We are finally in China!

We are currently in Yangshuo and are enjoying this part of China very much. The Chinese government has realized the value of Yangshuo and has decided that it should be clean. It is nothing like last year, there are many people picking up trash and it is spotless. There are also many many government officials. They walk into shops and make owners take down certain signs and anything that is unkempt warrants their prompt action to make the locals fix it. It is very nice and very different from last year. My how much things can change...We have explored several areas already and have even enjoyed talking politics with some of the locals. The overwhelming anti-bush sentiment is everywhere. Even on their television, there are broadcasts that are painfully one sided. I think we would find humor in it back home, if nothing else it would be offer some perplexing insight into what others are being told about the West. However, it is refreshing that the Chinese here do not have a problem differentiating people from governments. This is something that shows a very advanced way of thinking and is also very welcoming. Telling people we are from Canada or Australia b/c of an uncomfortable context gets old after awhile.

That being said I'd like to talk about our last days in Kuala Lampur. We had a simply wonderful experience with our new friend Arun. We met him in Singapore b/c he travels there each week for work. He invited us to meet up with him in KL sometime on the weekend. That's his home town and boy oh boy were we in for a treat! We gave him a call and he came and met us on the street where we were staying. He told me to wait by a bus stop that we both knew the whereabouts of. I did and it was so funny, he was in his car so he sent his son to fetch me. I've had many people come up to me as we've travelled so another one didn't really surprise me and I usually engage them in some sort of whimsical manner. In this case I had a small Indian boy approach me with his hands over his mouth and eyes as big as moon pies. He tried talking through his hands but I couldn't really understand him. I just put my hand on his head and rubbed his hair in a mess and smiled. He giggled and ran away a bit and then came back while I turned around to look for Arun. This time he said as best he could, "Arun Chandra is my Father." !!! I was so excited I laughed and put my hands on his shoulders and said "Wonderful! Let's go find him." So he took my hand and we made our way behind a bus to Arun's car where he and his daughter were waiting for us. We exchanged greetings and then headed to our hostel so we could pick up Tara. Once we had her we all piled in the car and headed off through the city. We got the extended tour and saw many parts that we would otherwise have missed. We visited the city centers, a Chinese temple, and best of all Arun gave us pointers on how to cheaply travel to and from the airport via express bus! Finally we got to visit Arun's home and meet his wonderful family! He is financially savvy and we shared many thoughts on the subject of true ownership vs working for the banks. At his home we sat down and had some of the best chai tea we'd ever tasted...a whole pitcher to be exact =p His wife also showed us how to make some traditional Indian foods. They are simple with full flavors! We throughly enjoyed ourselves. After that we went our separate ways for a few hours so Tara and I could pack our things and get ready for our departure the following morning. We met up again for supper and we had a wonderful feast! Arun knew the best local restaurant in the city. He told us that it was one of a kind and every weekend he and his family went there. The pictures say it all so check 'em out!

http://picasaweb.google.com/WorldRamblers/KualaLumpur?authkey=yrf-WjbUtlo

So off we headed to the Philippines...you remember our story from Manila right?! Well we finished off the Philippines in the great town of Coron. We stayed at a nice place called Sea Dive. The rooms were super cheap - 500 Philippine Pesos (44 pesos to the dollar) for the both of us and the food was delicious and cheap as well. I did some massive diving with three dive masters and once again pushed the limits of my diving with a series of 4 wreck dives. The most technical and by far the one that I had to have a lot of encouragement to do was the 40m penetration dive. That's right, we were down 40m before we entered the ship. Not only did we enter it, but we swam through THE ENTIRE length of its insides. Through the engine rooms, down hallways, into the mess hall, up into cargo holds, and finally onto the captains deck. The dive was so deep we had to do insane deco (decompression) stops on the way up. We only had 20 minutes of bottom time and it was all inside the ship (the dive was 46 mins total). The silt was super fine so buoyancy had to be perfect otherwise you kicked up a mess for the diver behind you. I experienced sublime when I looked out a port window in the kitchen. Being surrounded in total darkness with only a spot of ocean light coming through a surface that is 120 feet away causes a serious contemplation of ones current location. Even the subtle familiarity of the sea is shut out as no sounds make it past the hull. Everything is still, dark and very, very deep.

We left the Philippines in good spirits. We met several new people and made some great friends. One of the Dive Masters even helped me with some advice on taking better underwater photos! We headed off to Macau, which was good fun. It's basically the Chinese version of Las Vegas but, by our standards falls very very short =( We went into the casinos to watch and we can assure you that there is nothing reassuring about playing cards with a dealer who can't speak English. We concluded that this was strictly a place for Asian's to visit. However, once Singapore gets it's casinos up and running I think Macau is going to be in trouble. There are many many more people who speak English in Singapore and that could be quite a draw for Westerner's .
Macau Album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/WorldRamblers/Macau?authkey=147acY92KnM



After Macau we caught a ferry to Hong Kong and had a great time checking out the city. We actually witnessed a building catch on fire. We came down the stairs after checking out a hostel (more on that later) and were greeted by frantic Chinese men running towards us. Well, they were going for the fire reel that was just behind where we had stepped. We got out of the way and then wandered outside to see what was going on. There were two stories (outside only) burning on a building that was probably 100 stories high. I tell you, I have never seen so many people working against one another. This scene makes Corporate America look like a well oiled machine. One man pulling the hose off the reel, the next yanking it around a corner so hard the man pulling it from the reel almost loses his fingers. There were ladies yanking on the end of the hose causing a severe kink and finally, when all was said and done the hose was about 50ft too short >< We got the heck out of there and booked it down to another building!! There were no alarms or anything, just frantic people and a hungry fire. Which, about the hostels. Imagine a closet with a bed in it and you have the size about right. They don't have big rooms, everything is super small. Kinda like Fender's place in Futurama...minus the closet of course. The highlight of Hong Kong was our trip to Disneyland!!! In case you are wondering, yes, Minnie and Mickey Mouse speak Chinese and it was quite funny to hear all narration in Chinese and then hear the songs sung in English. I took lots of video and will be compiling it so you can get an idea of what we saw. The shows were well done and we throughly enjoyed them. Check out the Album
Hong Kong:
http://picasaweb.google.com/WorldRamblers/HongKong?authkey=CDLojRzEoOM


*WHEW* This is a long one! We are now happily situated in Yangshuo, China. We journeyed up from Hong Kong via train and Bus and will be here for several more days. Lot's of climbing, hiking, bike riding, caving and rafting to do! The countryside is a must see and this sleepy little town is slowly becoming a legend. We both highly recommend it as the places to stay are cheap (15 USD/night for a double) and very nice. It has lost none of it's beauty or charm.
Yangshuo:

http://picasaweb.google.com/WorldRamblers/YangshuoChina?authkey=9lC2YO4w7Vo


Well that sets us square and brings everything to date!

We hope everyone back home is having a lovely time. We've missed seeing the leaves change colors and hope everyone is enjoying their parts (and seasons) of the world...where ever that may be!

Jonathan and Tara