Getting ready for my first trip to China ...

[Willy The Londoner]

It was a pleasure to welcome Burgur into our home yesterday. But I see from the photo and video that I need to get to the hairdressers shop and get my hair cut.  Maybe a dash of colour as well!  Or was that just the sunlight playing tricks on my hair?

It looks like he is  to be making the most out of this trip and I look forward to his return to Zhongshan. 

It will be interesting to see just how many videos end up on youtube during this mission as I want to count the number of hidden faces. 

Willy

[JamesM.Roberts]

Very very cool Bergur-It's looks like you were ready for your first trip. Glad you are enjoying yourself and thanks for letting me enjoy the pictures and videos. enjoy and peace my friend

[Iceland]

Hey all.

I am in Guilin now, getting ready to go to Yangshuo on Friday morning. I will be staying there for at least ten days.

From Zhongshan where I met Willy I went to Changsha where I stayed for 3 nights at the Days Hotel and Suits.

I thought Changsha was awful. The pollution there was way above any known health hazard bar. Coming from Iceland where the air is crispy clear and clean I felt poisoned and sick after 24 hours. On top of the that the smell was so bad I could not stay outside for more than 10 minutes at the time. And on top of that the traffic was absolutely crazy with constant beeping and honking of the drivers.

The hotel was nice though, very classy 5 star hotel with extremely nice and helpful staff. Most of them spoke English at some level so it was not hard for me to get help and service when I needed it.

But as I said, the environment outside was terrible. I had intended to go on some sightseeing tours, amongst them visiting the birthplace of Mao Zedong, but I had to cancel all of that. I really can't for the life of me understand how anyone can life in this place. My advise: Do not ... I repeat ... do NOT go to Changsha if you value your lungs and general health.

In Changsha I actually met a woman I had been in contact with through Chnlove. It went worse than wrong. I will tell you about that in another thread if you are interested.

I was glad to get out of this awful city and I go to Guilin. The train ride took 7 hours+.

This is my second full day here and as much as I disliked Changsha I love this place. The air here is fine and although the traffic is just as crazy as I have seen in both Changsha and Zhongshan, it is not as heavy since population here are "only" 700.000 people (which is more than twice the pop of my home country).

I haven't taken many photos since last time but instead I have made videos. Here is a list of the videos I have uploaded since last time I was here.

Some are quiet, some are in Icelandic (but you will get the point) and some are in English or have English captions. I will be adding more videos soon. Hope you enjoy.

Traffic in Zhongshan
http://youtu.be/ggNijWZyFSI

Special trees in Zhongshan
http://youtu.be/p69G9trPbwY

A model of the Yihe Grand Hotel in Zhongshan
http://youtu.be/gQpg7ldRNFo

A dancing in Zhongshan
http://youtu.be/VZpMfVQUvbE

The first Chinese cat I saw in China. It figures, he is small and yellow.
http://youtu.be/zHTsuNeN3qs

The Days Hotel and Suits in Changsha and an outside look at my room there:
http://youtu.be/Z1GesP3Pon8

My hotel room in Changsha
http://youtu.be/tSqJ_GCKnlE

A short video - street sight in Changsha
http://youtu.be/oxzuKyL_Qqc

My train ride from Changsha to Guilin.
http://youtu.be/cx4yjXgjgE8

Pine Tree Lake and intro of Jerry with English caption.
http://youtu.be/6SxSUvbbqGM

My hotel room in Guilin at the Starway hotel
http://youtu.be/4NITv-nQmrI

One of Jerry's many famous clients. This is someone most of you will know, at least the English ones.
http://youtu.be/tDVLqCTemfI

Jerry's home in Guilin
http://youtu.be/ealhQjR53K4

Street in Guilin
http://youtu.be/3Ii7m5aHqjs

See you all later.

Bergur.

[RobertBfrom aust]

Lots to say and no time after looking at all the videos except sorry about the smog in Changsha , as you would have enjoyed Mao's tour ,the Museum and the Martyrs park and lake area next door , but on your wanders back to Willy's area if the weather is better worth the side trip , keep safe and glad you are enjoying yourself , regards Sujuan and Robert .

[Iceland]

Thanks ... well, don't feel sorry, it was not your fault 

Btw ... anyone reading this been to Yangshuo? It would be interesting to hear your take on the place.

[Arnold]

Very nice Video's Bergur ! Enjoyed watching them ! Thanks for going through the trouble/work posting them for us .. you know , we all love Photo's and Video's from all Member Trip's/Adventure's . The Clean Air thing , I can relate to .. coming from a crisp/clean place as yours . Me being use to LA , China's Air is norm to me !

[Neil]

My first trip to China included a day in Yangshuo.  We rented tandem pedal bikes and rode up to a gently flowing river.  At the river we boarded bamboo rafts and went downstream for about 3 hours.  This was August so the water was very refreshing.  The scenery was magical with lush vegetation and the karst topography.   There were lots of tourist sites along the roads on the bike ride back - a cave system with a huge butterfly on the cliff, hot air balloon rides and even mountain climbing up the side of a cliff.   The people were very friendly, of course, because it is such a tourist town.  There were many foreigners and shops willing to sell you things. 

[Iceland]

Thanks Neil, nice photo.

It is not as hot now as it must have been in August, but hot enough for an Icelander. They tell me here that this is the end of the tourist season so I am expecting Yangshuo to be not as crowded with tourists as in the high season.

I will stay for 10 days at a hotel called Yangshuo Village Retreat and is situated a little bit out of the main town. If I like it I might stay longer.

I am not exactly on holiday because I am working too. All my work is done on and through the Internet and before coming to China I was worried that I might not be able to work here, not because of the connection, but because in China, some of the sites I use frequently are banned.

After looking for a solution, that is, a way to bypass this ban, I found one in Canada (surfbouncer.com) and after coming here I discovered it works perfectly. I fact, I am a little surprised of how good the Internet is at the hotels here. I didn't expect it to be so fast and steady.

So I have decided to return as soon as possible, if not to Yangshuo, then to Guilin. The only reason I am heading home on the 1st of December is that my visa expires. And since I will be home, I might as well stay over Christmas, but then ... vroooommmm ... I am coming back.

After all, I can stay at good hotels here for the same price I would get a small apartment in Reykjavik. And I am free ... single ... no debts, kids almost grown up and in good hands of their mother ... and the salary I get in Icelandic kronors is worth 3-5 times more here than in my country.

And these days, it is so easy to stay in good contact with your family and friends, even if you are on the other site of the planet.

Can't wait to get to Yangshuo. I think I will like it. What on earth was I thinking by going to Changsha? 

Bergur

ps. By the way ... here is another video from me, put together from today's shots. The bad news is I am mostly speaking Icelandic here and didn't have time to make captures. But by the end of this video I appear in person, I think it's the first time I have shown myself.

http://youtu.be/Hxdwo0kK_X4

[daghoi]

Yangshou was also one of the first places I visited in my first visit to China. I had an excellent few days there. Stayed at a small places just outside Yanghsou, it was called Moon resort, close to Moon hill. My best memory is from the day I went cycling upwards the river, nice flat terrain easy to cycle. At one place the road and the river did not follow each other. I was sure if I followed the road up a hill and down I would come down to the river again.... Off course I got lost...After a long time I got back on track and arrived at a small village which i remembered from the trip upwards. At that point I was totally exhausted and hungry as never before, been cycling all day just with some water and small snack. I aimed for a small kiosk for a coke and ice cream, only option there. But some woman saw me and wanted to sell med lunch. She spoke just a few words English. Remember it was my first trip to China and i was more careful than on my later trips. She tried to convince med to follow her, but I said no. In the end she grabbed my bike and pulled my arm to follow her ! I was so exhausted that i caved in and followed her. She walked us in some narrow lanes between the houses and straight trough a few houses. I remember I thought that if something happened to me here, nobody would miss me before I was due back in Norway, in three weeks time !  After I had followed her through the small village we got down to the river bank and there she had a few rafts where local people sat eating. She seated me at one of the raft and handed me a very simple menu

I had a huge portion of fried rice and "chicken", think she gave me some extra, it was a lot. After finished eating , when I was full and relaxed, I had to smile of myself, what a difference a meal can make. She was very understanding, when I left the place she actually walked me back trough the village, pointing, smiling and saying a few words in Chinese. I probably would have spent some time to find my way back trough the village. I'm happy she "forced" to walk her to the "restaurant", remember the feelings when i walked with her, a little scared, curious, excited, it is one of the first things that comes to my mind when I think of China.

..ok, sorry for rambling away with my personal and subjective experience.. Enjoy your stay in Yangshou,

[Iceland]

Thanks, Daghoi, interesting little story.

These things I hear, read and watch on the Internet about the places I am going to, all pile up so that in the end I am much better prepared for a journey like this. So to me, it's a  fun and valuable piece of information.

Thanks for sharing.

[Neil]

Oh, I remember Moon Hill.  I found a link to a picture I uploaded to Panoramio which geotags with Google maps or earth - http://www.panoramio.com/photo/32191743  You can see where it is from the link. 

[Arnold]

Bergur , did anybody tell you yet over there .. that you look like " Dashan " ? Nice to put a Face to your Postings , always welcome and appreciated .

[Nigel]

Got back from China yesterday.... northern china has certainly cooled off in my six week absence!!
Not going again until the week before Christmas, should be frigid by then!!
Certainly seems less polluted as it gets colder.

[Scottish_Robbie]

where did you go nigal>?

[Iceland]

Nope, nobody told me that I looked like this Dashan guy. Looked him up on Google. Wish I could speak the language like him. It would make my life ... well ... more interesting.