| |
|
|
|
Friday, 17th September 1999
Hong Kong - Guangzhou: 85 miles
Guangzhou - Guilin: 280 miles
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
We had to be ready
for a possible early train, so we set the alarm
for 6.30. Groggy at breakfast, Lizzie gave us the
good news that we would be catching the 11.05 am
train to Guangzhou. We quickly breakfasted and got
on the coach. Ricky (not that lime green shirt again,
Ricky!) escorted us to Kowloon mainline station.
The train was very smart and we
left promptly at 11.00 am. The stewardess kept trying
to sell us stamps, and the Chinese on board, food. |
|
|
| |
By 11.45 we had left
the territory of Hong Kong and were on the
Chinese mainland. We arrived in Guangzhou
at 1.00 pm and were herded onto a bus where
our guide Carol took us to lunch, teaching
us the Cantonese for "very good"
("Ho, Ho"). |
|
|
The lunch, in an
old inn with a roof garden was excellent, with lovely
fresh watermelon slices for dessert. |
|
| |
Back to the coach
and on to the Guangzhou Arts and Crafts museum.
There were some beautiful exhibits of chinaware
and painting, as well as furniture and bonsai (an
old Chinese art, we were told). |
|
|
The building itself
had an extraordinary roof. |
|
| |
Then back to the
coach and on to a temple of some princess who had,
for some extraordinary reason, given away her hands
and eyes and was rewarded by the gods by being given
a hundred hands and eyes. The temple was beautiful,
despite the drizzle. |
|
|
| |
The temple had some
beautiful incense burners. |
|
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Back to the coach
for our compulsory visit to the factory.
Liz had warned us that the Chinese
Government insisted that we visit
a factory at each town. In Guangzhou,
it was a porcelain factory, where
little was being made but much was
being sold.
Surely the factory
visit wasn't a ruse to get us to spend
money? I eyed an eggshell dish and
managed to bargain for a good price.
Unfortunately, at the till something
went awry and it cost is almost as
much as the pre-bargaining price.
We will know better next time. |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Then, back to the
coach and time for dinner. Lunch had ended at 3.00
pm and it was now 5.30 pm so we weren't hungry.
But a good, if hasty meal, because we had to catch
the 8.25 pm plane. And the watermelon slices were
nice... Pity we had to rush the meal, the restaurant
was quite special and Lizzie told us that it is
normally used by Kuoni travellers going in the opposite
direction for their last night treat.
We left at 7.10 pm to hit Guangzhou's
Friday night rush. We crept along with us all looking
nervously at our watches. At 8.05 and still some
way from the airport, Carol jumped off the coach
with our passports to catch a motor-cycle taxi in
order to get there quicker and book us all in. Would
we every see her (or our passports) again? Much
to our relief, we arrived at 8.20 and Carol had
been as good as her word, and we got through security
with no problems - only to find that the plane had
been delayed! However, at 8.45, we were away on
a China Southern 757-500 (Bruce says) and with just
time for a packet of nuts and a soft drink, before
landing with a bump and some very abrupt braking
at Guilin airport.
Another airport, another coach,
another courier (Joe). On to the Guishan Hotel,
a huge modern five star complex. In bed finally
by 11 - to lay awake half the night... |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
