meal at the Guangdong Barbecue Restaurant. We'd walked past it on a few occasions and drooled at the crispy skinned meats hanging in the window. We entered the simple establishment and ordered some crispy pork belly, some marinated bbq pork belly and some rice. It amazes me how they can get the skin so crispy on the outside and the meat so juicy underneath. Absolute meat heaven.
Walking through China Town, we fancied a dim-sum lunch and went to one of the larger restaurants, Yung Kee. The dim sum were exquisitely crafted and wonderfully presented but the whole experience was a bit stuffy and formal. Maybe we're just too used to roughing it up now and don't quite know what to do with ourselves when we go for a fancy meal!!
Hong Kong was fantastic and a great way to end our amazing adventure in China. Our 3 month Indian tourist visas arrived at the Indian Embassy and we booked our flights to Calcutta. You couldn't begin to imagine the contrast between the two places !!
Fully charged after our rest in lovely Suzhou we took a trip to Huagshan to climb the famous Yellow Mountain. We arrived at the small city after another long but comfortable train journey in the sleeper carriages and found our hostel close to the station. The climb up the mountain was relatively easy but Melissa was annoyed with me because I befriended a simple Chinese boy who wouldn't leave us alone. We didn't hang around long at the top because it was starting to get busy and unfortunately, we got stuck in a queue of people coming down the mountain. On the bright side it gave us lots of time to take in the beautiful scenery and takes lots of photos of the stunning mountain.
We didn't waste any more time in Huangshan and travelled directly to one of the most beautiful places yet on our travels, Yangshuo. The views of the karst landscape from the rooftop on our hostel were other worldly and the food available in the city's many restaurants was top notch Cantonese fare. We enjoyed juicy meat stuffed peppers, crunchy stir-fried broccoli with garlic, beer fish, a local delicacy and the most delicious sliced duck that I've ever tasted. The weather was fantastic and everything was just that bit more laid back than the rest of China. We soaked up the more relaxed atmosphere in Yangshuo for nearly a week before we had to leave China for Hong Kong.
There's a noticeable difference between Hong Kong and the rest of China as soon as you cross the border. We stayed in the 'notorious' Chungking Mansions which were like a big breath of fresh air to us. The fact it's home to travelling immigrant tradesmen, dodgy dealers and some delicious little hole in the wall restaurants from all corners of the world felt more like the world we know. The streets were spotless, you could browse the internet without restrictions and enjoy some world class nightlife. There was freedom of choice and the language barrier that proved problematic at times in China was not a problem here. I was lucky enough to celebrate my 30th birthday here and had a fantastic night watching Tom Stephan at a 25th floor bar with panoramic views of Hong Kong's amazing, 'Bladerunner' night skyline.
We stayed in Hong Kong for two weeks whilst we waited for our Indian tourist visas to arrive and ate some fantastic Cantonese food and more surprisingly, some wonderful Indian food. One of the first things I noticed about Chungking Mansions was the number of little eateries selling Indian food. The tempting smells and very cheap prices (for Hong Kong) persuaded us to eat at the Mansions on our first night. We chose a selection of curries with a pilau rice and chapatis, the highlight being the unusual black chickpea curry, all washed down with a can of coke. Mmmmmm.
Around the corner from the Mansions was a simple Chinese restaurant that sold Cantonese food similar to that of a UK Chinese takeaway where we enjoyed some good, old fashioned Chinese chicken curry and rice. Strangely enough, we were really craving Chinese takeaway food after two months in China!
For breakfast we found the most fantastic noodle soup shop that served the best bowl of prawn wonton noodle soup ever for under 2 quid a bowl. The juicy wontons were stuffed with sweet minced prawn and placed in a slightly salty, clear broth with egg noodles. A divine way to start the day.
Hong Kong is so mixed compared to the rest of China and we managed to find a little Filipino restaurant one day where we enjoyed a meaty liver curry for lunch with some mince and peas, rice, pork and shredded mooli. Fantastic, hearty food served in a little hole in the wall, canteen style.
One night we treated ourselves to a meal at the Guangdong Barbecue Restaurant. We'd walked past it on a few occasions and drooled at the crispy skinned meats hanging in the window. We entered the simple establishment and ordered some crispy pork belly, some marinated bbq pork belly and some rice. It amazes me how they can get the skin so crispy on the outside and the meat so juicy underneath. Absolute meat heaven.
Walking through China Town, we fancied a dim-sum lunch and went to one of the larger restaurants, Yung Kee. The dim sum were exquisitely crafted and wonderfully presented but the whole experience was a bit stuffy and formal. Maybe we're just too used to roughing it up now and don't quite know what to do with ourselves when we go for a fancy meal!!
Hong Kong was fantastic and a great way to end our amazing adventure in China. Our 3 month Indian tourist visas arrived at the Indian Embassy and we booked our flights to Calcutta. You couldn't begin to imagine the contrast between the two places !!
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