I believe that in some parts whirlwinds are known as dancing devils, which sounds very apt to me at the moment; we have seen so much in such a short space of time with Nic that we are all a bit stunned, although it has been fantastic and we shall miss her a lot when she departs tomorrow - such good company to travel with.
We took the train from Chengdu to Kaili as planned, and decided to head to a small village 2 hours north of there called Chong-an, still in Guizhou province. We found a great guesthouse by the river amongst manderin trees, really welcoming run by a a guy who cooked us great food and made a very lethal hooch (in fact 2 kinds - one from his oranges and another that approximates sloe gin) that of course I helped him with. We used the place as a base from which to explore nearby villages of some of China's minority peoples, in particular the Hmong, which was amazingly interesting and a good antidote to the city experiences. We also saw on the river some ancient stone water mills still in operation and used to grind wood to make the stuff that coats incense sticks. Now there's something I hadn't considered before.
Another bus ride from hell (marginally better than the one that got us there as it only almost killed us with dust and dirt, rather than impending vertical descents down mountain-sides) took us into Kaili again which has absolutely no redeeming features, and on to Shenzen on the Hong Kong border via Guangzhou. People go to Shenzen for the shopping, much cheaper than in Hong Kong itself, but as a bit of a shopaphobic myself I found it pretty dire. The 2 expert shoppers I was with reliably inform me that it was indeed a fairly bad example of the art. The experience was broken by a laughingly bad Peking Duck lunch and on the whole I cannot say I shall harbour many longings to return. The train took us on in early evening through New Terrritories to Kowloon, and a short hop in a taxi brought us to the fabulous Intercontinental Grand Stanford where courtesy of Nic we are again living the high life. Hurrah, especially for the room view straight across Victoria Harbour!
Our first full day in Hong Kong was spend mostly exploring the local area, and in my case gawping at all the shiny things. Its a kind of China Lite, or England Weird depending on where you're coming from: after so long in China it was a really odd feeling to see the same kind of place with all the immediately visible pollution removed, no honking of horns or voluminous gobs of spit everywhere, London busses and signals on the left-side roads and an almost universally spoken and written English language. Cake shops abound much to mine and Nic's pleasure, and on the whole it has been an absolute breeze to get anything done. Being the awkward guy that I am however, I must say that I am already missing the all-China vibe of before and the problem-solving opportunities presented therein. We took a bus up Hong Kong Peak and admired the view, and came down again by a fernicular-like tram. We shopped. We plotted. We admired colonial stuff.
Mostly we plotted our trip to Macau, which we managed yesterday. It was a very good place for a day trip, an unusual fusion of Portugese and Chinese cultures with a big dose of laid-back. I really loved visiting for the day and can find nothing to criticise, certainly the people were friendly and the old-world mediterranean feel of the place was really great, although I am surrised that one day felt like enough: we had previously considered staying there for a week or so but I don't really want to - one day was enough for me.
Nic goes back tomorrow at a ridiculous hour in the morning, which will at least ensure that we get to see most of the day. Maybe we shall go to Lamma Island for a few days for some peace and quiet...
Christmas is frighteningly close, and I know that this will be a vulnerable time for us. The trip continues to be amazing and we don't want to come in yet, but Christmas day will take some planning as we miss you all so much and need some hearty distractions. Suggestions on an (electronic) postcard please.