CHINA: (1999) NB! All train prices here are for hard sleeper tickets. Photos are here Hong Kong: Where to stay: New Garden Hostel, Mirador Mansion, 58 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, is good, and apparently reasonably priced compared to others in Hong Kong. Still,  US$ 20,- for a double at this standard seems a bit much. What to do: For fake famous brand watches and other cheap bargains, the night market at Temple st is good. The parallel Woosung street has some great restaurants at reasonable prices. Keep an eye out for people preparing snakes outside restaurants. Don't miss it - it tastes kind of like frog and is a great snack! If you're looking for anything electronic, try shopping at "Fortress". They operate with fixed reasonable prices, and you get the international guarantee you just might need back home. There's one just next to Mirador, one on 2nd floor of the "City Harbour" mall, and one in the lower ground of Star House close to the ferry (Salisbury rd). Take the ferry across to Hong Kong Central (or Wanchai). If nothing else, at least take the tram to Victoria Peak. The best time to go is around 17:00 as you'll get the fabulous views both in daylight and by night. The Hong Kong park is quite pleasant and the back streets are quite fun. Try the "dim sum" at Zen on lower ground of Pacific Place. At the street market in Li Yuen st (west or east), you can find some bargains too, but you do have to bargain! At the City Council public library (just off the ferry pier at Central) you can send e-mail or surf the net for free. Getting there and away: You can reach the mainland by plane, bus or train, but we enjoyed going by boat. There are speed boats from China HK City (the building). It's actually quite interesting just to enter the boat as it's quite the airport terminal with check-in counters and passport control. If you're going to Yangshuo or Guilin, you might as well take the boat all the way to Wuzhou. This is an 8 hour trip and costs US$ 40,- including a very plain but filling lunch. The boat leaves on even days at 8:00 am.  Wuzhou: The bus station has moved way out of city center, and the ferry pier has moved also. You need to take a taxi between these two (US$ 2,50). Buses to Yangshuo take 7 hours. The sleeper bus is quite an experience (not describable) and costs up to US$ 7,50 to 8. The roads are good and the driver we had drove like an angel. Yangshuo: Arriving in the night was quite a thrill! The "ghost-like" shaped lime stone mountains are even spectacular in total darkness. This place is so beautiful! Where to stay: Fawlty Towers in the alley next to Hard Seat Cafe, have big double bed rooms for US$ 8 without heating, but with hot showers. The manager is very friendly and speaks good English. What to do: Do join a night trip to watch cormorant fishing (US$ 3). It's fascinating to see the trained birds dive for fish on command. The park is quite nice, and do take the stairs up to the top of the mountain for great views. Don't miss out on the bicycle tour of the countryside and neighbouring villages. Hook up with the pleasant guide Feng ( FengQiong_Tang@hotmail.com ) at Countryside cafe. She'll take you through the rice paddies to Buddha Cave, then home to her village for some delicious lunch. After that you climb Moon Hill for spectacular views, before heading back to Yangshuo. The boat trip to Xingping (3 hours) is nice but only scenic the last half hour. However there are some nice fishing villages on the way (cormorant fishing). Xingping itself is nothing much but the bus ride back to Yangshuo goes through some nice farmland. Quite a few restaurants have internet service and there are also special internet centers where you can surf or send e-mail for 1 hour for US$ 20. Eat at "Mei You" ("we don't have"). They have superb food at very reasonable prices and a nice quiet atmosphere. If you want to try the snake (including drinking the blood mixed with alcohol), the rat hot pot or dog hot pot, you should order in advance (early in the morning). Try also the snake wine (very strong but tasty). The dog pot is OK but very bony and has a strong taste. Getting there and away: There are buses to Guilin all day until 18:30. From Guilin there are trains and planes to all over China. Hard sleeper to Kunming is US$ 24 and takes 30 hours. There are also buses to Wuzhou and to Guangzhuo. Kunming: Kunming is actually a nice city as big cities go. It's very clean and modern, eve the market (quite interesting variety of foods) is spotless.  There are now trains to Dali at 22:10 for US$ 8,50 (hard sleeper). It arrives at 06:45 in Xiaguan from where it's 15 minutes to old town Dali by local bus (no 8 at 25 cents US). Dali: Dali is a beautiful little town at the foot of a mountain range with peaks towering 4200m high. The Bai architecture is great. However, it's quite the tourist spot for the Chinese, who came in hordes during the day with their guides in traditional costumes. Where to stay: No 5 Guesthouse has doubles with bath for US$ 15 (negotiable) and without bath for US$ 7. The rooms are really nice and the guesthouse has atmosphere. They have e-mail/internet service for US$ 3 an hour (there are better offers elsewhere in town). No 4 Guesthouse is also good at pretty much the same prices. What to do: There are boat trips on the huge lake and across to villages on the other side. you can watch cormorant fishing. There's plenty of good shopping in this beautiful city and great photo opportunities everywhere. The marble souvenirs are particularly beautiful but heavy to keep in your backpack. You can rent bicycles or take a bus to nearby villages or the magnificent three pagodas  and its temple (get your grand photo of the pagodas with mirror image in the pond in late afternoon for best light). The temple has a huge golden Buddha and there's a huge bell you can bang on for US$ 1. The entrance to the pagodas is US$ 2,50 but worth it. There are treks to walk and mountains to climb. The food in Dali is a bit oily but comes in abundance. Don't miss out on the great three course tea at Sunshine cafe. For a great evening/late nigh, Jim's Peace Cafe is where to go. Jim will make you feel truly welcome and treat you to some great snacks and conversation around the fire. Do try his Tibetan herbal medicine! Getting there and away: There are plenty of buses to Lijiang for US$ 4 that takes 3,5 hours on the new road. To Kunming the train from Dali (Xiaguan) is the best choice, but there are also buses. Lijiang: Lijiang is declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO and it's easy to see why. The old town is truly beautiful Naxi architecture . It's however almost like being in a live folk museum and the main paths are very touristy. Still, it has lots of charm and atmosphere. If you're there in the colder season, bear in mind that the rooms have no heating. A good investment is to get a hot water bottle (US$ 2 at the chemists) to keep you warm under the blankets.  Where to stay: The First Bend Inn has doubles at US$ 10 in a wonderful building with a nice little patio. They even have sensors that light up your way when you need to use the toilets (which are quite clean by Chinese standards) at night. MCA has only one double (and only one toilet!) at US$ 7,50 and a really nice dorm at US$ 2,50.  What to do: Do check out the Naxi Music performance (20:00 hours). Try the Tibetan cocktail (Yak butter barley liquor honey - strong and good) and Yak cheese spring roll (real tasty) at Lamu's. Eat also at friendly places Sun Room Cafe (next to First Bend Inn) and Well Bistro. A really nice hangout with a variety of good dishes is CC's Bar and Cafe at the corner of the old market. And most of all walk around in the back alleys of Old Town. The major attraction in Lijiang apart from the Old Town, is Tiger Leaping Gorge - one of the deepest in the World. You can do the trek which takes about ten hours (you'll need an overnight stay either at Halfway or Walnut Grove). Nowadays you can get a taste of it in one day by local bus to Qiatou (US$1,50) and taxi to Tiger Leaping Gorge (US$ 6 return). The Chinese women seem to get easily car sick and throw up through the windows regularly. This means that your bus rides will be freezing cold as you run over passes at 3000m with windows open and below zero outside. There are plenty of buses back to Lijiang. There's also a scenic spot just north of Lijiang with a pond including a pavilion with a nice bridge and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (5500m) as a backdrop (on a clear day). You can rent a bicycle or take a bus to nearby village Baisha and look at some really old frescoes (photos not allowed) and chat with famous Dr. Ho (he'll find you!). There's also an old monastery (Tibetan origin) behind Baisha (supposedly ca 1 hr walk). Getting there and away: There are buses to Dali (3,5 hrs US$ 4), Zhongdian (4,5 hrs) and Jinjiang (9 hrs US$ 5) To get to Chengdu it's worth taking the bus to Jinjiang (first one at 06:30) and the train from there, instead of going all the way to Kunming (especially if that means backtracking). The scenery on the road to Jinjiang is wonderful for the first 7 hours before it changes from green plants to power plants and smoke stacks spewing out smoke in all colors. From Jinjiang there are frequent trains to Chengdu (16 hrs US$ 14). Chengdu: Where to stay: Chengdu Institute for Natural Medicine has triple rooms for US$ 3 pr person. It's a bit out of city center but a taxi will take you to the center for US$ 1 and there are buses that will take you cheaper than that. The Giant Panda Research Base is a good place to see both Giant Panda and Lesser Panda in some decent surroundings. Taxis will take you there for US$ 6, the entry fee is US$ 1, 25 and there are taxis that will take you back for US$ 6. the Wenshu Monastery is a beautiful place with a huge Tea House and great surroundings. There's an underground shopping street underneath Shuncheng Jie (called Xishunshen Jie in LPs city map). Just take the stairs down where it looks like an entrance to a metro along the street. There are plenty of smaller markets in the back streets with lots of different food to try out (rabbit seems to be popular in Chengdu). Getting there and away: There are trains to Kunming, Jinjiang, Xi'an, Beijing, and Chongqing. Trains to Xi'an take 18 hours at US$ 15. To Jinjiang it's 17 hours for US$ 14. Xi'an: Xi'an is mostly famous for its Terracotta Soldiers. These are well worth seeing! Apart from this, Xi'an is a big city with a disturbing number of poor beggars in the streets. Where to stay: If you for some reason want a mid or top end hotel in Xi'an (we did), don't book anything before visiting Golden Bridge Travel at 2nd level (room 301) of Bell Tower Hotel. They'll get you up to 50% discounts (they can also arrange similar deals for Beijing). What to do: To get to the Terracotta Warriors, take bus no 306 (they'll find you asking "Bingmajong") at the parking lot just east of the railway station. It's over 1 hour drive and costs less than US$ 1. The entrance to the tombs with the soldiers is US$ 8. The entrance area is full of touts wanting to sell souvenirs and guide you inside. It's quite hectic, but once inside the gates it's quiet and you can wander around at your own pace. The Shaanxi Historical Museum is quite good if you're interested in such. It's US$ 3, 50. Getting there and away: There are trains to Beijing (express - 14 hrs at US$ 32) and Chengdu (18 hrs at US$ 15) Beijing: Beijing is huge but also has lots to offer. You need a minimum of three days but plan on spending at least 4-5 days. Where to stay: Jinhua Youth Hostel has doubles for US$ 17 (negotiable). The place has lots of facilities including e-mail service (US$ 1,25 pr 30 min) and travel office (10 hr trip to Simatai for US$ 7). They also cash travellers cheques until 10:00 pm everyday. Their "all you can eat" buffet dinner is a bargain at US$ 2,50 including free beer and Chinese liquor!!! However with all the great eats in Beijing this is not an offer used by many. What to do: The Great Wall : The Jinghua Youth Hostel organizes trips to Simatai  to climb the steep wall there. The trip takes 2,5 hrs each way, so excluding the waiting both at the hotel and at Simatai, you get ca 3 hours there. That's just enough time to enjoy it, but a bit short if you want to climb all the way to the top. The last part is extremely steep (ca 70 degrees) and you need to climb with both arms, feet and knees. However the whole stretch at Simatai is spectacular and there's not a whole lot of tourists there (at least in winter time).  The Forbidden City  (US$ 3,75) is totally awesome - plan on spending quite a few hours in there (it's huge and interesting).  Summer Palace  (US$ 3,75) is a beautiful place with a huge lake. The tower hosts a fabulous Buddha with 24 arms and a number of heads. Don't do the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City in one and the same day (you'll be "palaced out"). Tiananmen Square is the place to photograph the huge painting of Mao. Tiantan Park (US 1,75 all included) is well worth a visit. Eat at the Donganmen Night Market - it has everything possible on a skewer (scorpions, cicada, tiny birds). Give Banpo Primitive Hot Pot a miss (it does have a scorpion for snacks but you'll get those cheaper and bigger at the night market  -  besides the hot pot was completely tasteless). For something in the more upmarket range, Do try the famous and delicious Beijing duck (US$ 20) at prestigious "The Old Duck " (Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant). Note that the real restaurant has its entrance from the side street - the one on the main street is a fast food version... For an interesting evening out, try one of the Peking Operas (Classical Chinese Opera ). More fun, however, is the acrobatics show at Chaoyang Theatre (US$ 10). For shopping, Beijing is now one big department store. Try Wangfujing street or Jianguomenai street . The Silk Market at the latter has some good bargains (however there's not a lot of real silk). Getting there and away: You can go to anywhere in China from Beijing. To Xi'an there are express trains at US$ 32 (14 hrs). To leave China - the airport is a 45 min drive (US$ 8 with taxi). The departure tax is US$ 11 (to be paid in local currency).