Day 4 The Lonji Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces

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With great expectation we boarded our bus for the two-hour bus ride to base of the mountain.

About an hour into the trip we stopped at a Chinese servo for a short break where we sampled fruit from to road side stalls. The apples Ian purchased were the largest and tastiest I have ever eaten.

This was our first toilet ‘Chinese’ style and lets just say it will be forever burned in the memories of those who needed to use the facilities. On arrival at the base of the mountain we transferred to a smaller bus with a driver experienced for the climb up the mountainside. 



This ride was exciting to say the least, how do you know if someone coming around the single lane hair pin bend…. honk your horn and gun it… and hope for the best !!!! and with only what seemed like endless hairpin bends and all at 40-60km hour.  








At the start of the hiking section we all piled out  and we made the fantastic climb to Dragon Backbone’s Rice Terraces is the most amazing terrace in China! Construction of the terraces began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and continued until the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when construction was completed. The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces are the culmination of both the profound wisdom and strenuous labor of the Zhuang people.





Twenty (the whole group) of us started out and twenty of us made it to the top. It was worth every step and I mean steps, it was a constant climb. I wanted to count the steps but need every once of my strength and endurance to get up there.  On the way up very kind stall holder who had little english but still offered Sharpy a chair when he stopped for a spell half way up the never ending trail.

After the traditional group picture we headed back down and were lucky enough to see a water buffalo plowing one of the terraces. 

Half way down we sampled an authentic Chinese lunch including sticky rice cooked in bamboo and completed our walking section with some serious scarf shopping we climbed aboard our (we hope) trusty little bus for the return journey down the mountain. 


If we thought we needed to hang on the ride up the hill it was nothing compared to coming down it felt coming down off the mountain at Bathurst raceway over and over again with the added bonus of oncoming buses, not sure  if driver was standing on the brakes or the horn more when diving into the tight little turns.


Tomorrow, we take a 4-hour boat ride down Li River to Yangshuo, as long as there are no steps all will be well. We will be staying at Yangshuo for next two nights.
  

Day 3 – Fly Guilin and Dinner

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Things you can find in supermarker

After another great brekkie some of the party took a quick trip to the main island on the star ferry, to say they had been there. Time was short, as we needed to check out and be on the bus by 11am. The rest of us just wandered around the mall near hotel and check email and caught up with other chores

David (Jai) National Guide Wendy Wu
Dragon Air Flight Routes

Our uneventful 70-minute flight on Dragon Air to Guilin on a near empty plane was a nice breather for us all.

On arrival our national and local guide from Wendy Wu tours met us at arrival at the Guilin Airport. Kevin and David, David stays with us the entire time we are in China and Kevin will be our local guide for Guilin. We will have a different local guide for each location. 
The bus ride from the airport gave our first glimpse of the real China. We were all excited and looking forward to tour getting underway for real.

We arrived and checked into the hotel by 4.45pm and quickly got our bags to the rooms and set off to dinner in downtown Guilin. 
Dinner was more like Chinese from home apart from the snake wine which only the very brave tried but tomorrow we will hit the more traditional food.

The brave had a taste of this

Everyone pretty tired so all had turned in by 8.30pm. Tomorrow we hike to the rice terraces at Longji

Day 2 – Up and at ’em

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We started the day with a breakfast to please all. The hotel had a complete buffet breakfast with everything one could possibly want to kick off the day. 

Our party grazed their way through the offerings at various times between 6.30am and 9am. Daniel Chang from AWI (Australian Wool Innovations) meet us in the foyer and we piled on the bus for 45 minute ride to the Love +Hope Textile factory. 
A lot of these types of manufacturing businesses have been priced out of Hong Kong and have moved to mainland China. This business is considered high-end manufacturing that work with a number of well-known brand names. Their model is one of excellence and high-end manufacturing. 

They employ around 60 staff and take garments from end to end. All the growers really enjoyed this visit, it was great to be able to get so close to each stage of the processing and asking lots of questions. Johanna and Ark were very generous with their time and answered all our questions.  

After the factory tour we headed back to the hotel for a dim sum lunch. This was fantastic and Brenda from AWI joined us and helped us navigate our way through all the dishes the just kept coming. It was voted a real highlight by all of us.
After lunch we head to the AWI office for a presentation on what Brenda and Daniel do to promote the qualities of wool with manufacturing in mainland China and around the world.  They were so enthusiastic and demonstrated a great knowledge of the merino product and showed many innovations they are working on to encourage a greater use of wool in manufacturing.
After a couple hours as guests of AWI Hong Kong we walk a short distance to the Polytechnic University where we were taken right through all the various training rooms. Every graduate of this university has to learn how to use all Legacies & Innovations: Cheongsam Exhibition before it opened to the public, the garments produced by students and staff for this display were not be out of place on any fashion runway in the world.

machinery and technics for using textiles before they graduate. Our AWI host both graduated from this university and are testament to what a good university it is. Students can access the uni 24hours day to work on projects and assignment. Our group was lucky enough to see the garments on display for the

On leaving the university most of the girl

s and a few brave lads set of on a shopping expedition with Brenda, the rest of us skedaddled back to the hotel for a quick kip and tidy up before joining the other a restaurant on the waterfront selected for us by Daniel. About 20 minute walk down past the famous Peninsular Hotel we arrived at the restaurant and the other were ready and waiting.

Fish Swim Bladder and Mushrooms 
The laughter and frivolity became. Daniel was charged with the responsibility of ordering beers and dinner. 
The ranges of dishes was extensive it included crabmeat balls in toasted almond (dish of the night for me), sharks fin soup (Sharpy had 2 bowls, he could have had another 16 if he wanted), scallops and some unidentifiable shellfish, suckling pig without the pig, just the crackling, steamed whole grouper, fish swim bladder and mushrooms (tried it but awful), rice, red bean soup(dessert, awful) and steamed bums buns with bean paste (they looked like the latter and caused righteous behaviour at both tables). 
The interesting fact was that both tables like and dislike the same dishes which just goes to should our palates are all very similar. Daniel was the best host anyone could ask for all on his own time and as he was due to fly to mainland China early the following morning it was so well above and beyond. 

Sydney to Hong Kong – Introductions

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They came from far and wide with most choosing to stay night near the airport pre-departure. A popup dinner with those staying at Rydges in the Black Wattle grill. For anyone flying our on early am flight this is the best way to do and arrive at check in relaxed and well rested – ‘the best beds’ “Sharpy wanted me to tell Don he had changed his mind and we could pick him up from hotel on the way home, so impressed with the bed was he.

We all got checked in without incident the official tour caps were presented and introductions made, It was great to see we had all points of the compass represented. People quickly got down to the ‘where are your from?’, Do you know…? and ‘Did you get any rain? We headed through security and I don’t think anyone got a ‘Don’t come back’ stamped in passport, so were were off. Frank managed to give his customs guy some homework ‘ Mate, you need to look Nyngan up on the map, it’s really not that far west  Orange’ (This is where the customs guy grew up and was educated but he wasn’t sure where Nyngan was)

We straggled through duty free and all arrived at the gate in plenty of time to board flight CX110 departing at 8.35am. Flying time around 9 hours on A330 with seat configuration 2-4-2, we were scattered through one section of the plane but not all sitting together.  Shortly after take off a very tasty breakfast of roasted vegetable frittata with bacon and chat potatoes (that was my choice anyway) accompanied by bread roll and yoghurt juice etc. I promptly slept for a couple hours before watching a movie then you guessed another couple of hours snooze. I then decided to watch my second movie for 2014 and settled into Philomena with Dame Judy Dench which was excellent.

Our second meal (we beginning to think was never coming) arrived about hour before we landed. I had the grilled fish mash carrots and green beans which probably nicest in flight meal I have ever eaten.  After the crew cleared the cabin we landed is a very foggy Hong Kong, so much for the spectacular view I am told is there on a clear day and to think I wasted a credit with Sharpy to get his window seat, I bet when we fly out and he is back in window seat it will be as clear as a bell.

Our guide Alan met us at the airpot and did a quick tally up of numbers, yes we all made it and all had our bags although Louella’s was looking doubtful for a short while but eventually out it popped.

On the 35 minute bus ride from Lantua Island (where the airport is) to Kowloon and our Hotel, the Harbour Plaza Metropolis. Quick showers all around and we gathered at the hotel shuttle to head to Peninsular Hotel for one drink before heading up Nathan Rd for dinner, we found a funny little place where the locals were all eating and joined them for and took a shot at ordering, the boys mastered getting a beer pretty quickly and Heineken and Tsingtao were the popular choices.
After usual …what would you want …what ever everyone else is wants… (the universal ordering process even at chinese at home)  Sharpy took the plunge and ordered for our table (MacWool had 3 tables) the food was good and nothing unrecognisable although heard one table comment they may have drunk the hand washing water in place of their soup.  A walk down to Temple St markets, seen on one market seen them all is my take on that but I am not much of a shopper as you all know. Walked back down Nathan Rd caught the shuttle back to our hotel and turned in after long day.

This time next week…

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We will be settling into Rydges at the International Airport getting ready for our 8.35am flight to Hong Kong. This will be our first time flying with Cathy Pacific so keen to see how they measure up to other airlines.

The flight is around 9hrs and we will be staying at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hong Kong

This is a wool growers tour organised by MacWool and there are 20+ people lining up for the inaugural MacWool Wool Growers Tour.

A number of our fellow travellers are also staying at Rydges so no doubt  pre-departure dinner is on the cards.

Where to this year…

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Travel plans for 2014 include a trip to China and Europe.   


The China trip is part of MacWool Wool Growers Tour. About 30 keen woolgrowers will set off on March 2, escorted by Don, Kerrie, Sharpy and myself.  We will visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing, Yangshuo, Guilin and a highlight is sure to be the three day cruise on the Yantze river

Travel China Guide 


A week after returning form the China trip Mum and I set off to Amsterdam to do an 8 Day Tulip River cruise as well as visiting Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.








Let the magic begin…..

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After three flights, 28 hours travelling we collected the hire car and after a short drive we arrived at our hotel at 2am (Florida time) on Friday 3rd May.
 The boys were fantastic and didn’t complain once about all the travel, given they have never travelled more than a 3 or 4 hour stretch at any one time this was a real accomplishment. Most adults I know would struggle with this trip. Our hotel, the La Quinta Orlando near convention centre. This hotel has proved to be excellent located halfway between the airport and Disney World.

After sleeping in until about noon it was off to Cracker Barrel for a very late breakfast. Everyone agreed that Cracker Barrel was a good place to eat and everyone enjoyed their food. After breakfast it was off to DownTown Disney to get this disney adventure underway. We wandered around and checked out all the store, boys were fascinated with the Lego sculptures. It amazes me that this is my third trip here and still I find new stuff to do and see. We found a BBQ place nearby for dinner, it was okay but there are plenty of better places in States for BBQ but it did its job and filled a hole.

Magic Kingdom was our first park and this proved to be a ver long day as we stayed until the last parade and fireworks (watched these from the car-park, everyone exhausted) The bigger boys rode thunder mountain no less than fout times and said it got better each time, Jai went on a few smaller rides.

We had prime position for the afternoon parade and this up to its usual great standard. I found a table to watch the evening events and Jai sleep for a couple of hours while the boys go around the other rides and shared a cookies and cream ice-cream with Pop. I enjoyed the rest myself as we had walked miles around the park.  Hotdogs all round for dinner except for me I went with the mini corn dogs (Like mini dagwood dog without stick)

Another quieter day with lazy bekkie at Cracker Barrel before retuning to hotel for an afternoon around the pool. We decided on mini golf to finish off the day, fortunately there is a great course right behind the hotel. Pirate Cove proved to be a testing course with a lots of interesting pirate facts at each hole. A few hours fun had putting and laughing before a very good dinner at Tony Roma’s also located within walking distance from the hotel.

My favourite disney park was the next destination. We started our Animal Kingdom adventure with the Safari through the animal reserve, they boys loved this and the animals were all out and about as it was cooler and early in the morning. 

Jai was fascinated with the nile crocodiles and liked the elephants and giraffe’s who came right up to the jeep. After the safari concluded they boys set off to conquer everest for the first of five times while Jai Pop and I headed to the snakes and spiders area, Jai loves all these creepy crawlies. He picked out a safari suit to bring home to wear when he catches lizards at home, he had the shirt on most of the day. We met up again for the ‘It’s Tough to be a Bug’ 4D show, it was great as usual, they boys loved it especially when bugs all left the building… Jai finally plucked up his courage and did the dinosaur ride with the boys, it was a bit scary but he loved it.

  

As one day blurs with another today we went to Disney’s Blizzard Beach where there was lots of fun in the sun while the oldies rested up in the shade. After a minor dispute with Jai over wearing the life jacket. I won that round in record time and he was in the water having a ball within five minutes…and was overheard asking Pop if he could get a life jacket to take home as we were leaving the park. We decided to rough it for dinner on the way home so headed to the biggest and most unique Macdonald’s in the world (the sign said so). Burgers for everyone a few pics of a squirrel getting drive through (eating a chip in the car-park) and it was home to bed….phew. Surprisingly everyone is holding up well and the pace hasn’t slackened yet. Boys just had a Skype session with Sarah re-living and comparing their disney experiences  After getting a few tips from Sarah on the ‘must do’s’ for tomorrow’s park we signed of and they headed to bed. Jai has booked in a Skype session with Charlie tomorrow so he can tell him what rides he went on.

Off we go again…

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On Thursday 2 May we are heading off on another adventure. The purpose of this trip is to take Ian’s three grandsons to DisneyWorld in Florida. Kayden is 13, Blake 11 and Jai is 7 perfect ages for such an adventure. During the two 18 day trip we will visit the big apple, NYC and Las Vegas.

Trip Info so far:
18 days travel
Flying United Airlines all legs of trips (Avg ticket $1500) Booked through expedia.com.au
Staying LaQuinta Inn Florida ($60 per night) and New York ($130) Booked directly on LQ site

 

Niagara Falls and beyond

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Niagara Falls

On Saturday 18th August we set off to collect our second car from W34 St(near Penn Station) and drive to Buffalo NY.  Apart from needing to take a larger car (Kia Sorrento) due to no smaller cars being available getting out of Manhattan was relatively easy.

Within an hour the madness of NYC was well behind us and we were headed upstate New York. Sarah and Dan were spending their last few hours in NYC visiting ground zero before flying home. Charlie and Megs also left today for San Francisco before heading down to LA for their last week.

The day driving was pleasant it was nice to be out on the road again, we found a hotel in Rochester which would allow us to visit Niagara for the day and head towards Vermont. Hotels in the Niagara/Buffalo area are very expensive in the summer so we headed to Watertown for our next night.

Maple at Sugar Bush Farm

Niagara was just as beautiful and amazing as the last time I visited. Mum really enjoyed our day there with the Maid on the Mist ride under the falls being a highlight. After walking around the parklands and viewing both the American and the Horseshoe Falls we hit the road again. The weather was perfect for the visit not too hot and walking around the parks was pleasant.

Ben and Jerry’s  Ice-cream

After Watertown we headed further north to Plattsburgh NY were we overnighted before taking the ferry across to Burlington Vermont (VT) unfortunately we were too early for the fall colour but it was still very pretty and one can only imagine what the fall season would be like. After wandering around Burlington for a few hours we headed to Watertown to take the Ben and Jerry’s (Ice-cream Factory) tour which was okay and a good story. After the tour we checked in to our White River Junction hotel which near Sugar Bush Maple and Cheese Farm, we tried many cheeses and made purchases to bring home.

 It was a very pretty area and the farm was very authentic, and did not have the usual touristy shine to it. The drive is was worth the time in itself. One could imagine this place in winter with snow everywhere and the horses pulling the slay from tree to tree to collect the maple syrup.

After our tour we were Maine bound to experience all it had to offer. We drove up to Berlin Maine (ME) which is about 2 hours above Portland ME. After checking in we drove around to Penobscot Bay and took in the sights, dinner was at the best lobster place ever.

$17 for a great lobster dinner

We both had a whole lobster which set us back a whopping $17 each. Although probably not as good as our lobsters they were pretty close and the price is definitely right. After a restful night in our hotel overlooking the harbour we set off for Portland via the prettiest place in Maine, Camden. We booked a harbour tour of the Porland light Houses and a trolly tour of the district which included a visit to one the oldest still functioning light house. After yet another full lobster for dinner ($14 each this time) at XXXX we then set of in the evening for our hotel near the Kittery Outlet Mall where we planned to do our final shopping.

Camden Maine
Foggy Camden Maine

Our shopping done we headed to Boston where we planned to spend two days seeing the sights. We checked into the Bulfinch Hotel near TD Gardens in Boston. This was a great hotel and well within walking distance of everything that we needed including stop 4 of the ‘Old Town Trolley’ the hop on hop off tour which included a cruise around the Harbour.

We enjoyed both tours and got off at Stop 7 (near the Cheers Bar) and walked the freedom trail back to Quincy markets. Along the way we saw Mrs Mallard and her ducklings (the bronzes not the real ones), the swan boats and the frog pond (no frogs I am pleased to report).

The Floating Restaurent that saved
Portland Docks

The Boston common is a great place to spend time and there were many people spending time in the gardens playing sports, walking dogs and chasing children. All walked out we boarded our boat for a cruise around the harbour, this was made interesting by great guide who added good humour to his narration.

Oldest still operating Light House
Portland Maine

After the cruise it was time to head home neither of use were hungry so we picked up some bagels and coffee from Dunkin Donuts for a light dinner before turning exhausted from all the walking.

Bulfinch Hotel – Flatiron building
Our Hotel Boston

With only two nights before flying home and given that it was going to be a long flight(s) (including getting from NY to LA) then straight on (after 4 hour layover LA) to our long haul home we decided to spend the last two nights near JFK.

This gave me time to return the rental car and for us to reorganise all the bags to ensure they come in under the 23kg limit. This really turned out to be our only real rest day in the last month so it was certainly good to spend the day resting.

As I write this is our last night all the bags are packed and we are watch the hurricane (Isaac) in the Gulf on the weather channel. We will be in the clear by the time it sends heavy rain up the coast.

Tomorrow we wing our way home after a great trip that couldn’t have gone more smoothly for everyone. All other travellers are home and back at work and we look forward to joining them at home and catch our breath. This will be probably our last trip the USA for a while there is so much of the world left to see.

Mrs Mallard and her ducklings

Facts:
Car One Kia Forte 1280 Miles
Car Two Kia Sorrento 1800 miles
Fuel- Between 3.33g(South) to 4.09g(North)
Stayed in many hotels including La Quinta, Best Western, Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express – all less $100 per night booked on hotwire.com (most time great breakfast included)
No one in the United States drives at the speed limit

The are only 10 states left in the USA that I have not visited, they may have to wait awhile but I am determined to visit them in next few years.

Frog Pond Boston Common

Thanks for following our journey and all the positive feedback you have sent me.

Only frogs at the frog pond

Apologies for any grammatical and spelling errors. No time on the road to proof posts, I may go back one day and correct any errors.

A little further north and the Big Apple

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Sarah and my favourite
 Cracker Barrel breakfast

After the disney experience it was time for a whole new experience …driving. Obviously the 1000s of miles I have navigated while Ian has driven over here paid off. Driving on right felt as natural as driving at home it is funny how easily one can adapt when immersed in experiences. We set off from the Avis rental agency at the Hilton Hotel at downtown disney, all very smooth and within minutes we were on the interstate (I90) and headed north to Charleston South Carolina. We had a break at first Cracker Barrel we came across and my eggs in a basket were sensational and really hit the spot.

One of many stately homes Charelston

The drive was uneventful apart from driving through some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen when we were about 80 miles from Charleston, of course it was on the section of road that was two way traffic (used to that as that all we have at home) fortunately I was able stick to the tailgate of a semi ahead, if he made a mistake I was going to be making the same one as he was all I could see. Eventually the rain cleared and we found ourselves in Charleston at about 6pm just time to find a hotel and get some rest.

The following morning we headed into downtown to the Charleston City Markets to take a carriage ride around Charleston with Old South Carriage Tours. This was the best 90 minutes of the day we were able to hear about the history, the homes and Charleston in general. Charleston is a place certainly worthy of more time to explore, such a rich history but also a pretty place to visit.

After our tour and with more storms threatening we headed for our next over night stop at Dunn North Carolina, this was just a stopover so we didn’t explore further than to have dinner at the Brass Lantern Steak house this was good but as usual the serves are way too big, could have fed a family off my plate.

The next planned tour was the plantation of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Plantation near Charlotte North Carolina. This was an outstanding tour made even more special by our guide that took us through the house and provided us with so much information about this amazing man. This man was so forward thinking, an early adopter and in his words ‘a farmer’. He may have been;

  • Representative to House of Burgesses from Albemarle County – 1769-1776
  • Delegate to Continental Congress – 1775-1776 and 1783-1784
  • Appointed Minister to negotiate treaties with Barbary States and various European nations – 1784
  • Member of Virginia House of Delegates – 1776-1779
  • Governor of Virginia – 1779-1781
  • Minister Plenipotentiary to France – 1785-1789
  • US Secretary of State – September 26, 1789 – December 31, 1793
  • Vice President of the United States – March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
  • President of the United States – March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809

Not to mention writing Declaration of Independence but whenever asked for his occupation he always listed farmer.

We checked in to our hotel nearby with score of 2 for 2 on great tour to give us a snapshot of life in the south. 

Day four of our little road trip found us in the Amish district in Pennsylvania we took a little drive around the district, up and down the lanes and saw many of the Amish people going about their business. This is my third visit here and it gets prettier every time. We stayed in Lancaster and just a few yards down the road we booked for a tour of the farms, an Amish home and a couple of their Amish business run from farms.  The tour was very informative and provided a great insight to the lives of the Amish and how they assimilate with ‘the english’ the name Amish give to everyone that is not Amish. We made some purchases at the two businesses and really enjoyed the tour of the farm and the house, although seen one farm see them all. 

Now the last two hours of the drive into Newark to return the car, then catch train from Newark airport to Penn Station Manhattan.  The train ride was okay and Penn station is as always hot and crowed and confusing but never the less we found our way out grabbed a cab and were checked into the Chelsea Savoy on corner 23rd and 7th Ave by about 6pm. The kids had checked in earlier and had already been to Outback steak house (just up street) for lunch. We decided we too would go there for our dinner which was good. A good night sleep was in order. We made a leisurely start to the day headed to Macy’s just a few blocks away for a browse and then off to to pick up Hop on Hop off bus ticket, we decided to take the downtown loop for the rest of the day. This was okay although it kept raining on us and guide was less than informative. 

Day two we had tickets to a Yankees versus Texas Rangers baseball game at Yankee stadium. We were meeting up with others at the game. Before we headed to the game we spent the morning in Macy’s and generally wandering around.

At midday it was time to get the subway system worked out and get to the game. After one false start I now have the subway sort and it is definitely the best way to get around.

We arrived at Yankees Stadium 30 minutes after leaving our hotel. The stadium is unbelievable and we have nothing that compares to how well they handle big crowds. Food and drink and bathroom facilities are plentiful and there is little waiting at anytime.

The game was great and we had the best seats. Yes we had hotdogs, fries covered in cheese and ice-cream out of little baseball caps. The trip home was uneventful after we waited for about 20 minutes for the crowds to clear in the subway station. The subway trains are so clean they leave ours for dead. Our stations are cleaner but their carriages are spotless. There is a subway station on almost every corner block.

Our last day in New York we did the Brooklyn loop on our hop on hop off tour took a walk through central park and visited the underground Apple store. As everyone going separate ways Saturday we had dinner at a great BBQ place near our hotel Hill Country BBQ. Sarah and Dan heading home tomorrow, Charlie and Megan headed to San Francisco and LA before heading home in a few days. We on the other hand are embarking on another road trip to take in one of the main purposes of the trip taking mum to Niagara Falls.