Monday, June 18, 2018

Trans Siberian - Ekaterinburg to Moscow

Last leg of the train journey, this time it would be detox train not vodka train.
We arrived at the station in time for lunch and to stock up on the usual provisions. The final leg was 30hrs to Moscow, this sounded like a walk on the park compared to our previous trip.

Brett aka Brettov and Mish aka Miska had found some fresh sandwiches which looked ok while Rikki and I were guarding the luggage. Following their instructions we managed to walk straight past the shop that sold them so we went exploring. We could find all kinds of deep fried heavy food but no sandwiches. Eventually we saw a door to a building that said open 11am - 9am. Thinking this could be a little convenience store we went inside. All that was on the other side was a grey stairwell, feeling adventurous we decided to look further. After climbing up the first set of stairs Rikki jokingly said "I think this could be a knock shop". One set of stairs later we see a picture on the wall with the silhouette of sexy woman. Things were starting to look interesting so we thought we'd go inside to check it out. It turns out that the train station had an adult shop with sex toys and a gaming cafe hidden away. Rikki and I had a quick look around laughing like school kids who saw a dildo for the first time before saying goodbye to the old Russian lady behind the counter. In the end I settled for Burger King again, unfortunately a train diet is not a good diet.

The trip itself was fairly uneventful, we did our best to sleep through most of it. Unfortunately the big Russian guy in our cabin had other ideas as he could have been a snoring world champion. Brettov and Miska who were in the cabin next door could hear him through the wall.

By now we're just hanging for Moscow, none of us have been able to do washing since our first day in Mongolia. Most of us have run out of clean clothes especially underwear, and been another two days without a shower...we are truly filthy humans. On the plus side I have caught up on my blog. Bring on Moscow 😳

Ekaterinburg - we're at the World Cup baby!

After 50 plus hours without a shower and living in our own squalor Ekaterinburg was a beautiful site. As we got off the train we learned that Uruguay had beaten Egypt with a late goal in the match that had just finished and fans were everywhere showing their colours. For the first time it felt like we were in the World Cup host country. Due to a shortage in accommodation we were put up in the office of the tour contractor. It was a small home office with upstairs living quarters and a fold out couch. Even though it was in an old dilapidated soviet era apartment block, everything inside was nice and modern.

Once everyone showered and changed out of their filthy cloths we found a place to watch the second half of Spain vs Portugal. About 1km away there was an English pub filled with locals, Egyptians and Uruguayans. They didn't have any spare tables and just as the door girl was about to make us a reservation at a nearby place the table in front of their biggest screen became free...score! We ordered some food, I tried beef tongue for the first time and it was surprisingly nice. The game was a cracker and ended 3-3. After that it was time to head home and get some sleep before our Romanov Monastery tour at nine the next morning. 

Our city guide Constantine was friendly guy and a passionate historian, but not in a obsessive geeky way. He explained that the tourist line concept that we saw in Irkutsk originated in Ekaterinburg and he volunteered to paint the lines. We visited the main local sites relating to Russian revolution including where they Tsar and his family were executed and their grave site which still remains surprisingly inconspicuous. Nearby was a Russian orthodox monastery at the site where the bodies were first dumped after the clothes were burnt and the remains disfigured with acid. They were subsequently moved to the grave site because the red army feared they would be discovered by those opposing the revolution. It was fascinating to be standing on this tiny spec of earth that was home to such an historical and violent act 100 years ago that still affects the world to this day.

Now that the history lesson was over it was time for the equally important part of the day, Australia vs France. We got to the fan fest site a couple of hours before the game. Initially it was fairly quiet, probably due to the weather which was cold and rainy but eventually people started to fill in. There was plenty of entertainment on stage with local dancers and singers doing Eurovision style performances. 

Just before kick off the  sun came out and we met some other Aussie and French fans. Australia played their hearts out and were unlucky not to get a draw against the best side in the world on paper. Even though the final score was 2-1 to France there wouldn't have been too many Aussie who weren't proud. There were a few Russian cameras pointed to us waiting for our reaction if Australia scored and when we equalised at 1-1 I don't think we disappointed. We had quite a few requests for pics with the locals, some asking us where we were from, not recognising the green and gold. 

After the game we decided to watch the other matches at a pub so we tried to figure out how to get back to the city centre. One of the fan fest volunteers called Natasha helped us get back to the city on the tram and then decided she would come out drinking with us. To be honest I was a little puzzled when she got off the tram with us but it looks like we had adopted a new friend. She took us to a local restaurant for some food and then another bar for some more drinks. I guess she figured it's hard to get sacked when you're only a volunteer.

But the end of the night we stumbled back to the apartment via Burger King. Rikki somehow managed to place her order in Cyrillic, while pissed using the automatic ordering screens. Awesome effort. The rest of us stood at the counter playing charades with the staff like a bunch of drunken idiots. 

Next day back on the train for the final leg to Moscow, thanks for the memories Ekaterinburg!

Trans Siberian - Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg (50hrs... f**k!)

The morning of our mega train journey we headed to the supermarket and loaded up on provisions. After the first stint we figured we had the amount of vodka about right but had under-catered on the food. So with one bottle each and a lot more food we headed to the station.

Unfortunately this was not the party train we had first experienced. To say that we were the black sheep of our carriage would be an understatement. Our neighbours didn't really appreciate our taste in music, singing ability or the fact we were playing charades and having a good time. After multiple requests to be quiet we decided it was time to go to sleep even though it was only still 10pm and daylight. At least it was just us 3 in the cabin for the first night. 

The following day was pretty much a repeat of the first. We copped a few scowls but just kept smiling back and saying hello which seemed to be working with our stewardess, if not all our fellow passengers. After day two we realised that cabin fever had set in and we'd be useless in prison. Gina in particular was suffering from limited cigarette breaks and going cold turkey on her Diet Coke addiction.

Early in the morning of the 3rd day we were joined in the cabin by an odd little Russian guy. He didn't speak any English and despite the obvious, that our Russian was equally non-existent, that didn't stop him trying to talk to us. It also seemed like he was drinking a cup of tea every 30mins. That probably explains why he had to get down from the top bunk just as regularly to use the toilet. He eventually left us in a little town called Perm just before Ekaterinburg. A few hours later we arrived in Ekaterinburg at 10pm and glad to be off that bloody train. We even got a laugh and a smile from our grumpy old stewardess. Maybe she was just happy to the back of us.

Irkutsk, Siberia

Our accommodation in Listvyanka looked like a little Swiss chalet, the whole town is beautiful. It's a little tourist / fishing village on the shore of Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world. Surrounded by snow covered mountains on the far side it's still warm enough to for t-shirt and shorts on a summer's day.

By chance there was a lovely group of French people from our train carriage staying in the chalet behind us as well as a very well spoken Australian woman who's husband and son were going to the World Cup. One of the French guys was unmissable due to his big portly belly and the fact he looked like 'Doc' from Back To The Future.

We put our belongings away and then went in search for somewhere to have a sunset beer. We found a place near the fish market right on the lake which sold local brews and played Russian pop music to watch the sun go down. A group of middle aged Russian women were drinking and and dancing the terrace they kept gesturing for us to join in. Finally one of them grabbed my hand and dragged me up, we did this weird combination of the waltz, tango and slow dancing. It was fun but slightly scary at the same time. My friends thought it was fucking hilarious and were pissing themselves especially every time she pulled me in close to her big Russian boobs. Luckily she let me get away with just the one dance, so we finished our beers and left as my new Russian cougar friend blew me a kiss on the way out. After we headed back along the lake to a local restaurant for dinner before bed.

The next morning we walked along the lake the other way as we heard there was a lookout. We found the entrance unmanned so we just walked up the wooden path. It was mini botanical gardens with names of all the trees posted at the base. It felt very much like spring as there were literally birds and bees everywhere. We got some great views over the lake to the mountains and it was a beautiful walk through the forest. 

About half way down last night's dinner started creeping up on me and I was in sudden need of a toilet. We had come about 3kms from our guesthouse and the last 2.5kms there was pretty much nothing so going back wasn't really an option. Only problem was we were coming up to a bend and we couldn't see if there was anything the other side either. There was a museum close by but that had a few coach loads of Chinese tourists visiting and a line for the toilet outside the door, plus the reception lady wanted full museum entry fee of about $8AUD. After a few unhelpful jokes about "does a bear shit in the woods" we decided to take our chances and keep walking around the corner. Luckily about 500m down the road there was a little market and public toilet which only cost 25rub, about 50c. I paid my money, was given a roll of toilet paper by the old Russian lady and never in my life have I been so happy to see a squatter. In fact I hadn't even used one since just after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Feeling a lot better and a little lighter we sat down in the sun for a plastic bottle of home brew. I don't what the % was but it felt like good strong Russian beer. After downing a 1L bottle each we walked back to the guesthouse and bumped into our train cabin mate Gaby and one of the Uruguayans. By this stage the beer had gone right though us so we said a quick hi & bye and kept going till we found a restaurant to borrow the bathroom.

For dinner we just grabbed a meal from the restaurant at the front of the guesthouse I had the Russian version of ceviche, the local raw fish with vinegar, onion and lemon juice. It tasted amazing, it literally melted in my mouth. Just another of the brilliant local dishes I've been lucky enough to try on this trip. Tomorrow we head back to Irkutsk for a night and then on to Ekaterinburg 

After my short time in Russia I've learnt that many stereotypes seem to be true: 
- many of the woman are gorgeous, but have resting bitch face
- the men are huge, some look like they could easily take down a bear
- there's a lot of athletic wear, think Lonsdale, Tap Out etc
- they wear it badly, pants pulled up too high with tops tucked in and plenty of bling
- the elderly look the've had really hard lives (I'm sure many have)

Having said that we came across a few really friendly happy people, but unlike the previous few countries they were harder to find.

Lake Baikal, Listvyanka

Our accommodation in Listvyanka looked like a little Swiss chalet, the whole town is beautiful. It's a little tourist / fishing village on the shore of Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world. Surrounded by snow covered mountains on the far side it's still warm enough to for t-shirt and shorts on a summer's day.

By chance there was a lovely group of French people from our train carriage staying in the chalet behind us as well as a very well spoken Australian woman who's husband and son were going to the World Cup. One of the French guys was unmissable due to his big portly belly and the fact he looked like 'Doc' from Back To The Future.

We put our belongings away and then went in search for somewhere to have a sunset beer. We found a place near the fish market right on the lake which sold local brews and played Russian pop music to watch the sun go down. A group of middle aged Russian women were drinking and and dancing the terrace they kept gesturing for us to join in. Finally one of them grabbed my hand and dragged me up, we did this weird combination of the waltz, tango and slow dancing. It was fun but slightly scary at the same time. My friends thought it was fucking hilarious and were pissing themselves especially every time she pulled me in close to her big Russian boobs. Luckily she let me get away with just the one dance, so we finished our beers and left as my new Russian cougar friend blew me a kiss on the way out. After we headed back along the lake to a local restaurant for dinner before bed.

The next morning we walked along the lake the other way as we heard there was a lookout. We found the entrance unmanned so we just walked up the wooden path. It was mini botanical gardens with names of all the trees posted at the base. It felt very much like spring as there were literally birds and bees everywhere. We got some great views over the lake to the mountains and it was a beautiful walk through the forest. 

About half way down last night's dinner started creeping up on me and I was in sudden need of a toilet. We had come about 3kms from our guesthouse and the last 2.5kms there was pretty much nothing so going back wasn't really an option. Only problem was we were coming up to a bend and we couldn't see if there was anything the other side either. There was a museum close by but that had a few coach loads of Chinese tourists visiting and a line for the toilet outside the door, plus the reception lady wanted full museum entry fee of about $8AUD. After a few unhelpful jokes about "does a bear shit in the woods" we decided to take our chances and keep walking around the corner. Luckily about 500m down the road there was a little market and public toilet which only cost 25rub, about 50c. I paid my money, was given a roll of toilet paper by the old Russian lady and never in my life have I been so happy to see a squatter. In fact I hadn't even used one since just after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Feeling a lot better and a little lighter we sat down in the sun for a plastic bottle of home brew. I don't what the % was but it felt like good strong Russian beer. After downing a 1L bottle each we walked back to the guesthouse and bumped into our train cabin mate Gaby and one of the Uruguayans. By this stage the beer had gone right though us so we said a quick hi & bye and kept going till we found a restaurant to borrow the bathroom.

For dinner we just grabbed a meal from the restaurant at the front of the guesthouse I had the Russian version of ceviche, the local raw fish with vinegar, onion and lemon juice. It tasted amazing, it literally melted in my mouth. Just another of the brilliant local dishes I've been lucky enough to try on this trip. Tomorrow we head back to Irkutsk for a night and then on to Ekaterinburg 

After my short time in Russia I've learnt that many stereotypes seem to be true: 
- many of the woman are gorgeous, but have resting bitch face
- the men are huge, some look like they could easily take down a bear
- there's a lot of athletic wear, think Lonsdale, Tap Out etc
- they wear it badly, pants pulled up too high with tops tucked in and plenty of bling
- the elderly look the've had really hard lives (I'm sure many have)

Having said that we came across a few really friendly happy people, but unlike the previous few countries they were harder to find.

Trans Siberian - Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk

The next morning we got picked up after breakfast and headed back to Ulaanbaatar for our first leg of the train. We stocked up supplies, mainly vodka and mixers. I was pretty impressed to find out you can buy 6 packs of 3L plastic beer bottles from the supermarket in Mongolia. 

We arrived at the train station pretty excited and waited for our train to arrive. Once it rolled in we got to our cabin, settled in and the hoped that it would just be Rikki, Gina and myself. Brett & Mish had a full second class cabin to their own. Things were looking good with a few minutes to go until we saw a guy with a backpack sprinting down the platform. It turned out we were getting a room mate. He was a cool Argentinian guy called Gaby, who was also headed to the World Cup so that was fine. 

He said he met some other Uruguayans who were also travelling to the World Cup and an Aussie, they we were all in another room. Soon one of the Uruguayans turned up at our door pretty tipsy. He said the stewardess in his carriage, Marina had told them to get rid of their vodka. They had sculled half and put the rest in juice bottles. Before long everyone had come down to our room and we were drinking and carrying on. Our stewardess, Svetlana was try to get us to be quiet but she didn't have too much luck. The South American boys were terrorising the stewardesses a little but you could tell they enjoyed the attention. We switched between rooms, drank and chatted most of the night, we probably polished off about a bottle of vodka each.

Not long after going to bed I woke up to chaos all around me, immigration had boarded the train and were checking everyone's credentials. They made me get down from my top bunk, half asleep and half drunk. There were 2 men and a woman who all seemed to be from different agencies. All three were asking me to do different things at the same time oblivious to the fact that I can only complete one task at a time even when I'm alert and sober. I found my passport, immigration card and visa which I handed to the the woman who was shouting "look at me, look at me" even though I thought I was. There was a tall skinny guy in a stereotypical Russian dark green military uniform who seemed the most reasonable out of all. He wanted me to right down my occupation plus the names, D.O.B's and occupations of my parents. I almost told him I was unemployed without thinking until Rikki quickly "reminded" me that I still had a job. She had told them my occupation whilst they were trying to wake me. The other guy who was wearing a camouflage army uniform wanted me to get my back pack down so he could look inside. To say I was confused as fuck would have been an understatement. Eventually I was able to make all three happy and they moved on to the next carriage. Welcome to Mother Russia.

The great thing, and sometimes not so great thing about the vodka here is that it doesn't leave you feeling too dusty. I woke up with a slight headache but I think that was mainly due to the sangria I drank with the South American boys. A couple of Panadol and few more hours sleep and it was if I had never drank a drop. 

Most of us got off that day at Irkutsk, a university town which is the unofficial capital of Siberia. We meet out guide Zenia and headed out to our next stop Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Bikail.

Ger time baby

After one night in the capital we headed out the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park for our 2 night ger stay. We had a couple of planned stops along the way with our guide Seena and driver Ishwa. First stop was the peace memorial overlooking the city, commemorating the contribution the Mongolians made to the WWII allied war effort. We then went and saw the Chinggis Kahn museum and statue which is 40m tall and the largest horse statue in the world. I held a hunting eagle which seemed huge even though it was a 4yo juvenile. It certainly gave the arms a good work out which made think that last eagle huntriss, for those that have seen the Nat Geo doco, is not someone to be messed with.  

After learning about the Mongolian version of Chinggis Kahn's exploits, which differs slightly from the western one (essentially he was a far better bloke and not just a rampaging warlord), we  drove to the ger camp inside the national park. None of us really knew what to expect but we were all blown away by the beauty of the place. Surrounded by mountains, forests and rolling plains it looked like something out of a movie scene. We saw yaks, wild horses, cattle, groundhogs, eagles and other birds of prey.

Our ger was simple with a coal & wood burner for heating and some basic wooden furniture. It sat on a concrete slab and although they have been modernised a little the basic construction is still like the traditionally gers from 100's of years ago. We chucked our packs inside and then went to the restaurant for lunch. The food was amazing, a fresh salad followed by mutton & spring onion soup then just about the nicest beef I've ever tasted. Slow cooked and so tender it just fell apart. Then right in the middle of my foodgasm Brett starts laughing and points to the door of the restaurant. I look up to see a little Mongolian boy standing on top of the restaurant stairs with his pants down pissing all over the porch. Moment of food bliss over. This was not the last time I witnessed this, apparently when you're a young Mongolian boy the world is your toilet!

In the afternoon Seena gave us guided tour of a nearby Buddhist temple. We learnt about the 108 levels of sin and that one must do 108 good deeds to cleanse them. The Mongols had adopted a more liberal form of Buddhism after they realised that the more traditional form promoted by the Chinese was being used against them. To counter this the were allowed to marry, engage in commerce and have political opinions. This prevented population decline, poverty and blind political compliance.

That night after dinner we played Heads Up (an app like charades) on the restaurant porch and drank dangerously cheap and delicious local vodka. At this time of year it's daylight until 9pm and by midnight the stars light up the the sky.

After breakfast the following day we hiked up a nearby mountain which had some amazing views over the surrounding valleys. We saw plenty more eagles and got some great scenery  pics.

That afternoon we had organised to go horse riding, and although we were warned that they were semi-wild I still had visions of Darryl Braithwaite running through my head. I found out soon enough that the reality was somewhat different. The horses seemed a bit flighty but having worked race horses before I was used to this and wasn't too concerned. After our guide went through the basic controls for a semi-wild Mongolian horse: go, stop, left and right we set off with the guide and her assistant, a young boy about 12yo.

About 10 minutes into the ride some bad weather rolled in and and the wind started to gust, then there was a clap of thunder. Horses, let alone highly strung horses don't like these things. Brett's horse starting bucking and the other horses lost their formation and tried to huddle together. To make matters worse we were crossing a road to a ger camp which had cars entering and exiting. The stupid drivers didn't keep their distance so we had a perfect storm (pun intended). The guide gets off to help Brett then all hell breaks loose. The horses are loosing their shit, the guide is screaming, her young helper is screaming and let's go of his horse. I try to take mine away from the chaos but when I steer it around and it can see what's going on it just tosses me off and bolts. After that everyone who isn't already on the ground dismounts and we head back to the camp in the driving rain. The horseman kindly ask if we'd like to go again once the weather passes but we politely decline. I think they we pissed at not getting paid but I was happy I could walk away with only some swelling, bruising and a slight dent to my pride.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Destination Mongolia

We flew into Ulaanbaatar and headed to our hostel, in an old soviet era apartment building. The manager a friendly young guy called Anan, warned to careful of pick-pockets but assured us more violent types of robbery were extremely rare due to the harsh penalties. We had a quick scrub and headed out to an Irish Bar for lunch. The food was delicious and the local beer even better. Later that night after an afternoon siesta we decided to check out the night life. We did a mini pub crawl, saw a cover band and tasted more local brews, all cheap and delicious. 

Some interesting things you may not know or expect about Mongolia:

1.  The people are very stylish - after witnessing some questionable fashion trends in China not least of all the umbrella hat I was surprised to see how well the Mongolians dressed. They looked more like people from a European city than the most sparsely populated country on earth.

2. Chicks love beer - during our night out we saw as many, if not more Mongolian young women with a pint in their hand as men. I have the feeling most could easily out drink me.

3. Mongolia was part of the allied war effort in WWII - they donated 50 tanks to the Russians, only one survived and was brought back from Berlin to be displayed near the peace monument.

4. It's Chinggis not Genghis - Genghis was the name adopted by dumbass round eyes who first went to Mongolia because they couldn't pronounce Chinggis correctly.

5. The former national wrestling coach is famous - after winning their first 2 gold medals in enemy territory at the Beijing Olympics the expectations were high for London. In a bronze medal match the Mongolian competitor starting celebrating before the bell. He was deducted a point causing him to controversially loose the match. Furious at the decision the coach stormed into the arena, stripped down to his undies and chucked a massive tantrum. There are now Mongolian memes signifying "that's bullshit" with a pic the coach in his undies .

6. Without Mongolia Jurrassic Park would be even more unrealistic - the Gobi Desert is where they found the first fossilised dinosaur egg with a fully formed embryo inside.

7. Security guards sleep in gers on top of semi-constructed buildings - due to the extreme cold the window for construction is only about 3 months. For the other nine months some developers pay for security guards to mind the buildings. They sleep on the roof of these buildings in traditional Mongolian huts used by the semi-nomadic population called gers.

8. The Mongols have a saying - it was the Chinese who built the Great Wall but it was us who made them build it. Something for the Mexicans to think about if Trump ever gets his way.

Friday, June 8, 2018

Beijing Part II - the time is Mao

Our second full day in Beijing was hot and humid, perfect weather to sweat out our first hangover of the trip. For most of us it was also our first AFD (alcohol free day). How times have changed. I’ve slowed down since the last 2 worlds cup trips. 

With an early flight to Mongolia the next morning there was only one thing to do and that was go into full tourist mode, so we grabbed our cameras and headed to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was about 45mins walk from the hotel so luckily we got a tip from a random local girl to bring our passports or we would have been well pissed when we arrived at the security check point. At first I thought she was being friendly and wanting to practise her English until she offered us a "free" tour of a Chinese art exhibition. Funnily enough we got the same offer from another lady along the way who was far less gracious when we politely said no thanks. 

The crowds weren't too bad, probably because only stupid people would choose to walk around massive grey concrete buildings and plazas in that kind of heat. The size of Tianemen Square and the surrounding buildings is certainly impressive. We didn't pay the extra to see the inner circle of the Forbidden City so we just walked around the outer circle. It felt a bit tacky with all the souvenir shops, a basketball court and coach loads of tourists.

After 15kms of walking around Beijing's concrete jungle we arrived back at the hotel only to be told we couldn't use the pool without having a bathing cap. Silly me, I usually always pack my swimming training gear when I go on holiday! I think two days in Beijing is plenty, it doesn't have a lot of character and more time would be a waste. Next stop Mongolia 🇲🇳 

Monday, June 4, 2018

Beijing part I

Left Hong Kong on what we thought would be a pretty uneventful day, only to be greeted by a gaggle of snap happy Asian teenagers at Hong Kong international airport. Apparently the guy standing next to me was a famous k-pop singer. Whilst I did my best Kanye West impression and pushed through the crowd he chickened out and headed for another door with the help of security. Looks like I almost found my 15mins of fame.

Landed in Beijing and even though I didn’t really know what to expect this wasn’t it. It’s a big bland city, the buildings have no character and seem to be built to the bare minimum. Despite that the people seem friendlier than I expected and the language barrier wasn’t so difficult. Most of the hospitality staff know some very basic English and with a bit of pointing you can get by. So far I’ve still only learnt hello, please and thank you 🙏.

After some negotiating with our crazy driver driver Mr Gao who spent more time in the emergency lane and the wrong side of the road than doing the speed limit we arrived at the hotel and caught up with Brett, Mish & Gina. It was great to finally get the crew all together so after a few local beers we headed out for dinner. For some reason they always grab the English menus when we walk into a restaurant, it’s almost as if we stick out like 4 gringos and a Mexican.

The next day it we met our new contact Mr Gao who took us to the Great Wall. The Wall was amazing and we were lucky enough to get great weather and hardly any tourists. I went full Asian and was snapping away like a teenage girl with her first selfie stick. After walking up a decent hunger and giving our calves a good workout it was dumpling time. The first place we tried was pretty average but then we stumbled on food street. I had my first scorpion skewer which had as much flavour as deep fried cardboard.

Back to the hotel for a quick scrub and out to a funky little craft beer bar which had an awesome old school vibe and jazz remixes of some classic tunes. 3 pints later we went exploring and found a little creatures brewery...wtf? A few more beers while we played connect 4 and UNO and it was time to head back to our comfy beds and enjoy our second last night of 5 star luxury for a while.

In a massive boring city we managed to have the best day of the trip so far, so with some dumb luck and a couple of hot tips Beijing can be awesome but I feel it could have just as easily gone the other way.

First Stop Hong Kong

Nothing like a 7hr midnight flight filled with turbulence to leave you feeling in tip top shape to make most of your one day in a new city. Luckily our hotel lift was broken so we were able shake off our fatigue by lugging our luggage up 10 flights of stairs. Rikki was very un lady like and didn’t offer to carry mine. After a little disco nap and a refresh it was time to hit the streets. Our hotel was in the market district where the roads are shut for the entertainers and “food” venders. After sampling a skewer of deep fried something, possibly cuttlefish but I can’t be sure we jumped on the subway and headed down to the harbour. The city lights were definitely worth a look and after a few too many selfies we grabbed a couple of roads and bought a ticket for the symphony of lights ferry ride. The ferry takes you round the harbour and finishes by mooring up so you can enjoy the 15min nightly lazer show while they drop some classic dance over the speakers. By now there was only one thing left to do and that was get our dim sum on. We’d been given a hot tip by our mate at the hotel reception and after walking lost for an hour, mainly because I was trying to be too clever with my directions we stumbled upon dumpling nirvana. This place had been rated in the top one 101 places to eat in multiple years including by Newsweek. They also have a clever scam where you write down your order whilst you wait outside hungry staring through the window like an underfed puppy. By the time the food started coming we realised we had gone a bit overboard with the pre-order but at least we had breakky sorted. Day 1 done and dusted feeling happy full and looking for to seeing more of this awesome city.