Two Days in Guangzhou

China is somewhere that is so alluring. Surrounded in the myths and legends of the orient. It is the first country as a child that I thought of as a far away and unreachable place. I also love the food. These reasons are probably why Lee and I decided right away that we were going to add China to our itinerary. We had already been lucky enough to visit Beijing and Shanghai last year but we felt there was more exploring to do. We got our visas in advance before we left Korea (through this company) and started planning.
We knew we wanted to visit Hong Kong and we knew we wanted to visit Guilin, famous for it’s mountainous landscapes. Since we knew that we wanted to hit these two locations it made logical sense that we should start at the mid point between the two, Guangzhou.
I knew nothing about Guangzhou before I started researching it and unfortunately I still didn’t know much about the place after I researched it. It seems that Guangzhou isn’t the bloggers main destination. Instead of being disappointed by this , it peaked my interest.
When we arrived in Guangzhou it was 1am so we headed to the taxi rank. This should have been an easy task but the angry, shouting taxi drivers trying to convince us aggressively to ride in their illegal , un-metered taxi’s made it quite difficult. I steered Lee away from their zombie-like grasps and found the taxi rank. Illegal and rude taxi drivers are such a problem in Guangzhou that the government has set up an English helpline. If a driver refuses to take you somewhere, is rude to you or won’t use the meter you can phone this number ‘96900’ and report them by giving their license number. I thought this may just be an excessive precaution until we stepped off the taxi rank and were directed to a driver who started hurling abuse at us because he didn’t want to drive to foreigners. To say we were a little shocked was an understatement. Luckily we navigated our way to another taxi who took us to our hotel. It is good to know that taxi’s only take cash here (in case you are coming from Korea) and also that if you go through a toll you will get an additional receipt when you pay since it isn’t automatically added onto the the meter fee. Our toll only cost up 15p so don’t worry they aren’t extortionate or anything. It cost us 120 yuan to get to the city centre (about 12 pound).
We found our hotel which was a bit dodgy on the outside but had a large and comfy room. We rested our heads and dreamed of all the exciting things we would be getting up to the next day…that was until 6am when building work on the room next to ours started. A power drill a few inches from your head at 6am is not the welcome most guests hope for.
Guangzhou had not started on our good side.
We got dressed and headed out to the city. The first stop on almost all our visits to new countries is weirdly the seven-eleven. Lee and I always rush to see what exciting chocolate bars they have and what weird drink flavours we can find. This is an odd tradition but it is a great insight into the country.
The rest of the day was filled with us desperately trying to find the shrines and markets we had read about online. We weren’t very successful. All we seemed to find were run down shops and a million Mc Donald’s. At one point there were three separate Mc establishments in my field of view. It was a little excessive. Even for fast food lovers like ourselves.
We headed back to the hotel room disheartened and missing Japan with its efficient, clean roads and kind people …..BUT we were determined to not let Guangzhou beat us. The next day we hit the town with a renewed vigor.
We started the day by accidentally wandering to a local park that had old Chinese ladies practicing their fan dancing by the lake and the large centre point compass of Guangzhou at the heart of the gardens. After this we took in the Comic City shopping mall by Gongyuanqian (on lines 1 and 3) subway station full of kitschy teenager clothes and accessories. I had to be wrestled away from a few clothes bargains. Then we headed to Shangxiajiu street, a pedestrianized market area which had some nice small shops and delicious smelling markets.
Lastly to finish off our day we went to the infamous Canton tower to take in the renowned rainbow lights. This was by far the best part of Guangzhou. The skyscrapers filled the air above us and Chinese traditional music filled the air. We walked along happily for hours until it turned dark and we were craving some deliciousness. This is when I forced Lee to experience something i’ve been trying to do for a while….we went to the Hello Kitty Cafe. I realise this is Japanese but we had one in Daegu , Korea that shut down the day I tried to visit. I vowed I’d enter it’s door somewhere. This pink powder puff of a place served lovely coffees and let Lee get in touch with his feminine side.
We headed back to the hotel happy and content, feeling we had made the most of our very short time in Guangzhou. It isn’t my favourite city by any means but it feels as though it’s ready to explode and become the second Shanghai. I’d be excited to return in 10 years and see what has been done with the place….but for now it’s not some where I’d be racing back to.

Nara- Oh Deer, Oh Deer

Oh Nara, you beautiful little place you. I’m not going to lie to you all, we went to Nara for one reason and one reason only….Deer. We love animals and any excuse to be close to them – when they are treated fairly – is a good with us.
Nara is a small city on the outskirts of both Kyoto and Osaka. Many hundreds of years ago it was the old capital of Japan. Deer are a sacred and lucky animal so this area of Japan has never hurt or hunted them, subsequently the deer roam free around this beautiful small place.
We hopped on a train and after only a few minutes we had our first deer sighting.
At first we thought it was a statue since it was so still but we soon realised that this creature just inches from us was real. Our eyes adjusted to see all the deer littering the path ahead. People were selling food at 150yen per 5 rice cakes and we bought quite a few. The deer were friendly but not above giving you a little ‘butt’ for attention.
The most impressive thing about the deer was their bowing skills. Yes, they bow! They have learnt that bobbin their head gets you to feed them. It’s stupidly impressive and we were suckers for it.
We didn’t just see deer in Nara. We also saw the largest sitting bronze Buddha in the world which was incredible . It was a little pricey to get in but well worth it (I think it was 600 yen) . The most bizarre part of the day (yes, more bizarre than frolicking with deer) was queuing up to crawl through a hole. In one of the pillars of the shrine is a small hole that can barely fit a human. It is said that crawling through this pillar will being you luck and love for life. Since I am the small one in this team I decided it was my job to have a go. I was sure I wouldn’t fit but I huffed and puffed my way and within seconds I was through. It was a weird way to spend an afternoon but a fun one.
We strolled the parks of Nara and the alleys full of shops and headed back to Osaka.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the trip but I really enjoyed the place and would recommend this day trip to anyone. It was a quiet area so I’m not sure we could have found things to do for more than a day but if you want some peace and quiet this is the place to go.

Osaka - Running Men and Rainy Days

So today Lee and I flew out of japan…and then flew back an hour later. Our flight to Manilla was turned around after a faulty windscreen wiper of all things. It is better to be safe than sorry of course but a missed connection flight and a hotel we have to pay for that we won’t use is annoying on a tight budget like ours. Jetstar don’t have a great reputation for paying people compensation but we can only wait and hope they will help us, if we ever get to Manilla that is.
On the plus side,I get to type to you lovely people.
So what have we been up to for the last few days? Osaka and Nara is what we’ve been up to.
I was very excited to find Lee did to know much about Osaka so I got to show him the bright lights of Dotonbori that I’d heard so much about. Including of course the Osaka ‘running man’. Dotonbori is the restaurant, shopping and bar hub of Osaka. Streets and streets of the weird and the wonderful.

sorry…had to do it

We accidentally stumbled upon Kurmon Ichiba market where we filled up on Tempura and Takoyaki (octopus balls) and we had a few drinks in Minami (very very near Dotonbori) in a bar called ‘Bar Moon Walk’ where after you pay the 400 yen cover charge all drinks are 210 yen ,which in Osaka is a great deal.My favourite was a Sake concoction called ‘Welcome to Japan’…very fitting.
We took in some culture on a rainy day and saw the legendary Osaka castle and wandered the museum inside. It was impressive and a little bit scary to imagine the battles that had taken place on that very ground. It was a horrible day but the castle did cheer it up a bit. On the bright side it also meant every shrine and temples were empty.
If Kyoto is the quiet , refined part of Japan then Osaka is the loud local who lives to run around and get things done. Compared to Tokyo Osaka feels lived in.
If I was to come to Japan again I think I may give Osaka a miss, not because it’s not beautiful but it is a functional city and we did a lot in 2 and a half days. We did also got to squeeze in a half day trip to Nara but the sheer loveliness of that place requires a whole post to itself.
As I write this we are still no clearer if we will ever leave Japan, but as much as I hate this airport right now (where are the cheap fast food places??? ) I loved Japan and we are already planning our return.

Touristy Things to Do in Edinburgh

tour·ist

ˈto͝orəst/

noun

 a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure.

Sometimes people will try everything to not be seen as a tourist but I am an advocate for embracing the term. Not the ‘loud, obnoxious’ stereotype but a person who is in search for pleasure and wants to discover a new place, respectfully.

Two years ago for Christmas my brother bought my mum and baby sister a surprise flight to visit him in Edinburgh. So selflessly I decided to join the rest of the Vincent’s and finally see the Scottish isles.
I LOVED it. I had just come back from Rome and I realise that it sounds crazy to someone who’s never been but Edinburgh reminds me a lot of Rome, history on every corner, gorgeous architecture and lovely people. So without further ado, here are those things that everyone needs to try in the Scottish capital:

• Visit Calton Hill 

This is the large hill in Edinburgh that looks out to Arthur’s seat and the town below, as well as the seas behind you. If you can go up and watch it turn to dusk you will be in for a treat.

• Find some Bagpipes… and dance in the street

My mum was so happy to see a Scottish guard playing the bagpipes that she proceeded to do an jig in the street. She was lovely and it was a great moment.

• Eat Nipps and Tatties 

Haggis may not appeal to you but believe me, it is delicious. Imagine a meatball (or a faggot for the English / Welsh people out there) It’s great. If you can’t bring yourself to try it then you can always try one of the other Scottish delights. Oat cakes, swede mash, whiskey sauce, shortbread, hot toddies, mulled wine, deep fried mars bars,  cranachan….mmmm just eat everything while you are there.

• Visit the Elephant Cafe

If you aren’t a fan of Harry Potter then this might not appeal to you but i’m a HUGE potter fan so going to the cafe where she wrote a lot of it was a cool feeling. There are also signs of the books all over this city. In the Greyfruars Kirkyard graveyard, which is also definitely worth a visit, you can see the gravestone of a man named ‘Tom Riddle’ and see Edinburgh castle that gave the inspiration for Hogwarts. If you do go to the elephant cafe, you might find yourself wondering why there aren’t any elephants in the books.

• Go on the Edinburgh after dark tour

There are so many  walking tours in Edinburgh . We paid a little and had a tour of the underground tombs with the Auld Reekie Tour company. We had my younger sister with us so we didn’t do the ghost tour just the underground tour. The vaults under the city were made famous by the criminals Burke and Hare but have gone through so many changes throughout the year. It was a little creepy but interesting. Seeing the left over cockle shells from when there were secret bars under the bridge in the 19th century. It’s a great thing to see.

• Walk the Cobbled Street’s of Edinburgh

Sometimes you just need to walk around a city . Edinburgh is one of those. You should just walk and take it all in. (if you can stop off and buy a Irn Bru and a Tunnocks teacake while you do it, even better)

Have you been to Edinburgh or anywhere else that you love in Scotland? Where in Scotland should we visit next?