Here we go...

My apologizes about the length of time between entries. Computers in China have been readily available but many sites (including this blog site) have not been accessible to us. Quite a bit has happened since the last entry - so much so that it´s impossible to fully update.

To summarize as best as possible, we have been snaking south through China on our way to Vietnam. After Xian we took a train to Chengdu where we visited the Panda Research Center and hiked around the world´s biggest Buddha, carved into the face of a mountain.
From there we took a bus to Chongqing where we then began our 3 day journey down the Yangtze river. We stopped several times to visit temples and markets but the highlight of the trip was most definitely the views of the Large and Little Gorges. As we moved through the gorges, vertical cliffs towered on either side of us - absolutely fantastic! Although beautiful, it was upsetting to see the 175m markers in place demonstrating where the water level will rise in 2009 when the dam is complete. Underneath these points were simple houses and farmland - showing clearly all of the people that will be displaced and without a source of income.
After the ´river cruise´ we stayed in Wuhan, Shanghai and Hong Kong, travelling between each city by night train. Shanghai was beautiful - it seemed to be busting at the seams. Cranes dotted the skyline and strange futuristic buildings towered over old colonial-style structures.
Hong Kong was far less appealing. Although a great city from afar and comfortable to visit, I found Kowloon (on the mainland) a bit sleazy and Hong Kong Island virtually identical to home (prices included). It was neat, however, to get in touch with some family that live and work there. David Colquhoun and his son were really friendly, hospitable and a pleasure to meet.
Our next stop required a harrowing overnight bus ride but was well worth it. Yangshuo is a relatively small town nestled between karst formations covered in trees. We had the opportunity to hike up a couple of these formations and bicycle amongst them between farm fields and riverbeds. Absolutely breathtaking scenery - unfortunately, it rained during 80% of our time there so we weren´t able to do all that we had hoped. We were forced to stay inside and explore, which brought us to a market where we stumbled upon the meat section. Dogs were at every stage of the butcher process...not a pleasant experience.
Now, we are just north of Yangshuo in a slightly larger city called Guilin. Luckily, our blog sites are accessible here. Tomorrow we head for Kunming and after that we say goodbye to China and hello to easier computer access...Vietnam!