Hiroshima

If you haven`t heard of Hiroshima then you fell asleep during every history lesson you ever took. The Atomic Bomb Dome is a building that was almost directly under the blast back in 1945 and survived; seriously scared but intact. Take a scene from any apocolyptic film, freeze frame and drop it into the middle of a modern day.

The Museum nearby has a lot to see. Touch a roof tile where the intence heat caused the surface to melt and reform bobbled and rough. Run your fingers from a shielded smooth "before" to the rough "after".

Watches stopped at the moment of detentation.

Suits You Sir*

It will certainly suit your wallet if you are in need of a new suit, to make your purchase in Seoul's Itaewon area. Here a tailor made suit costs less than a decent off the shelf suit back home.

Give them a little time to do their magic with a couple of fittings to make fine adjustments. Don't be affraid to bargain a little (bag yourself an extra pair of trousers and a tie) and then all you have to do is decide which of the many shops around deserves your money. Dynasty Tailors gets my approval, say hi to Bruce for me.


(myself appropriately photographed in backpacker fashion wearing my new suit, walking shoes, tshirt and Philippine bought shark's touth necklace)

*For those of you British and old enough to remember the fast show

I Got Seoul

So I am in Korea, hold on one second I have to say a fond farewell to China so zaijian! Anyway yes, I am in Seoul in South Korea, half way between Shanghai and Hiroshima.

Unlike China, you really have to pay attention here to avoid spending all your money in one go. Cheap places to stay can be found, 9 pounds a night with breakfast and all the time wasting on the internet you can managed thrown in for free. There is also something called a washing machine that can be used for free as well, I will have to investigate that later.

Got to the War memorial and Museum and learn about a lot of history that may have passed you by. Korea was split in a similar fashion to Germany when the USA and Russia took charge after the Japanese surrender at the end of WW2. North Korea later attacked the south and the border between the two shifted up and down as the UN and then China joined in the struggle. Officially the war has never ended a truce having been signed.

war memorial - Seoul

Shanghai Sights

Shanghai Shanghai, fought over more than twice. Read over the history of China in the last century and Shanghai will come up again and again. A huge city enjoying plenty of business and trying to forget the opium business of the passed. It's had people from just about everywhere staying and building into its skyline.

Today it is busy as ever, jam packed and crammed full of people, trade and the immovably movable bicycle.

Huangshan - China at it's Peak

Huangshan (yellow mountain)is the best of the best mountains as far as the chinese are concerned. Four hours bus ride from Hangzhou takes you to the base of this multipeaked range, reaching over 1800m high. A cable car up is worth the money as you will be doing plenty of climbing up and down steps at the top anyway.

The mountain is pricey, especially if you just miss the half priced low season ticket in winter.. but you can judge from the pictures if its worth the 200yuan. People have spent months up on the top, painting and writing to the beauty and sheer magnitude of the place. However, if you can't do a month then a night is worth the expensive hotel beds.

Get up early and go watch the sunrise, even if its cloudy or wet (which it sadly was) then it is still worth heading to refreshing terrace to see if the clouds are rolling around some of the mountain peaks, an ocean of mist with rock islands disappearing and reappearing.

Culture-Vulture And Gourmet Drives On 4 Continents has some nice sunrise over a sea of cloud photos if you are interested. If I wanted a reason to go back to China these photos are just that.

Hangzhou

Two hours from Shanghai, circling a lake and sitting happily with its reputation for beauty is Hangzhou.

From the north peak you can look down over the lake (Xihu) and the city, watching the sunlight sparkle off the water. A walk through the botanical gardens is very pleasant. On a hot weekend day when there is blossom on the trees you can enjoy watching hoards of people enjoying themselves chinese style, playing cards, badmington, eating and taking photographs. Also the chance of being pounced upon by a tv crew who want an interview for the local evening news.

A walk or a cycle around the lake is well worth it, so is the museum. Sitting and listen to musicians and singers in 1st park is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon.

Xiamen - The Chinese Talk Back

In a continent far far away...

After the sunshine and sand of the Philippines, James returns to the ice cold world of China.*

Actually it is quite nice to be back, I am very happy to be gorging myself on chinese food again. My first stop was Xiamen: a peaceful place, not a lot going on there but easy to waste away a few days reading and walking around.

Xiamen is right next to Taiwan on a map and has a lot of very un chinese looking buildings to proove its colonial passed. A trip out to Gulangyu (a small island) is well worth it. Xiamen University(Xiamen Daxue - your language lesson for the day) is peaceful and worth a walk through. There is even a beach of sorts on the other side.

After Xiamen a train up to Hangzhou. Apparently Marco Polo had a rave about how beautiful it is here, and it is pretty good. A big lake and hills disapearing into the distance. When I have been here longer I will let you know.

*if you got the starwars reference then you might want to check if you are a nerd. If you placed it as the empire strikes back then consult your nearest comic book store immediately.