Week 31 - Day up high for Didi and Me

Because Didi is starting full time school for the first time, to ease him in gently for the first two weeks he only has to go until 1pm, and in the first week, only every second day... so to make the most of our last day together, we decided to go up the Oriental Pearl Tower in Lujiazui.  Since I was last up there 4 years ago (when I was pregnant with Didi), they have added this sensational glass floor which is on an outside balcony.  I tell you, I never thought I suffered from a fear of heights, but my tummy leapt into my throat.  Didi wasn't very comfortable either as he reverted to crawling on the glass not walking. This photo just doesn't look real, and when I was taking it I couldn't look at what I was doing, but I love how it has turned out looking straight down the main pole of the Tower.

Week 28 - Fishing Village

Would you believe this is Hong Kong??  

This is a village called Tai O on Lantau Island.  The houses are built on stilts in the river, which is on the mouth of the sea and at the foothills of the mountains.  It is largely a fishing village, and the walking streets are lined with vendors selling fresh and dried produce, and the canals are the residents backyards with laundry hanging and boats moored.  

As well as walking between the houses, and stopping at a cafe with a balcony over the river, we went on a boat trip through the village which took us out into the ocean, where we were lucky enough to see wild pink dolphins frolicking in the waves.

Week 19 - Myths and Images Tour of the Bund

Through Time Out Shanghai Magazine, I went on a tour guided by Chen Danyan, an author who has meticulously researched the area surrounding the Bund, and interviewed scores of Chinese people who live, or lived in the area during the time that it was largely an international section of the city.

The tour started on the roof of the recently renovated Peace Hotel, and although it was particularly smoggy this is a view across to Lujiazui from the roof.  This is the iconic tower on the roof which is visible from all around, and makes the Peace Hotel easily recognisable.

The hotel is truly stunning and the art deco interior is beautiful. The spirals, on the cornerstone of the tower are a motif repeated inside. We walked from the Peace Hotel, down to the park where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu, then back through some of the lanes behind the Bund, and then finished the tour with a drink at the elegant Glamour Bar, at M on the Bund.

Week 10 - Karst Peaks

This is the view from our balcony at the Yangshuo Village Inn, a little out of town in a small village called Moon Hill Scenic Village.  The scenery was stunning and our few days here were just amazing.  We had an equally spectacular view out of the other side of our room.