China Syndrome

Unbelievable! Here I was telling everyone within hearing distance to log onto my blog for a regular update on our travels only to discover that blogging was a No No! Simply couldn't get past Big Brother...I was left with no other alternative but to leave my obsession for telling tales until our return. We're now back on Australian soil and over the next few days I will recount my fabulous four-week adventure with His Lordship (HL)...we've travelled from Beijing to Xi'an by train, flown to Wuhan and bused it to the docks on the Yangtze for a four day river cruise, disembarked at Chongqing then flown to Kunming, endured a five hour bus drive to Dali and back again to Kunming, then on we soldiered for a flight to Guilin followed by a cruise down the Li River before disembarking at Yangshou. Then it was back on the bus again to Guilin, a flight to Shanghai before busing it to Suzhou and then Hangzhou before driving back to Shanghai for the end of our tour. It's been a marvellous experience - we've tried all forms of transport from plane, train, bus, rickshaw, and boats (large and small). What has amazed me is my daily daily habits have changed - albeit only temporarily. What habits you may ask? You'll have to read on to find out!

My first blog will start from our Singapore Airlines flight (departing from Brisbane International Airport) and it will be recorded soon...but more importantly I have to get onto blogging my 'bog blog' which I hope to have wrapped up by this evening. It will give you just a taste (pardon the use of this word...) of what HL and I experienced in China...the good, the bad, the ugly, and the fantastic!

Beijing Bound

I can't believe it...not long now before we fly out so I've decided to give our new iPad a whirl as this is going to be our source of communication and my blogging tool while we're away. Fingers crossed we have wifi access at our hotels and that I can get used to this absurd two-finger typing on the touchscreen qwerty keyboard! Fortunately we are fleeing with our great mates The Captain and Tennille. They are from the deep south (of the great south east) and hopefully will be well equipped to last the coming weeks with Yours Truly and my partner His Lordship... If the names remind you of a singing duo back in the mid 70s you're halfway there. The Captain is actually named after Captain Von Trapp of The Sound of Music...he has always reminded me of Christopher Plummer! As for his partner, for the purposes of this blog and to keep her anonymity secure, I thought of calling her Maria but that would be totally unsuitable as she is loads of fun and not the convent type at all! Then as fate would have it I spotted an image of The Captain and Tennille and voila!...the perfect name for The Captain's blonde-haired other-half. It's ironic really as the photo had the 70s sensation Captain wearing a ship captain's hat and believe it or not these two fellow travellers love to go yachting whenever the opportunity arises...

And the journey continues

For those of you who have just joined my 'blog' adventure...To date I have jotted down various tales covering my most recent holiday - a white winter in Europe. I had planned to continue plotting my journey from Prague to Rome, Florence, London, Paris, and HongKong - touching on memorable destinations both in those cities and beyond their fair walls - but time is running out. In a couple of weeks His Lordship and Yours Truly will be travelling to China for a month and I hope to be blogging on a daily basis (or at least every couple of days) pending access to the internet/wi fi etc. I have made the momentous decision (she wrote with tongue in cheek) to cut down on my European scribbles and simply list my top things to do at my favourite locations I have visited to date including my lastest escape which was a brief stay in Melbourne(Australia) in June - I was in dire need of a real 'European-style' winter fix but wanting to seriously avoid that horrendous 24-hour plus plane trip (in cattle class) to get there! Melbourne always does the job 'rawther' nicely. Hopefully I will be able to steal away some time to write about these treasured destinations before we take off on our Asian adventure to the land of the Terracotta Warriors...

Farewell Prague

We spent a glorious week in Prague. I think January was the perfect time to visit - it wasn't inundated with throngs of tourists, the Charles Bridge still endured its barrage of artists, musicians and beggars keen to make a crown or two but it wasn't seething with sightseers - it was a joy to cross. It would be fun to see this city in all of its glory in springtime but I'm not sure I could cope with the masses.

Would I return - absolutely. And what would I do? I would make a date with the Black Light Theatre (in retrospect, I think we should have listened to our friends' advice and taken in a performance), I would go on the Communism Walk (it covers the communist era and the most important events of the 20th century including the occupation of Prague by the Nazis in March 1939) and I would soak up the sounds of a Mozart Christmas Concert inside the ancient Church of St Martin in the Wall. What would I recommend? Definitely the scenic cruise down the Vltava River, time-out in St Nicolas' Church and a tour of the Jewish Quarter...and take a walk up to the Absinth Shop (Uvoz 1, Praha 1) www.absinth-shop.net where you'll watch the art of making an absinth drink and you're treated to a sample of this heart-starter. Such fun!

Next stop: overnight in Rome then onto Florence.

Astronomical Clock

I have to admit it was what I refer to as a Mona Lisa Moment when I finally caught the clock in motion. I don't know what I was expecting - maybe a little more activity, maybe a few more characters popping out of its edifice, but it was splendid just the same.

Located in the oldest Gothic part of Old Town, the Astronomical Clock (early 15th century) features 12 apostles which appear every hour between 9am and 9pm. The bottom portion of the clock is supplemented with a round calendarium which including the signs of the zodiac. It is the main meeting place for guided tours and a key tourist attraction.

You can't miss it...seriously...you simply can't miss it (in more ways than one!). I've purposely not included an image of the clock in full action - why spoil the surprise. Go to Prague and experience it for yourselves!

Haunted happenings

Ghost trails are big business in Prague with the city's Old Town streets and alleys providing the perfect backdrop for tales of haunted happenings. Prague is 'besieged' by infamous spirits and, according to some locals, it has the dubious distinction of being the most haunted city in Europe. There are walking tours aplenty and whether or not we made the right decision, we opted for McGee's Ghost Tours of Prague. Maybe the name McGee's should have rung the warning bell - sounds like an Irish comedy doesn't it? At the appointed hour, layered with our thermals and thicker than thick coats, we ventured out into the Old Town Square for our arranged meeting with the Man with the Red Umbrella. As fate would have it, we were the only two crazy enough to wander the city streets in the freezing cold at night in search of paranormal activity. I admit it would have been difficult to get into the spirit (pardon the pun) of things when there are only two observers on the ghoulish adventure but the ghost hunter was witty and enthusiastic, much to our surprise. The fact that he was an American ghost hunter took the gloss of the experience a little - I think it would have been more tantalising had he spewed forth his narrative with a strong Czech accent. At 9pm, from our meeting place under the Astronomical Clock, we ventured forth to explore "the darker side of Prague" following our ghost hunter's lantern as he lead the way down narrow lanes, twisting corridors and passages that lead to nowhere, past ancient structures, haunted churches and legendary theatres that have "birthed many of Hollywood's monsters". Our American ghost hunter and paranormal investigator spoke of mass executions, homicidal thieves, and Gothic creatures whetting our apetite for as many gruesome tales that he could dish up. Check out mcgeesghosttours.com for a full rundown of his "bone chillin' ride". We took this tour in the middle of an icey Prague winter...perhaps in summer the tour is packed, but I rather liked having this wicked gent all to ourselves.

History with views

Old Town Bridge Tower is a gem of a location. Not only will you learn about Prague's history (tower incorporates a museum and slide show) but climb to the very top (the parapet) and you will be privy to a spectacular panorama of the city.