A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Or in Nick's case, his P45.

We spent our last full day in Japan apart. Fiona took Rachel to Hiroshima, and I stayed in Kyoto and took the bus out to see the impossibly elegant Golden Temple, another archetypal Japanese experience. I arrived after lunch, not too long before it was due to close, and had the place to myself. Again, it was difficult to take a bad photograph but they still don't do it justice. Without doubt, Japan had been the most consistently enjoyable part of our journey and we were very sorry to leave.

Kennin-ji was recommended to us by a guest at the hostel we were staying at, and wasn't too far to walk, so before taking the train to Nara we thought we'd pay it a visit. The temple has Zen gardens and a stunning painted dragon ceiling in its main building. This was the first temple we'd been to where we had to take our shoes off before entering. Slightly too small slippers had been provided, though, and we padded round admiring the graceful architecture and lovely gardens.
Arriving into Nara, we walked the same route we'd done on our previous visit, admiring the deer, and once we reached Todaiji-jo we hunted for something we'd missed before - a hole through one of the temple's large pillars that is said to be the same size as one of the nostrils of the Buddha statue. Being the most brave, Rachel decided to squeeze through the gap, slightly unconventionally with her arms at her sides, much to the consternation of a Japanese man who said she should have gone through with her hands in front of her. Needless to say, after a slightly hairy moment when we all thought she was stuck, she got through, thus ensuring eternal enlightenment. Having witnessed her valiant attempt, both Fiona and I decided not to attempt it (I wouldn't have been able to get through anyway, with my chops and beer belly) and Fiona didn't want to get stuck.

We left Tokyo for Kyoto on the 4th, and having arrived quite late and being tired from the journey, didn't do much once we'd arrived but find somewhere to eat; a pretty, stream-side restaurant down a picturesque back street not too far from the hostel. The following day (my birthday!) we revisited the area described by the Lonely Planet's walking tour, featured earlier on this blog, so Rachel could see some of Kyoto's nicest parts. In the evening we sank a few beers, and had birthday tea in a friendly yakitori joint.
We visited somewhere new on the 6th, the stunning Himeji-jo, one of only 3 original castles left in Japan (the rest, like Osaka-jo, are concrete reconstructions, albeit very pretty ones). Although originally built in the 14th century the current structure dates from the 16th, and sits proudly atop a tall stone base overlooking the city of Himeji.
Stone and plaster on the outside, inside huge wooden beams dominate, and by climbing a series of steep stairs the top level can be reached, for a panoramic view over the surrounding countryside and the castle grounds. It was very easy just to point and click with the camera, and most of the photos I took required little thought or positioning, such is the castle's great beauty. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and capped off the day with lunch at a place where they made their own (slightly misshapen) thick noodles, with hearty broth to keep us warm.

The following day we took Rachel to Kawaguchi-ko so that she could take some photos of the amazing Mount Fuji, and little had changed since Fi and I were there the previous week except there being less cloud, less haze, and I didn't leave the camera on the train. On our way back into Tokyo we stopped off at the brilliant Fushimi-Inari temple complex, famous for its "tunnels" of red torii gates. Each torii has been donated by a local business to ensure prosperity and fortune. As well as the torii, there are numerous fox statues dotted around. The whole place is very photogenic and as night fell, and the tunnels were lit by lanterns, it was incredibly atmospheric and although the weather deteriorated as it got darker, we'd had an unforgettable experience unlike anything we'd see back home.

On the 2nd of January we collected our friend Rachel from Narita airport. She'd flown out to spend a week with us and we wanted to make the most of her time, so started straight away with a baptism of fire. Having left her luggage in a locker at Narita train station we joined the crowds making their way to the large temple complex in the town, where the New Year celebrations and blessings were taking place. Lots of market stalls had sprung up along the paths through the complex and thousands of people were queueing up to receive a blessing for the New Year from the resident monks. We took all this in quite happily although I couldn't help but feel Rach must have been a bit shell-shocked after her long, tiring flight. Fi and I both assured her that it wouldn't always be so busy - having been the only visitors at some temples just a few days previously - but for the next few days, it was amazing to see the difference in the number of visitors at temple complexes in both Tokyo and Kyoto. I spent a few yen on a good luck arrow and some pretty, hand painted votive plaques, bemusing a few elderly devout Japanese as I did so. The temple buildings were beautifully painted and some of the original wooden carvings were exquisite, as can be seen in the photos I took. We'd hoped to give Rachel a gentle introduction to Japan after her flight but we were all quite tired by the end of the day and dozed on the train back into Tokyo. The hotel we'd chosen was back in Asakusa, a little closer to the Asahi complex than the Oak, and was more traditional - run by a very friendly family, and our Japanese-style room was clean and our futons very comfortable, with huge, fluffy duvets to keep us warm.

On the 30th of December we moved hotels, having treated ourselves to a stay in a more "upmarket" place for New Year. Located near the Hanzomon subway station and also the Imperial Palace, it was a nice, quiet area and we enjoyed our stroll around the Palace perimeter. The elegant Palace towers, walls, huge moat and landscaped grounds contrasted nicely with the nearby government buildings, towers and central train station, and also the frenetic chaos that is Shibuya and its 6-way pedestrian crossing. That was where we spent a brief part of New Year's Eve - being part of the boisterous, good-natured crowd bouncing up and down as midnight approached was a memorable experience, even if we were both soaked with fizzy alcohol as midnight came and 2009 dawned.
On New Year's Day we visited Tokyo Harbour, travelling across the Rainbow Bridge and taking in Tokyo Beach, the futuristic river bus, the fascinating Tokyo TV HQ building, and the Statue of Liberty!
The views from the TV building might not have been quite as impressive as those from the Government towers but it was still good to take in the harbour from above, and look over to the Tokyo Tower, with 2009 emblazoned on its side.

We had 10 days in Tokyo and thought we'd use some of them to visit a few of the sights outside the city, and having seen Mount Fuji previously from the train we thought it would be good to get a little closer to it and hopefully not have window glass spoiling our view. We set off for the picturesque Fuji-go-ko (Fuji Five Lakes) region, specifically the town of Kawaguchi-ko, with its attractive lake and postcard-perfect views of the snow-capped volcano.
It was fascinating to watch a halo of cloud forming at the peak of the volcano in an otherwise perfectly blue sky, and the mountain rising unspoiled from the surrounding plains is certainly an arresting sight.
The short cable car ride up from near the shore of Kawaguchi-ko was worth the fare as the terminal placed us directly opposite Fuji, so I got the photos I'd wanted even if it was a little hazy.
When we arrived back into Tokyo I realised I'd left the camera on the train. I had a brief moment of doubt when I wondered if it had been stolen while I dozed on the journey back, but this being Japan, it was waiting for us at the lost property office of the transfer station between Kawaguchi-ko and Tokyo having been handed in by a concerned member of the public. The smiling staff were only too pleased to have been of assistance and waved us merrily on our way.

Our long journey down Japan from Sapporo to Tokyo was made longer by the amount of snow that fell overnight, causing the usually punctual rail service to suffer delays. Our Japan Rail passes made it easy to get new tickets for the few trains that were running, however, and we arrived into Tokyo's Ueno station only a couple of hours later than expected, having passed through some beautiful snowscapes and along several coastlines en route.
Slightly bewildered by the scale of the station - we appeared to have got off the bullet train into some kind of underground labyrinth, only seeing daylight after negotiating 4 flights of "up" escalators - we followed the map to our hotel, the Oak, dumped our bags there and nipped out to a 24 hour Japanese fast food restaurant for supper.
The following morning, unsure exactly where to being our tour of this enormous city, we took the advice of the Lonely Planet and followed their walking tour around Shinjuku, with its fascinating mix of new and old, from the glowing neon signs of the many shopping arcades to the calm tranquility of the Hanazono Temple, discretely nestling between bustling skyscrapers. We spent all day taking it all in, discovering tiny alleyways and hidden shrines amongst the shops, bars and restaurants, and before we knew it, the sun had set, and the night was lit up with the glow from huge video screens and advertising hoardings all over the district.
After spending half an hour stumbling wide-eyed and open-mouthed around the huge Yodobashi Camera store, which, for a computer geek, model building, technophilic nerd like myself, was heaven spread over 9 increasingly fabulous floors, we walked back to the hotel, following the train tracks back to Ueno, and taking in the busy market stalls and restaurants under the arches made for another sensual feast.
Our hotel was situated in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, known for its old-fashioned craft shops and large temple complexes. It's also home to the Asahi brewery, with its famous (and controversial) "Golden Flame" sculpture. We couldn't stay so close to it and not see it for ourselves, so, earmarking a nearby restaurant for lunch, we took it in and I enjoyed a couple of decent beers from the brewery tap in the process. Having both decided that the Golden Flame did indeed deserve its more popular moniker, the Golden Turd, we had our lunch in the wonderful Komagata Gozeu and took the metro back into the centre of Tokyo to see the city from the viewing platform of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings. The incredible view brought home the sheer size of Tokyo and it was amazing to see the sun set over the distant Mount Fuji whilst taking in the cityscape at the same time.

Despite both craving a proper Christmas lunch we scoffed down a bowl of ramen instead, from one of the stalls along Sapporo's famous "Ramen Alley". Although being the only customers (it was even colder today) the chef made us feel welcome in his tiny restaurant. We ordered gyoza (dumplings) to go with our Ramen Special, and he left us in the shop while he went next door to another restaurant to get some for us. The ramen was fabulous, rich and hearty pork and miso stock with noodles, boiled eggs and char-grilled belly pork, perfect on a snowy day.

After lunch, wanting to add to our catalogue of cloudy cable car experiences we boarded the Mt. Moiwa ropeway where, after a satisfyingly foggy journey we were treated to a ride in Moris (sic) the snowmobile to the summit, which we could barely make out in the blizzard that had developed, let alone the "stunning" views over Sapporo we were supposed to have been looking at. Still, to have snow at Christmas was worth the journey, in spite of us both missing home and our friends and family (and Christmas pudding, turkey with trimmings, roast potatoes, ginger wine and beer). The Japanese tourists and locals on the viewing platform were very amused by us writing Happy Christmas in the snow (taking pictures of us in action) and Fi's squirrel impression went down a treat too.

Lots of love to everyone and a very Merry Christmas! Next stop, Tokyo...

We arrived in Sapporo just before midnight on the 22nd, having left Yokohama some 12 hours earlier. We changed train 3 times and passed through the 53km undersea Seikan tunnel (connecting Hokkaido with the mainland) on the way, and the further North we travelled, the more snow we saw, and the colder it got outside the train.

On the 23rd we explored the area around the Odori metro station, taking in the TV Tower, and a busy fish market where we ate delicious fresh sushi for lunch. Sapporo is famous for its seafood, crabs in particular, and there were some huge ones for sale in the market stalls. A brisk walk in the snow to Marayuma park to visit the Hokkaido Shrine (lured by the offer of free green tea and sweets - sadly the shop was closed) and then a fantastic ramen restaurant for dinner.

We stopped in Yokohama as a base from which to visit the area around Mt. Fuji. Sadly, the one full day we had there was overcast, but we gamely headed out on the train to Hakone and on to Soun-zan, from where the views of Fuji are supposed to be stunning. Sadly, all we had was smoke from the volcanic vents and clouds - but we enjoyed ourselves anyway, even if it was very windy, and very eggy. It was interesting to see how the soil had affected the growth of trees and plants, and also how the hot spring water had coloured the local delicacy - black-shelled boiled eggs. The ropeway up the mountain was closed because the wind was so bad - and that was before we ate the eggs, boom boom.

The first of our two visits to Kyoto was a short, 2-day stop to break up the journey between Kyushu and Hokkaido. We spent the first day walking around the very picturesque (and busy) Southern Higashiyama area to the east of the city, described as Kyoto's premier sightseeing district. After strolling up Teapot Lane, with its many tearooms, we came to the first temple of the day - the impressive Kiyomizu-dera. Its current buildings date from 1633 but it was first founded in 798. The wooden temple sits perched on the side of a hill and is supported by a large number of wooden pillars (and some modern metal scaffolding, sadly). The guidebook told us to "descend into the Tainai-meguri" but had no further details other than the location of its entrance, so we each paid the 100 yen fee and walked down some wooden steps to a pitch-black room beneath the shrine. Making our way through the tunnel, clinging to the guide rail in perfect darkness we reached a round stone, illuminated from above, upon which we had been instructed to lay our hands and make a wish - "One only!" - by the guide at the entrance. The exit to the room was just after the stone and we made our way blinking into the sunlight.
The waterfall at Kiyomizu-dera has alleged therapeutic properties so we , like many other tourists there, drank some of the water from the cups provided (sterilised by UV light, no less). Feeling refreshed we carried on with the walking tour, meandering along pretty cobbled streets and past tree-lined courtyards and postcard-perfect Japanese gardens. The huge camphor trees at Shoren-in were impressive, as was the large temple complex of Chion-in, with its Nightingale floor - so called because the wooden beams "chirp" and squeak when you walk on them - an old intruder alarm.

We spent the second day exploring the area around Kyoto station, with Kyoto Tower nearby, and the modern station building itself. Escalators take you all the way up to the 11th floor of the station/shopping complex, from where you can take a "Skywalk" out over the concourse. A large Christmas tree and lights added to the atmosphere and we had a good time travelling up and down the various levels. It killed a few hours, anyway!

The journey to Yokohama was notable for the excellent view of Mt. Fuji as we passed it on the train - and we were lucky enough to be able to see it in the distance from our 35th floor hotel room. The extinct volcano is very elusive - it's normally covered in cloud (as we discovered the following day) so we were glad to have seen it in all its glory - albeit passing by at bullet train speed!

We punctuated our week-long stay in Fukuoka with day trips to various cities and sights dotted around Kyushu, taking advantage of our (excellent) Japan Rail passes. Our first stop was the city of Nagasaki, the second city to be attacked with an atomic bomb after Hiroshima. The Peace Museum was just as emotive as the one in Hiroshima but on the whole we found Nagasaki to be more upbeat. The sense of grief and guilt we felt in Hiroshima wasn't quite as prevalent (perhaps because the sun was shining) and somehow Nagasaki feels less "wounded" than its sister city. We took the (deserted) cable car up to the top of the viewing platform to the west of the centre and the view from the top over the harbour and the city itself was stunning. In spite of the fact Fiona and I were the only people taking the cable car, the pink-suited "hostess" still accompanied us and treated us to her scripted "and on the left you can see..." spiel complete with polite hand gestures in the relevant direction. Of course, with it being in Japanese, we couldn't understand, but still politely nodded our heads and looked in the right direction when beckoned to do so.

 

We also visited Kumamoto, a small city famous for its attractive fortified castle, with huge, thick, double stone walls. The Japanese appear to be able to anthropomorphise anything, hence the photos of us with the cartoon castle. In Fukuoka they have even made a mascot out of the Fukuoka Tower, complete with soft gloves "for shaking hands with many children" (I'm not making this up). The rickety tram ride back to the train station gave us a glimpse of a side of Japan we hadn't experienced before - slightly chaotic. You board via the middle door, and leave via the front, so when the carriage is full of people, as it was when we travelled, you have to barge (in the politest possible way) past people to get off when it's your stop, as everyone heads to the front when they get on, if they're getting off at the next stop or not. 

 

I'd been looking forward to visiting Aso-san, an active volcano within the world's largest caldera (volcanic crater) but the day we chose to visit was misty and cold, and most of the summit was roped off because of the clouds of sulphuric acid bellowing out of the volcano. It was still exciting to be up there and we could appreciate how good the views must be on a clear day. Rice mountain, a picture perfect extinct volcano, was a popular stop for photographers (you can see the rim of the ancient caldera in the background on several of our photos as well) and way off in the distance we could make out more snow-covered peaks. Aso-san itself is just over 1500m and we were able to get a bus most of the way up, taking a cable car for the last little bit. In the spring, the area is famous for its wild azalea but all we saw was dead grass, volcanic rocks and snow! We plucked up the courage to visit an onsen (public bath in a hot spring) before taking the train back but when we arrived, it was closed. The thought of bathing naked in front of strangers is taking some getting used to although you can reserve some baths for private use - however, they don't look too kindly on people with tattoos (tattooing being associated with the yakuza) so I might not be allowed in anyway. They don't tell you that in the guide books, though.

We hadn't planned to stay long in Hiroshima, naively figuring that once we'd seen the Atomic Bomb Dome and associated Peace Memorial and Museum, that would be all the city had to offer, but as always, with hindsight, we should have stayed longer. Our hostel was excellent, and although our room was small it was fun to sleep on tatami matting and try to squeeze our legs under the incredibly low table. The staff were all very friendly and spoke great English, and made us some delicious miso soup the first night we were there. We were also invited to try Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki at a restaurant around the corner from the hostel, and we both agreed that (stuffed with soba noodles, as if it couldn't get any stodgier) it tasted even better than the Osaka version. A boat trip out of Hiroshima to Miyajima island was great fun. We took a cable car up through the clouds to the 550m peak in the centre of the island and were stunned to see wild monkeys for the first time on our trip. The monkeys were completely unimpressed by our presence, although the staff at the cable car centre advised us not to take our plastic bag of chestnuts out of the cable car station in case they went for them. Baby monkeys scampered about - but not too far from their mothers - and some of the males screeched and showed their bottoms - but for the most part they just sat huddled together for warmth. It was fascinating to watch them grooming each other - we saw one monkey trying to groom one of the stags sat at the summit as well. As well as the deer and the monkeys, we saw pygmy woodpeckers (but no kingfishers!). The photos of the view from the summit don't do it justice - with the mist swirling around the trees and the islands it was yet another wonderful day in Japan.

Our visit to the A-bomb dome was in stark contrast to our day on Miyajima and we were both in tears after walking around the Peace Museum. It is impossible not to be affected by the vivid testimonies of the people who survived the blast and the exhibits on display and for both of us it was a profoundly moving experience that I won't do justice to with my clumsy words. Walking back to the hostel we found ourselves feeling strangely guilty. Neither of us talked much and it was difficult not to look at elderly people without wondering if they had lived through the horror of that day - and were judging us as a result. As I say, a profound experience, but again, unforgettable.  

Another of the twenty things in the guide book was a night visit to the Okunoin cemetery, situated to the east of the mountain village of Koya-san, roughly an hour and a half out of Osaka. The staff at Osaka station sold us tourist tickets which provided return fare to and from the station at the bottom of the mountain, access to the funicular railway up to Koya-san, and free rides on the buses that take people from the funicular terminal to the village itself.
The train journey was very picturesque, passing through many tunnels and across narrow bridges over gorges, and the very steep funicular up to the village (through the snow!) was exhilarating (and ever so slightly scary). Koya-san village has an effortless beauty to it, with wood and granite temples and landscaped gardens every few steps along the main road. We stopped for coffee and hot chocolate in a small but stunning house just before the entrance to the large graveyard. To call it a café would be a massive injustice. Run by a French girl and her Japanese husband it was basically a room of their beautiful home. Soft, sympathetic lighting with wooden flooring, wooden panels, logs, and an exposed granite stone fireplace in which fragrant logs were burning, small plants, a mezzanine where their young daughter was sat watching cartoons, smooth sliding doors and a pretty water feature in the entrance (such a thing can exist!). We sat round a low table in the centre of the room and ate spiced apple cake and I wished we had a house like it.
Reluctantly we left and made our way back outside into the snow. It had started to go dark and as we crossed over the bridge into the graveyard the stone lanterns lining the path lit up. The main temple at the end of the cemetery is a particularly holy place for Japanese Buddhists and although closed for repairs when we arrived, we were still allowed to walk around to the shrine where a fire has been kept burning for 900 years. Walking beneath the towering cedars with snow on the ground and the lanterns glowing softly in the dark was another unforgettable experience - one of many I think we are going to have in what is quickly becoming our favourite country on our trip.

Todai-ji temple is famous for being the largest wooden building in the world, and is one of the "20 things to see in Japan" listed in our guide book. Being an easy day trip out of Osaka, we thought we'd pay it a visit, and so caught the train to the town of Nara, where the temple is situated.
From Nara station, we walked slightly uphill to Nara-koen, a very attractive area of hilly parkland to the east of the town centre. Nara-koen (and in fact the town itself) is populated by a herd of roughly 1200 deer. The deer are so tame so they will happily eat food from your hand (or try to steal it from your bags if they think you're hiding some from them!). The beautiful (and ancient) Five-Story Pagoda was our first stop, still standing after 800 years, and after strolling peacefully through the woods (petting deer en route) we found ourselves staring up at the two Nio Guardians that watch over the entrance to the Todaiji complex. Although recently restored the statues are 800 years old, and stand over 8m high. Sadly, the thick wire mesh that protects them lessens their presence but such is the quality of the carving they appear ready to spring into life at any moment.
Todai-ji lived up to its billing as the largest wooden building in the world (although I can't really think of many others to compare it to), and the enormous bronze Supreme Buddha statue inside it was equally as impressive. Some parts of the statue date from the 8th century, and although the recent addition of a number of small souvenir stands inside the temple bring your mind to the present, the sense of history is still quite humbling.
We really needed to spend more than half a day walking around Nara and its park, as there was plenty more for us to see. It was dark by the time we decided we should turn around but that meant we were able to see some of the many stone lanterns dotted around the forest light up, which, coupled with the scent of incense and pine needles in the air made for an unforgettable walk back to the station.

Our compact, twin Western-style room was more than adequate, although the fitted plastic, self-contained bathroom unit was rather unusual. We also had a tiny kitchenette - a desk with a sink and hotplate in it - and had to wear slippers on the raised floor, taking our shoes off in the tiny entrance space first. The beds were very comfortable, with huge, fluffy quilts, and the hotel itself appeared to be situated in a pleasant part of Osaka roughly ten minutes walk from the beautiful Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle).

Before heading out to see the castle, we ate lunch at a restaurant over the road - our first taste of Japan in the country itself. Everything on the menu was also present in the window, in plastic form. Dishes of noodles, pork cutlets and tempura - all strangely realistic - and it made deciding what to have much easier. To order our food we had to collect a ticket from a vending machine at the entrance of the restaurant, having pushed the button corresponding to the dish we wanted. Taking the tickets to our table we didn't have to wait too long before our food was brought to us by a smiling waiter.

Happily full of tonkatsu and ramen, we staggered slowly up the road to Osaka-jo, a concrete (but still very impressive) reconstruction of a castle built in the late 16th century and destroyed at the end of the 19th, but rebuilt in 1931 and refurbished in 1997. The castle forms part of an attractive area of parkland that we enjoyed strolling around, and we also paid to enjoy the view from the main tower's 8th floor. As can be seen in the photos, some of the stones in the castle's walls are huge, and there were many information panels in the castle museum explaining how the rock was moved from quarries around Japan to Osaka. I mention this because the stones were treated with great reverence by the builders - each one draped with a ceremonial cloth during transportation - and it was interesting to see the contemporary sketches which showed the labourers treated with far less respect.

In the evening we took the excellent metro system down to glittering Dotombori, where Osaka's main nightlife is to be found. We ate okonomiyaki - misleadingly called "Japanese pizza" in English. They're more like Spanish tortilla, a sort of batter omelette with various meat and seafood fillings. The chefs in the place we ate at were incredibly skillful with their paddles and knives and chopsticks, and it was great fun watching them prepare our dinner. 

When we weren't inhaling concrete dust or dodging mopeds in Shanghai, we spent the rest of our time there hunting for the ferry terminal. You think it would be easy; look for the large boat, and the terminal will be next door. It took us a full day just to find the place where we were supposed to collect our tickets, and although they gave us a map with the location of the port on it, it was next to useless. Tuesday morning arrived, and we took a taxi from the hotel to the address we had been given - even the driver was struggling to find his way around the huge construction site, but eventually made our way into the ferry terminal through an innocuous underground car park entrance.

After an initial hiccup with our cabin (we'd booked one for just the two of us but had been given a 4-berth, which we had to share for the first half an hour with a couple who were eating ridiculously fishy Pot Noodles) we settled in - a bonus being the cabin we finally ended up with had a shower and toilet too - and watched Shanghai go by from the window, and then the deck of the boat. Huge loading cranes dotted the banks of the river, and we saw some naval vessels as well as commercial traffic.

The two-day journey to Osaka was pleasantly uneventful, with the sea (thankfully) like a millpond for the entire duration. The on-board restaurant was OK as well, knocking up a few Chinese and Japanese dishes with free tea and water.

Upon arrival into the port of Osaka, we queued up (in strict order according to the numbered card we'd been given when we boarded - woe betide anyone stepping out of line) and had our temperature taken by the Japanese port officials (forehead only!) and then were free to disembark, where we got on the waiting shuttle bus that took us right to metro. 8 stops later, and a short 5 minute walk, and we were checking in to our hotel, the Weekly Mansions.

With hindsight, we wish we'd spent less time in (expensive) Hong Kong and more time in (much cheaper and prettier) Hangzhou, as we barely scratched the surface of the beautiful city. I planned our one full day there to make the most of West Lake, and so we visited the impressive Liefeng Pagoda in the morning (only built in 2002, the original, which had stood for nearly 900 years, collapsed in the 1920s). The view from the top of the pagoda over the forest and West Lake was worth the entrance fee. On the 2nd level of the pagoda were some exquisite carvings of the story of Lady White Snake. We couldn't decide what material they'd been carved out of, but settled on wood. The detail and fluid movement of the figures was stunning, and I took far too many pictures of them.

Crossing the Su Causeway (along with every tourist party in the city) we made our way to Yellow Dragon Well, and had a peaceful trek through a bamboo forest to get there. We were ripped off in a tea house near the famous well, who charged us 100 yuan (£10) for some of their (albeit very famous (in China)) Longjing tea, but apart from that we were able to relax and let go of the stress caused by the seemingly harmless little old lady on the train! There were far fewer people making the hike through the forest but once we reached the well, crowds appeared out of nowhere. The well was ever so slightly on the tacky side - but just managed to avoid feeling like a theme park - and it was good fun watching the local pensioners dancing to the traditional Chinese music being played by a band in the park by the well.

We had some great food in Hangzhou as well - Beggar's chicken being one dish - a chicken with wine and mushrooms wrapped in lotus leaves, then cellophane, then clay and newspaper, and baked. The delicious, tender meat fell off the bone when the package was carved open at our table by the bemused chef and the rich gravy was great over rice. Belly pork with thick, rich, sweet gravy is a speciality too. People who know my dining habits will be pleased I used my spoon to "drink" the gravy from the bowl, much to the amusement of the people at the table next to us. The restaurant we had lunch in was right on the lake shore, with arresting views over the water to the hills beyond - where we think they grow the previously mentioned tea that the city is famous for.

There was a "different" feel to Hangzhou compared to the other parts of China we'd visited. Simple things like the style of houses, and the spotless pavements, and subtle, landscaped parks gave the area we were staying in a sense of elegance. Without having yet visited Japan, I felt rather strangely like we were already there, and was also reminded of parts of the Lake District back home. Another plus - people were actually happy to talk to us (unprompted) in English! Buying tickets, getting on the bus, in restaurants, at the tourist attractions, it seemed wherever we were, there was a smiling person speaking English. We compromised our "let's not go in any shops we'd go in back home" morals by finishing our walk around the Lake in Starbucks - but after being out in the cold all day (and it was very cold) a hot chocolate was a very welcome thing indeed.

We were able to book an overnight train from Kowloon direct to Shanghai, and had counted on it being easy to get a ticket from there to Hangzhou, with the latter being roughly an hour and a half away by express train. The journey passed without incident, although the little old lady we were sharing our cabin with fell asleep within minutes of leaving Kowloon station and proceeded to snore ridiculously loudly for a good 16 hours before stinking the cabin out with a bowl of the worst-smelling instant noodles we'd come across for her breakfast. She spoke in her sleep when she wasn't snoring, as well, and when she'd finished her foul food she started rustling all of her many plastic bags. Needless to say, Fi and I were both shattered by the time the train arrived at the (very swanky) Shanghai South station. Getting a ticket to Hangzhou was easy, and we left an hour after we'd arrived. The train to Hangzhou was modern, and we both noticed how prosperous the area we were passing through looked compared to other parts of China we'd seen.

It was far colder in Hangzhou than it had been in Hong Kong, and although our room in the wonderful Tour'an hostel was clean, and our 4-poster bed inviting, there was no heating save for an air-conditioning unit on the wall, which when in "hot" mode was as effective as someone standing in the corner with a low-powered hair-dryer on a cool setting waving it about a bit. 

Fiona befriended the hostel's festively plump Siamese cat, and tried to entice it into our room as a hot-water bottle. It seemed happy to have the company but we felt guilty about kidnapping it and reluctantly returned it downstairs.

The ferry out to Lamma Island - the third largest of Hong Kong's islands - took about 20 minutes and we sailed past plenty of seemingly empty freighters, all anchored in the harbour. The birds of prey we'd seen flying around Central, gliding effortlessly between skyscrapers, were making an appearance over the sea as well, and we saw one fetch a large fish out of the water. Arriving at the harbour village of Yung Shue Wan we disembarked, and made our way past the restaurant owners vying for business, through the village itself, and out onto a hiking trail across the island to the village we'd planned to catch the return ferry from - Sok Kwu Wan. Lamma island is car-free - but that doesn't stop the locals travelling around on what we decided were small tractors, and at some speed as well. They have absolute right of way on the narrow paths and we had to leap into banana bushes at the side of the track several times to avoid being hit. Their annoying ice-cream van chime horns weren't really much use, despite them using them constantly.

The hiking trail wound its way over the island, through pretty azalea bushes and banana plantations, and although the view over the sandy beaches was ruined by a massive refinery we enjoyed being away from the bustle of the city centre. When we reached Sok Kwu Wan we sat down and decided to bite the bullet - a seafood lunch. Both of us were a little apprehensive about it after our Vietnamese experience but the menus looked good and we weren't disappointed (or ill the next day!). Scallops, lobster, squid and fresh local fish, all plucked from their respective tanks and cooked within seconds of realising what had happened to them.

Happily for us, the restaurant we'd chosen offered a free boat ride back to Kowloon, and although we expected it to stop off at a jade factory on the way back, it didn't, and proved to be good fun - a faster, more streamlined version of the ferry we'd taken earlier in the day, and we sat on the top deck with the wind in our hair, enjoying the setting sun, and a different view of Hong Kong island.

With plenty of time to kill in Hong Kong we thought we'd take the tram back up Victoria Peak to see the skyline at night. After spending the afternoon finally getting to go the "correct" way up the Mid-Levels Escalator and knocking back a couple of iced margaritas in Soho (that bit was me only) we stretched our legs around the harbour and Central before walking back to the Peak Tram terminal we'd visited a few days earlier. It wasn't as busy this time, in fact the car was nearly empty, but when we got to the top there were still plenty of people milling about on the Sky Terrace. I thought I  might manage my vertigo a little better with the sheer drop off the edge of the terrace invisible in the dark, but if anything it made things worse. Still, I managed to take a few photos of the (very hazy) skyline before we took the tram back down the Peak. We didn't do the return journey when we visited during the day, and what makes it interesting is the fact you go down backwards - which makes you appreciate the gradient even more!  Walking back to the MTR station through the deserted financial district was a strange experience, but fantastic to see the buildings lit up from close quarters. The metro was similarly quiet, but made for a great photo.