Bob says: The main attractions around Mui Ne, top - surfing the red sand dunes, centre - red canyon, bottom - the beautiful white sand dunes, like being in the middle of the sahara. No camels though.
Bob says: Don't panic. We have not had accidents that have rendered our legs useless, needing the aid of wheelchairs. These are the tuk tuk carriages. One of our cyclists took the photo. Hue did have an interesting historic walled citadel, sadly it was not interesting enough to justify the extortionate entrance fee.
Ruth says: After our travels through China and Kyrgyzstan I was dying for a beach, so after a day in Hanoi we booked a boat trip out to Halong bay. It was a bit like Yangshou in China, but at sea, and the added advantage of fruit sellers coming right up to our big boat.
Bob says: A mammoth overland trip from china to vietnam, 5hrs on a bus from dali back to kunming, overnight sleeper bus to the border with beds made for midgets, walk over the border and get a motorbike taxi(the only way to travel) to the train station then 12 hrs to Hanoi. Cold beer and great views on the train so not all bad.
Bob says: Chinese is such an indecipherable language that even ye chinese struggle. Certainly the beautiful yorkshire lilt does not lend itself to to the rather abrasive chinese pronunciations. Almost as difficult to work out is Chinglish, some of the best courtesey of our guide book are, 'Question Authority' 'Safety needing attention' 'Pay attention to civilisation' and the beautifully cryptic 'Please don't take the odds and ends put into the nightstool' meaning, obviously, don't stuff things down the toilet. My personal favourite(see above) was displayed all over Hua Shan mountain. Actually, whether this is chinglish or not could be debated, the views were exceptional up there and some sort of relief could be tempting to the most avid rambler?
Food, eating in china is a gastronomic experience not to be missed. A few beautiful peking ducks put paid to the Kyrgyz weight loss programme in a matter of days. Imagine the number of dishes available on ye average chinese takeaway menu and times by a thousand, throw in a few surprises, dog, frog, turtle and you have pretty much got it. What adds to the experience is the way the chinese eat, burp, slurp, drink soup, lick plates, smoke constantly, play drinking games and pretty much forget all the table manners yer mam taught yer. Brilliant! And if yer fancy hawking a globule, don't worry there's a bin next to the table to expend it (an old chinese proverb states 'Better out than in'). If yer table does not resemble a chimps tea party at the end then you've not done it right.
Ruth says: Just in case that wasn't all disgusting enough, and it it really is disgusting (we looked like the slowest, neatest eaters in China), there are a few other habits which are just gross. It took us a while to work out quite how the children were potty trained, as none of the babies wear nappies and they have trousers with huge splits in them from front to back. We soon witnessed exactly what was done, when a child on the bus needed the loo, their parents just held them out over the floor of the bus to wee. Lovely. This is also done on restaurant floors! When the child needs a poo, the parents very consideratley put newspaper down on the floor first. Nice!
The spitting is also at a level that i have never before witnessed. It really is hard to imagine how much people hawk and spit in China unless you have been there. It happens at least every 5 seconds, and everyone does it.
The last thing on my disgusting register is the toilets. They stink all over china,and the public toilets are just squatters with either no walls or just waist high walls between them, and definately no doors. All the better for chatting to your neighbour. They certainly take getting used to.
Bob says: The wife exagerates a bit. And as for the toilets, there are no cubicles to facilitate easy conversation, obvious!
Bob says: The hair salon was yet another example of my fame in China. Where ever I go people want pictures, they stare, they point at this yorkshire superstar! Quite what I am famous for is another question, maybe my Salendine Nook High School Javalin record is regarded highly throughout China? Anyway, they insisited on the side parting which I feel is a good look for a superstar. During the washing and cutting surrounded by an expectant crowd, including the girl at the front of the picture who's first question after staring at me for a good 10 minutes was 'Are you married ' Ruth was asked whether her hair was 'made in america' astonished looks all round when she informed them it was all her's.
Ruth says: The market in Wuhan was quite astounding. There were bowls of frogs and snakes ( both of which you can see in the picture), and a million other different kinds of live animals including turtles to be used in cooking. It was really interesting to see but some of the methods of the Chinese for preparing the animals were really gruesome. We watched a fish being scaled before it was even killed!
Bob says: China is currently undertaking one of the most ambitious engineering projects ever in their quest to dam the yankze. A few facts:
