This is going to be interesting. Im at a computer right now in Kunming in southern China. The only english on the screen is the words that i am writing. It took me a long time to be able to find out how to post an update. I won't even be able to view it until I am in another country. China heavily sensors the internet. Sites such as Wikipedia, Blogspot and other ones that might degrade 吃拿阿惹古俄. Those last few characters were by accident and it took my 5 minutes to figure out how to type in english again.

As i mentioned above I am in Kunming, "The Spring City". It wasn't really the plan to come here...

I landed in Hong Kong Friday night. The flight over was awesome, a lot better than I thought it would be considering I payed so little for it. I left at 6:30 PM and arrived at 9:30 PM the following day. It's a strange feeling when you land after flying across the pacific. I had just spent the night watching movies, eating the peanut butter sandwiches I had made at home and trying to sleep as much as possible. But when I arrived it was still night.

I met some people on the plane who had lived in Hong Kong so I had my own tour guide pretty much right off the bat. They explained to me the best way to get out of the airport and into town so I could check into a hostel. They sent me off on my way and I was fairly confident with being able to get into the city and finding a place. But as soon as I was out of sight of the people I met on the plane I was lost in the airport again. Compared to other Asian countries China is very difficult to travel in. But because Hong Kong was a British colony so there are a lot more people who can speak english. I approached a group of students and started chatting with them. They were super helpful and held my hand around the airport, helped me buy a bus ticket and walked me to the bus.

Once I arrived in downtown Hong Kong I walked around for a couple hours and couldn't find a place to stay. I'll take this as my first chance to comment on how bad Lonely Planet Guide books are. After quite a while I gave up and got a taxi. I told the driver yo home to Chung King. As I arrived at Chung King I was swarmed by guys trying to sell me rooms for the night, with prices ranging from 15 to 100 dollars. One guy was very eager and insisted I only look at what he has to offer. But when I was approached by another guy in front of the building the first guy didn't seem to like this. I thought there was gonna be fists swinging but there was just some pushng and shoving. The initial guy was yelling and a crowd was gathering. Pretty entertaining at 2 AM, but as it was going on I snuck away and ended up looking at a room offered by an calm old lady that slowly led me to the 4th floor and that is where I ended up staying.

Chung King Mansion is unlike anywhere else in the world. It's almost 20 stories tall and has a court yard that is full of garbage and shit. If you end up with a window opening into the courtyard you must keep it shut. It is disgusting and the few times I have smelt it I felt like vomiting. Probably the worst thing about my room was that it dod not have any windows at all. So I had no idea what time was because of the lack of changing light. Having that effect combined with jetlag and sleep depravation, a pretty funny first morning in Asia unfolded.

The room had a bed, tv, shower and toilet and no window. You might get an image in your head of fair sized, dirty hotel room. However, the entire suite is about 2 metres by 2 meters and is very clean. That first morning I woke up I was feeling groggy and my eyes were burning and throat was sore from the airconditioning in the box that I had slept in. I was still feeling tired and unsuccesfully tried to fall back asleep. After laying with my eyes shut for a short while I checked my watch and it said 3:30PM. I jumped out of bed and started packing as fast as I could. There was no way I wanted to stay another night here. After 5 minutes I was packed and snuck out of the hostel. Luckily no one was around and I did not have to checkout. If I was caught, surely I would have to pay for another night, because check out is at noon.

When I walked into the street it had a very strange feeling about it. It had just rained and there were very few people around. It felt similar to Jakarta during and after Ramadan. I found it odd that the streets were so empty on a Saturday afternoon. But I didn't waste anytime and decided to find a dorm room. I was successful in finding one on the 16th floor of Chung King. But when I arrived at the reception (an old school desk agains a pale beige tile wall with posters from years past) there was no one around. On the wall there was a number to call to check in. I called this number and a Chinese man wearing pajamas sleepily walked in. He didnt say much more than was required of him for me to check in. I payed my 6 bucks and went into my dorm. It was cheap and had a window. Man were things lookin good. It wasnt too dirty either. But it was full of sleeping people... Should I have arrived one day earlier? Did I just miss out on the biggest party ever. I couldn't be bothered to go back to sleep so I decided to go walk around after I dropped off my bags. As I left the dorm room I was greeted by another traveller watching the BBC and smoking a cigarette. We got to talking and after a few minutes I commented on how sleepy the whole city was feeling. And thats when I found out that I had woken up at like 6AM and had forgotten to change my watch ahead 13 hours.

I spent three days in Hong Kong. It was my second time there and it did not have the same feel as before. There is nothing like arriving there for the first time. There are so many people and you can't help but wonder if there is any order to the randomness. I did have a fun time there though. The first day I met a French couple, Emilie and Natheal. Were both had the same plans, to apply for Visas on Monday and leave to the mainland of China as soon as possible.

Saturday and Sunday found us walking around. Eating food and checking out the markets. I only brought one t-shirt and a shorts so I needed some more clothes. I bought some shorts at a market as well a red shirt and a white shirt. I washed it all together and I am currently wearing a pink shirt. Some other misadventures include the theft of my toiletries out of my dorm. Probably the best thing that could have been stolen.

The last day in Hong Kong was the most interesting. Emilie, Nathael and I picked up our passports and them met up with 2 local Hong Kong locals, Sindy and Queenie. I had met them rafting during the summer. They were incredible hosts and showed us around before we made our way to Aberdeen on Hong Kong Isalnd. Once there we boared a ferry and road it to the Jumbo Floating Restruant. Super Cheesy sounding but it turned out to be the nicest restrauant I had ever been to, which might not say much considering I am from Squamish. There we spent 3 hours and and between the five of us spent a total of 50 dollars total. I was the most stuffed I had beeen in a long time. The meal was a traditional Chinese Dim Sum. We ate about 20 different dishes of small portions, with everything from spring rolls to chicken feet. It was something special.

After the meal I made my way to the train station. The previous day I had bought a ticket to Shanghai. Shanghai is China's biggest city and one I had yet to visit. I didnt really feel like going to another big city, but it isn't every day that I can hop on a train to such a place. So when I bought the ticket I knew in my mind I wouldnt be spending much time there. I ended upo spending even less than I thought I would.

About halfway to the train station from Aberdeen I began to get a little stressed out. Time had flown by and I hadn't left much time to spare in making it to the train. I made it to the station quite late, only about 20 minutes before departure. And about 25 minutes later I found the area of the train station where I should have boarded the train. I was pretty pissed of. I just wasted 80 bucks. But I got over it quickly. I made my way to the ticket counter and purched a ticket for the next train out of Hong Kong. This ended up being Guangzhou a huge city that I had no intention of staying in. Three trains and two and a half days later I ended up in Kunming, where I am now.

In 2005 I spent a month in the province and had fallen in love with it. The hostel I stayed in was called the Hump Over The Himalayas and it had been a place I wanted to return too. It was somewhat of a pilgramage for me to come here. And I still love the city, it is an easy place to spend more time then inteded. It's fun to just walk around, get lost, and sample the many different foods. So when I booked my bus ticket north this morning, 4 days after my arrival, it was with some sadness. But it was time to move one. The stay here did not compare to that of 2005. The people running the place are different, there are no social events, and the overall vibe is quite tame compared to before. But it was still the most fun I have had in China this trip.

My bus that leaves in a couple hours from now is bound for Zhongdian, or as the Chinese call it: "shangri la."

Summer 2007

A quick recap of this summer. It went by fast. It rained a lot. I worked almost every day. However, with some free time I was able to accomplish some major goals; I climbed the Chief, Explored the headwaters of the Elaho and kayaked down the Elaho and Squamish rivers. In the middle of the summer I did a mountaineering course through a Company in Whistler which I've been freelance working for. That course allowed me to do some work in Whistler such as Glacier tours and day hiking trips. Near the end of the summer I took over a week off and went hiking into some old growth for a couple days and then took off to the interior to spend some time kayaking. I leave tommorrow for Hong Kong and the only plans I have are the plans to nail er shut Brackendale style on the other side of the world. I have signed up for courses in January. But I'll have to see at the time if I want to come back.