A few pics and videos whilst I'm busy sightseeing.....

The attached have found their way home for your perusal and entertainment. I went to a fantastic show on Sentosa Island in Singapore. The images in the pictures were created by shining light and pictures onto water which was being sprayed up to 40 feet in the air. The effect was very dramatic.....
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/SingaporeSentosaShow#

I also attach a short video of Rambuttri Road in Bangkok showing the sights and sounds just down from my hotel. I ate from street vendor stalls that evening and took a video whilst I was there. Ahh, brings back memories!.......
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/AudraSTravelVideos#5379431448403668770

And for those you have asked. I attach......my bungee jump video off the Kawarau Bridge, Queenstown, NZ. Just look at my face when he says "Smile for the camera" - nervousness written all over it plus a passing thought of "I've got a few things on my mind but the camera at the moment, mate!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxTbDjWCgGk
(follow link then best to wait until the video buffers completely before pressing play)

O.K. Stop! I wanna get off...........(public transport in China)

Public transport in China, particularly buses and trains, need a special mention due to the extraordinary amount of stress, discomfort and irritation they produce, together with the ability to push tourists to the edge of madness. People here have no concept of what queuing is or means so when the bus arrives we have quickly learned that it's every man, woman and child for him/herself.

When it comes to trains, staff will only open one 2ft entrance or exit and squeeze 1500 people through it. It doesn't matter how early you get to the station, all waiting lounge seats are occupied and you'd think that 20 minutes would be more than adequate to board a sleeper train.....but not when half the population of China are boarding your train, with the entire contents of their house and the train is parked 2 miles away on a route that would put an army assault course to shame. It also seems that we are missing some sort of trend or have stumbled across a little known secret society as a large amount of people are carrying around big air con units!

On a plus point, some locals are friendly and although it can go either way on that front , I shared a sleeper train cabin with a very pleasant and educated couple who's son could speak a bit of English. They loved my Chinese mandarin speaking Blackberry - I used a language application to say "It was very nice to meet you!"

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaPublicTransport#

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/AudraSTravelVideos#5379401175573205522

Blimey, I've nearly reached Beijing.................(China)

I'm really looking forward to seeing Beijing and will be spending a lot more time here than anywhere else in China. Plus I get to see cousin Amanda and Mad Mark again who are flying in from Australia to join me for a few days after my tour finishes.
There is so much to see in this city - the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, etc. And I'll finish off my trip in a nice hotel with, hopefully, a large bed, white sheets and lots of towels - bliss after the sleeper trains!

If you're into concrete, then you'll love Shanghai...........(Shanghai,China)

What can I say about Shanghai? Well, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that sometimes time is needed to see the beauty lying underneath. When I was here, Shanghai seemed to be one big building site and there isn't many traditional sights to visit. It has some interesting districts to it and I know of some people who rave about Shanghai but it appears to me to be very similar to every other aspiring Asian city.....a huge amount of shops, noise, pollution, people and fast food outlets. Maybe it's reputation has been built on/by the stock exchange but I just didn't get it and it's beauty remained hidden to me. Don't get me wrong, it's worth seeing if you are passing but I can't say I had a hankering to stay here longer. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to come back when the building work has calmed down a bit.
I did go to a jaw dropping acrobat show here though. It was great entertainment, very beautiful to look at at times and the acrobats could bend themselves into positions that looked as if their spines and skeletons had been removed. Photos were supposedly banned but no one was adhering to this rule so I got a sneaky one in - see across. What I wouldn't give for stomach muscles like they have!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaShanghai#

Soldiers and Starbucks........(Xi'an,China)

Xi'an is quite modern with lots and I mean, a HUGE amount of shops. Plus a large amount of McDonalds and KFC outlets! But it also has the traditional roofed buildings that you see on postcards of China, temples, pagodas and the Terracotta Army as a major draw. Xi'an is great and I really liked it despite the fact that the taxi and bus drivers drive like lunatics here - and that's saying something after some of the Asian cities I've been to!

Now I've kind of got used to surreal things happening by now but a trip to Starbucks (the native breakfasts here are top of my list for being unedible for Western palates) delivered a corker. Two of us were sitting having a drink looking out onto a modern shopping mall and a small garden area when a van drew up. Two soldiers got out with (rhymes with buns) and approached Starbucks and we thought "Uh, oh, what's up?" One stayed outside, sat down and laid his A K 47 on a table whilst the other came inside with his A K 47 and.......ordered coffee! I did manage to get a pic of this moment (see link below)....without being noticed of course.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaXiAn#

Still guarding the Emperor.......(Terracotta Army, Xi'an, China)

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi didn't do things by halves. It took 40 years and 70,000 slaves to create his final resting place and it still wasn't finished when he died. Guarding his tomb are the Terracotta Soldiers. There's something about seeing this army that stirs the emotions. They're silent, waiting in rows to perform their duty and a lot are broken. But in true Hollywood style, you are almost waiting for them to come alive and start marching towards you. A creation of an emperor's imagination, wealth, power, ego and suspicion of the afterlife, they are a real sight to behold.
The Emperor's tomb is still unopened, thanks to the fact that he had it surrounded by a moat of mercury which has poisoned the soil. It is somewhat ironic that his tomb and embalmed body are now being protected by the very thing that killed him - his medical advisors told him to take mercury so he would achieve immortality.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaTerracottaArmy#

Yichang.........(Southern Mainland China)

It was a relief to get back to a city after the boat even if it was just for one night before travelling to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army. We were put in a nice hotel, partly to make up for the trauma of the boat trip but also because I think our guide knew he'd have a riot on his hands otherwise!
Yichang is a modern city for Asia and we could, at least, get some decent food - the food on the boat was equally horrendous. So half of us shamefully, but as it turned out tastily, took ourselves off to Pizza Hut and felt full for the first time in 2 days.
As we strolled back, a cart was ambling by playing what, very quickly, became a familiar tune. We all cracked up laughing when we realised that we were in a Chinese city in August, in a 32 degree/75% humidity heat listening to .....Jingle Bells!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaYichang#

Three Gorges.......(Sandoupling, near Yichang, China)

At 6300kms, the Yangzti River is the 3rd longest in the world - and it appears to be also one of the 'brownest'! It marks the border between north and south China both geographically and culturally.
Along this part of the river, just upstream from a city called Yichang, there are the Three Gorges....and the Three Gorges dam project, a project of some discussion which will displace 1.3m people, raise the water level by 135 meters and cover up approximately 8000 unexcavated archaeological sites. And will also provide at least 10% of China's power needs. In true BCG style, it's gone ahead, despite strong support (not) from their own people, historians and a major eco group beginning with the letter G. And any local non-supporters have been held, allegedly, at Her Majesty's pleasure.
This is an area of outstanding beauty and it really has dramatic scenary......and it's slowly being decimated. It dawned on me that there were no birds singing here or other animals to be seen apart from a few farmed goats and pointedly, no fish in the river - they had all been eaten according to our guide. The excursion down this part of the river has really brought home to me how, due to their vast numbers, a certain race of people is rav*g**g parts of its country and r*p**g the land with apparently little thought for the future.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaThreeGorges#

Pure t*rt*re in a place of natural beauty....(River Shennong, Wuxia Gorge, Yichang)

We've been on a boat for 2 days sailing up some of the tributaries off the Yangzti River to look at the scenary. Sounds quite nice doesn't it? It did to us, especially as we were going to be in first class cabins. Then we were advised that our boat had been commandeered by the BigChiGov (to be known as the BCG from this moment on) and we were being moved to another. That's when the nightmare began.....
By the end of 2 days living in a filthy room where we were nervous about sleeping on the bed linen on a rotting, decaying ship with about 300 other indigenous people who seemed very happy with their holiday home, we were majorly fed up. Yes, we complained bitterly and our tour guide got a huge amount of stick. The rats gnawing behind the walls of the cabins was the final straw for many in our group including the girl sharing my cabin. I must have been travelling for too long as my response to this situation was "We might as well go back to sleep 'cause at least the ship isn't sinking as the rats would be leaving!"
Took the edge of the scenary really! If any Americans had been on board, I'm sure we would have all been airlifted off to avoid a breakdown in foreign relationships!

I'm going to have to be a bit careful it seems.........(Mainland China)

Up until now, my China postings have been fairly complimentary and positive. But I do have some things I'd like to share that perhaps could be construed by some as not. Due to the problems previously mentioned about the transfer of info across the world wide web, I'm going to have to convey this as best I can without raising the possibility of my being detained at the equivalent of Her Majesty's Pleasure in this country! If I can't get the full effect over, I'll be filling you on on the real details on my return. In the meantime, some of my sentences may seem a bit odd but at least you know why........

A bit of Olympic sophistication in a small town.....(Yangshou, China)

Yanghsou is a small town with a population of just 300k. In this area there are over 20,000 limestone pinnacles and mounds from when the area was once an ocean 190m years ago, providing some stunning scenary. As an area of natural beauty, tourism is the main industry here and so a little English is spoken. This is quite a sweet town and the people are very friendly and equally fascinated with us as we are with them! I went to a light show here performed on the River Li with the backdrop of the spectacular mountains and pinnacles, which they lit up behind the stage area. There was the full moon peeking over one....so the setting was quite lovely. The show was devised by the guy who responsible for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, so it was a nice surprise to be able to see this show in such a small town.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/ChinaYangshou#

I've been censored!...............(Mainland China)

Something I did not but should have anticipated has happened. I've been censored by the Chinese government! China will not let me log onto Facebook, my blog or download any images to my holding website. I'm outraged but there isn't anything I can do about it. Therefore, I have moved onto Plan B so that I can continue to let you know where I am, what I'm seeing and I don't have to update a month's worth of blog when I get home! Plan B is for me to e-mail my co-editor Steven with my postings and as many pictures as I can get through by e-mail and he is going to copy to my blog. Therefore, there may be a satellite delay in receiving postings and the copious amounts of pictures I am taking may need to be linked at a later date. But I will not be silenced! I'm a British citizen, don't they know, and this is just not CRICKET!

We're off roaming China!...............

Sixteen of us set off on the first leg of our journey into mainland China to a town called Yanghsou. As Hong Kong is still running on a separate system to mainland China, I had to change my remaining HK dollars into Chinese yuan and then we had to pass through both HK and Chinese immigration before continuing with our journey. This included a temperature test for fever which I passed in the 32 degree heat. Hurrah! I'm in!
The next stage of the journey involves an 11hr sleeper train journey and 2hr bus ride. We have 5 sleeper train plus 2 nights on a boat on this trip - I think I might just be ready for my own bed at the end of this!

With buildings that defy gravity..........(Hong Kong)

Kowloon, where my hotel is, is situated on mainland Hong Kong across from Hong Kong island. It's a bustling metropolis (by now you've probably gathered that all major Asian cities are!) of large sky scrapers with small streets coming off the main roads which is where you find how the real HK lives rather than HK's rich and elite. This area is full to the brim of shops, the obligatory Asian night market and lots of traffic. But in the middle of all this madness, they have some tranquil gardens where you can go and get some respite from the sun and craziness of the city. HK was on a typhoon warning level 1 when I got there, the significence of which I didn't realise until the rain started coming down which drenches everything! (I have subsequently found out that it moved to a level 8, so we left just in time)

With just one day to see HK, I went for the top of the list items which was to travel across to HK island and travel up the Peak Tram to see the views over HK city. These were pretty outstanding even with the heavy cloud. The buildings on HK island are built on the hills and as the tram went up at a 45 degree angle, some of the houses and skyscrapers looked as if they could topple over with one good blast of high wind. It is an amazing man made landscape. In the evening some of us went to the Avenue of Stars - think bronze statues of Bruce Lee and celebrity hand and footprints in cement - to watch the harbour light show that happens every evening at 8pm. The lights on the skyscrapers on HK island move in conjunction with the beat of the music and provides some great photo opportunities of the harbour.

Weather in China? On a par with Japan - I'm not going to feel completely dry for 3 weeks now it seems due to the heat and humidity!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/HongKong#

My starter for 10 - Hit me with Hong Kong!...... (China)

Landed in Hong Kong fairly late at night expecting a train and metro challenge to my hotel. Similarly to Tokyo though, HK didn't let me down with English signage, but also similar to Japan things were not that obvious to work out! I'm meeting up with the tour group tomorrow night so have a day to explore this pearl of the Orient. Also found out that ATM's do not like you taking cash out of one country and then travelling and trying to get cash out in local currency in another country on the same day. Luckily I had some emergency US dollars on me and airports and train stations, thankfully, have currency exchange booths at them. So I could actually get to my hotel - the train ticket booth would only accept cash not cards - amazing these days! It's these sort of unexpected things that you find out about at the time it happens when travelling!

Sayounara Japan........

You can't get to know the essence of Japan in a 2 week timeframe. You need to really live here amongst the people to get a proper feel for the culture, society and soul of this incredible country. Time needs to be dedicated to peeling back the layers of Japan. After the initial jolt you get from the people and the language being so different, you start to realise the complexity of this society and their lifestyle. And it does make you want to know more.

Japan made me feel more like a fish out of water than any other country that I've visited so far but throughout my visit they have been endearingly polite and helpful. They are a fascinating race.

Japanese food

The best way to experience Japanese food is to be introduced to it by a local I think. I didn't have this luxury and so have spent my time feeling, or should I say feeding, my way through the options. I have eaten dishes over the past 10 days that I have had little or no idea what they were even after they arrived and I had tasted it. I did try sushi and some of it tasted pretty good. Maybe it was my cold, but the textures to other bits produced a gag reflex in me.....not the best reaction when you are trying to blend in! And a lot of soy sauce was needed on other bits. It wasn't horrendous but I would just prefer to eat something else I concluded. The Japanese eat eel at this time of the year as there is something in it that combats the heat. But I can't look at the things when they are alive never mind raw and dead so I had to put up with the heat instead! It came to my notice that getting hold of any fresh fruit was a major challenge - why I never got to the bottom of. I resorted to drinking cartons of orange and grapefruit juice. When I did find fresh fruit, I ended up paying over two pounds for one, albeit humungous, apple - I kid you not! I was so desperate at that point I didn't care!
Another curiousity is the trend to show cooked dishes in the windows of their restaurants - probably plastic imitations but as they had a glaze over them, it gave the appearance that the dishes had congealed - very unappetising to look at!
So food wise, Japan hasn't made a great impression on me and there hasn't been one thing I have eaten that has made me go "Wow" I'm afraid. But then again, I probably wasn't in the right places with the right people!

Hmmm.......womens fashion in Japan......

I just have to comment on womens fashion here which is bewildering to say the least. It is so diverse but you can also recognise certain 'uniforms' that have been adopted as you're out and about. There is one shopping mall that has 11 floors of women's clothing dedicated, it seems, to helping you dress like your favourite pop star, cartoon character, schoolgirl or shall we say, a bit sluttish? Make that a lot sluttish and it underlines the huge contradictions going on in this country. Especially when you see other women and girls wearing the traditional kimonos.
Another trend across all ages up to a limit of 50 seems to be for wearing woollen black over the knee socks with very high peep toe heels. A huge amount of women are travelling around the metro with 5-6 inch heels on. I was wearing flip flops or birkenstocks and my feet were aching after a couple of hours.
After the age of 50, it appears there is a steady decline towards any old piece of shapeless sack will do attitude. And considering the heat, the women wear a lot of synthetic fibres. I'm going to have to stop staring! The men are dressed so well in comparison!

Kyoto......

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for 1000 years in the days when imperialism and emperors ruled. It's also the manaufacturing hub for silk and is the home of Nintendo's HO.

I got a good feeling about Kyoto soon after getting off the train. It's more personable than Tokyo with a lot less people - population is only 1.5m. Transport wise it only has 2 metro lines - one going north to south and one going west to east. So all the places in between are reached by bus which, on first glance, deserves a medal for it's complexity. Kyoto has some nice temples, palaces and Gion corner where the famous miako or geisha girls used to operate in their heyday. The buildings in this area are very traditional in style and the geisha are still there although they tend not to wear the white make-up these days. It was worth the visit and I'm glad I made the effort.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/JapanKyoto#

Now I know why the Japanese had a TV programme named Endurance......getting to Kyoto

Carrying a 15kg backpack in a 30 degree heat and 74% humidity with the flu is an endurance test. After 1.5 hours of doing so in these conditions, I was starting to give up on the idea of getting to see Kyoto. Especially when I was sent here, there and everywhere at the station by various staff - the golden rule at train stations seems to apply across the world which is to ask enough people until the same line/platform comes up twice or more! The $165 return ticket cost to get to Kyoto by bullet train is a shocker but the Bullet has a top speed of 280 mph and gets you to Kyoto in 2.5 hours, so you get the idea of the distances involved. Based on this challenging start, I am truly hoping Kyoto will be worth the pain.

Tokyo....stimulating with no OFF switch.....

There are 8m people living in Tokyo city. There are over 12m living in the Tokyo state - one tenth of the total population. That's a lot of people to cater for and keep happy, active and interested. I think I now know why the locals in Tokyo are permanently tired - they are bombarded every minute of the day with light, videos, instructions, music, directions and other visual stimulation. You become aware of this constant noise around you and sometimes the decibel levels are immense. Tokyo has its quieter suburbs but parts of Tokyo are absolutely mental with the streets jam packed with people all hours of the day. It's exciting as a visitor but can also be exhausting at times. But Tokyo is extremely safe for women to walk around, even at night. Japan is apparently the 5th safest country in the world today. So it gets a big thumbs up from me on that point, even if there is no OFF switch!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/JapanTokyo#

Oink?!...........

Two people I know have been diagnosed with swine flu and the symptoms mirror my own! I won't know until I get home if it is and I'm not going to raise my hand here as being quarantined in a foreign land is not an option. If I have got swine flu, then I do feel terribly guilty about possibly infecting thousands of people. In my defence, it did come straight after getting very cold whilst skiing so I assumed, and still am assuming, it's a bad cold. But personally, this is where the British bulldog spirit kicks in and as long as I can still function, I'm going to carry on. Anyhow, I think I may have turned a corner with it by now...........

I just want to wee!.....(Or how to complicate a simple process)......(Tokyo, Japan)

Public and hotel loos in Japan are a revelation. They are spotlessly clean which is fantastic. They are also an example of how you can over complicate a simple process. Practically all have a computerised control module attached that allows you to:
Play a sound of running water whilst you go or sometimes a nice tune - which you can adjust the volume up and down on.
In some cases, this facility is set to automatic so when you sit the sound starts, when you raise yourself it stops. Which defeats the objective of disguising when you are going really!
You can press another button and it's a bidet or a further button gives you a bit of a shower on your nether regions. Then if you still have time, you can get a blow dry!
If it wasn't 30 degrees and a humidity factor of nearly 75%, the seat warmer would be super. I have been tempted at times to see how high the temperature goes.
But unless you are a bit strange, like hanging around toilets or have no life, then I can't see and haven't come across anyone so far that wants to spend 20 minutes locked in a loo playing with the system!

There's a mountain round here somewhere.........Mount Fuji

I took a trip to see the famous Mount Fuji and spent the whole day trying to catch a glimpse of the summit through thick mist, rain and fog. It's the middle of Japan's summer and the rainy season was supposed to have finished a month ago, but in these parts, they are having 'unusual weather'. Station 5, which is about 2600 feet up and where the walkers start off to climb the further 1000 was a tourist nightmare and I was eager to leave. Also stayed overnight at Hakone, a tiny local town. It is very green here with thick woodland and it's very pretty but there's not a lot going on. So the weather conditions sparked a decision to bullet train it back to Tokyo as I've located the district where they filmed 'Lost in Translation' which I loved. So one of the girls I met on the trip and I are having a film set moment tonight!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PocketGem/JapanMountFujiAndArea#