The flight from Guangzhou was delayed due to the weather, Guangdong had been hit by severe weather and looking at the news the other day I think that the hour delay we had was fortunate.

I had bought a window seat and as luck would have it I had three seats to myself and so I was able to stretch out shortly after take-off and claim my prize. After dinner I settled down to the horizontal and I did get a sleep, however the turbulence was a reminder that we were flying high.

As we came over Darwin there was an announcement asking for a doctor as there was a medical emergency, this continued for a bit of time and I thought that we might be diverted to Cairns and I know it may sound dreadful but I just wanted to get home. The plane stayed on course to Brisbane but when we landed the paramedics boarded the aircraft to assess the passenger, still no idea what the medical emergency was, but the paramedics didn’t seem to be too agitated so I guess all was going to be OK or they had already snuffed it…………

Passport control was very quiet and my bags appeared fairly quickly so I loaded up my trolley with my two large case and headed for the bio-security guys. The big fella looked at my trolley and asked what’s the story and I told him that all I was declaring was some loose tea , however it was sealed. He thought for a few seconds and then said that I was fine to continue to the exit, I really feel that he just didn’t want to go through the vast amount of luggage that I had, and I was also very happy with the outcome. I really didn’t have anything else apart from tea this time.

I got an Uber. The roads were quiet, still cost over $100 to get back home. The house is in one piece thankfully and my garden is actually looking rather good. The grass is looking great, Rebecca across the road has done a great job looking after it for me and the rest of the plants seem to have grown quite a bit in my absence along with the weeds!

I’ve been home 5 days now and I am still feeling weary. Glad to be home, maybe need to feed myself some protein. No Covid this time but my body is relaxed as I ease myself into my simple life here. I’m so happy to be out of China, funny how things change. When I lived there before I obviously ignored many of the things that really got on my tits this time. The noise, the amount of people, the pollution, the driving to name but a few.

I’ve changed I guess, I’m more of a grumpier old man now with little patience for what I encountered in China. From now on China will be for holidays only. I’ll travel before I settle for a few weeks to visit Sissi and others. I don’t think going for two months is a good idea, I feel that 6 weeks is sufficient time to live out of a suitcase.

Give me a few months to recover from this and I’ll no doubt be heading to an airport for another jaunt. In the meantime I have plenty to be getting on with here. I need to find some work to get some cash. I need to get back into my calisthenics to toughen up once more, two months without doing any exercise apart from walking is not good for the body. The list has begun and I will work my way through it over the cooler months. So glad to be heading into winter, just hope it is a dry winter for a change.

I met this little guy in the lift the other day and I had absolutely no idea what he was doing, well I have found out.

This little guy is a food robot. When the delivery driver arrives he calls the room and tells them that the food is on its way. He places the order inside the robot and punches in the room number and the wee robot heads off to the lifts. Magic!

I got free entry to the lounge tonight, very happy about that. So much more relaxed than I was in Dali because everything just seemed to go wrong. Guangzhou has been a better experience thankfully.

I had satay chicken with veg and a glass of something, it’s supposed to be white wine but it looks more like a sample 🤔

The hotel was great, very comfortable and the staff were so helpful. The free bus to the terminal was also a bonus because having those two rather large suitcases was no easy task.

Currently sitting in the hotel after having pizza for lunch. My favourite restaurant was closed so I didn’t know what to have for lunch. It’s hot and very humid outside so I thought I’d ease myself back into western culture by having pizza for lunch.

It was a Margarita pizza which had an interesting flavour but it will suffice, I’m just hoping that the cheese was real. You hear so many stories about fake food.

I checked out at noon and I’ll be here till 6pm and then I’ll get the bus to the airport. I have my two large cases which are going to be a challenge as they are both around 23kg. The second case has been here with Sissi for four years and I’m finally getting to take it home.

Once I get the two big cases checked in it will hunky dory because then I can go to the lounge for a couple of hours because I have a free pass which is good.

I’ll arrive about 8am tomorrow and by the time I get home I’ll be ready for a snooze me thinks, but I’ll have to go to the shops and get supplies after I reconnect the car battery and hopefully the olde Ford will be happy to go for a run.

And I hope that the house is still in one piece after two months. I don’t think there has been much rain so hopefully all will be OK. I’m also hoping that the grass is not ten feet tall.

The territory was divided into two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the Qing  government in the 19th century (1859 to 1943). The island is a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep. The island is the location of several hotels, a youth hostel, restaurants and tourist shops selling curios and souvenirs.

I did not write that, as you can tell I’m not that eloquent. But I did go there today, it wasn’t planned, I just happened to stumble in it’s direction.

I went into Guangzhou to look at a few tech markets near the river and when I got off the metro everything was closed, I forgot that geeks don’t get up early. So I wandered down to the river. The river was a lovely brown colour due to the flooding further up stream. There were also some flood defences in place and in the few hours I was here there was a significant rise in the river.

I’d seen the concession somewhere recently and was very happy to have found it. The architecture is so different and yet recognisable as well. On the riverside you pass the old customs house with its links to Queen Victoria me thinks.

It’s a great place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of Guangzhou which is undoubtedly one of the busiest city’s in China. This oasis is a very calm and beautiful place to just spend time in marvelling at some of the best architecture for miles around. Oh and don’t forget some of the beautiful trees that compliment this colonial boulevard and some have been here for nearly 200 years.

The only sad thing is that a couple of places have been bought by the usual culprits and they have plastered their logos out front for all to see.

Kubla Khan came across these mountains and after being nearly at the top I’m quite impressed. I got to just under 4000 metres and my poor old body knew about it. My lungs were working overtime and as I reached the top I could feel my legs beginning to tire, but I got there and there were still pockets of snow on the ground.

I was still wearing my thin summer clothes but I was generating a fair bit of heat so I didn’t really notice until I stood still.

Your chest begins to tighten, your breathing increases and your legs feel twice the weight but I just kept my breathing steady and a slow steady pace and all was well. We only had to climb a further 230 metres or so after we got off the cable car but it was still quite the workout😂

This glacial lake sits just under the 4000 metre mark and is called Horse Lake because it is said that Kubla Khan watered his horses here in 1263.

A ticket cost 320 RMB. I wasn’t going to go because of the price but the taxi driver stopped at this gate instead of the one I was going to go to. The other gate only went half way up and was half the price, but as I’m leaving here tomorrow I thought “what the hell” I’m glad I did go up on this one because the view is spectacular, and you can almost see the whole of Erhai Lake. I’ll come back again one day and I’ll stay on the lake I think as it will be a lot more peaceful.

At one section the cable car gets quite a swing happening, the wind was very strong and it made the journey that bit more exciting.

A few people had bought oxygen and one young girl in the car began to use it shortly after we left the bottom, not sure how she got on at the top.

I got there early and so the crowds had not arrived yet but as I made my way back to the cable car the tour groups were just arriving.

I was hoping to do a 14km walk but the climb was over 1000 metres and me thinks that my fitness is not good enough to tackle this and after last years fiasco of falling in Petra I took the easy way and took the cable taxi to the top instead.

Dali is actually a nice place, it’s just the tourists that are the problem. This evening I went for a wander around the the old town and managed to escape from the hustle and bustle because the tourist numbers are a fraction of what they have been the last two days. I would come back to this area again but I’ll choose my dates more carefully. That being said I’m still ready to return to my sanctuary.

I came across this music store selling all the latest hits

Is busy, it’s the weekend. The days just come and go with no sense of time. What day is it? If I’d realised it was the weekend when I arrived I would have made different plans to arrive on a week day maybe, but I left myself little room for change.

The old city is bustling, restaurants, souvenir shops, sweet shops and many other business however they are just repeating as you move from street to street. The food is better here which I’m happy with, there’s more choice.

I’m not enjoying the trip now, too tired and I’ve been on the road too long. I’ve met many good people along the way but unfortunately there are too many ignorant, selfish, entitled stupid bastards that are irritating the fuck out of me now and they are everywhere.

They just walk in front of you without even looking or they see you and think well I’m just going over there and push in front anyway and the thing is they have absolutely no idea what they have just done, because for them it is OK… It’s what they do.

What did I say? Ignorant, selfish entitled stupid bastards! Oh and arrogant.

I’m sitting in a cafe over looking the lake and instead of enjoying mother nature in all her glory we still have to have noise. Riding bikes with music blaring. There’s a booze bus going up and down also blasting out music with some stunt musician pretending to play. I’m borderline postal. Oh and did I mention the constant use of horns? The horn is used to as a substitute for fucking thinking for yourself and taking responsibility, how about slowing down and looking to see if anyone is there or maybe wait two seconds till they move.

The drivers whether they are on a bike or in car drive way too fast with absolutely no concern for the safety of others and they come way too close. You really have to have your eyes and ears open.. The horn is used here to warm you they are coming, let’s just say they slowed down a bit and gave you a wide berth when safe to do so and took some more responsibility rather than scare the shit of you.

Definitely Postal😏

And don’t get me started on the smoking, now these guys are in a different league completely. They have passed, with flying colours may I say, with all the attributes mentioned above and then some. Most of the time they are not even smoking the fuckin things, it’s just part of the pose. They would be the first ones against the wall! 😈

No patience left, I’m worn out and I would quite happily board a plane today and head for home.

I could sit and bitch all day and of course it’s very cathartic.

Now as I return to my room the hotel has the builders in with a jack hammer, oh joy oh fuckin joy……………..

I came looking for Salvador but instead found the best cup of coffee I’ve had in nearly two months, well apart from my own coffee that I brought from home. and there was a little bonus it only cost 18 RMB which is almost half the price of a shit flavoured Starbucks 😜

Just down from my hotel I watched this woman walk slowly into the building carrying a large basket on her back. Every step deliberate and slow.

On the street her partner was filling up another basket. It’s overfilled and smoothed off to hold the maximum amount of what looks like cement.

He then puts his arms through and picks it up and again the slow deliberate steps as he makes his way up the slope. I can’t begin to imagine how much weight he is carrying but it’s impressive.