As Seen by TV

We spent our final day in Hoi An on the beach, followed by the compulsory final night of photographic vespertine action. Hoi An, you will be truly missed. Defo worth the visit if you get the chance…

TimVan recommends Hoi An, Vietnam.

Our first full day in Hoi An, and we were somewhat dissaspointed with the rain, but at the same time somewhat relieved because the rain stemmed from a typhoon that hit the Vietnamese coast just north of us.  So we rented a motorbike, bought 20 cent raincoats, rocked the flip-flops and did some market shopping… after lunch, we decided to go check out the beach, a short 10min drive away… not really knowing what to expect, but we were in for a treat… a completely deserted beach saturated in lush post-typhoon colors.  The waves were menacing to say the least, but gladly it seemed the worst was over.  That evening we decided to come back the next day with out same gear, with the addition of our swimsuits.

We took a walk (luckily it had stopped raining when we arrived, and just started again as we were driving back) down the beach, while the night shots are taken from a bridge inbetween Hoi An town and the beach area…. the fishermen pictured are actually “fishing” for snakes!

Some night shots around Upper Quezon Hill, Baguio City.
The following day we rented a jeepney and accompanied the family for a day at the beach, heading from Baguio down Kennon Road through Rosario, a 1500m decent to the seaside, where we enjoyed the warm water and BBQ’d fresh fish on the beach…!

@ Sanjiagang Beach Resort, Pudong, Shanghai

* it wasn’t full moon

A long weekend to Qingdao is exactly what I needed, as the immense heat and lack of a breeze makes Shanghai borderline unbearable (heat index puts it close to 50C!).  Historically, Qingdao was a German settlement (hence the infamous beer brewery), and is also home to Asia’s largest beer festival coming up later this year in August (I’m hoping to go back!).  QD also held many of the maritime events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which was also news to me.  

Although next time I might skip the +10hr overnight Chinese sleeper-bus (150 kuai one-way).  Leaving Shanghai at 7:30pm one night, putting us in Qingdao around 6am the next morning… carrying all our gear and well-rested (sarcasm) we went on a hotel hunt, stumbling on the Red Wine Street (seriously littered with everything to do with wine… including fake grapes hanging in fake vines arcoss everything).   The bus has no seats, only army-style beds, which barely don’t fit me, 3 rows, 2 levels… and on the way back to Shanghai, add 2 more rows (people lying head to toe in the aisles!).  Yeah, just try and go to the toilet in the back.

By 10am we found ourselves at the Tsingtao brewery… tired, but happy to visit China’s largest brewery.  Two free beers and a couple hours later (1 raw, 1 normal) we found a hotel and crashed.  I’ve been to several breweries all over, and am extremely happy to say that I finally got to see the actual production line, something I’ve always wanted to see.  Surprisingly, completely run by less than 10 workers.  Also, the “drunk room” was interesting, giving me the spins for well over an hour. 

Day 2 saw a visit to the Olympic Sailing Center as well as a quick trip to the beach… water was damn cold, but damn good.  Night was spent drinking Tsingtao’s at Club NY (amazing live Filipino band there, plays everything) while watching a brilliant football matchup between the Netherlands and some country called Brazil.

The last few images show the time wasting before our bus trip back to Shanghai… I managed to buy one single [somewhat illegal] memento. 

I’ve been close to 500 towns/cities around the world, and I believe this to be my first “Q”.  Actually, I can think of only a few others out there, Quito (ECU), Quezon City (PHL), Quebec City (CAN)… and probably some things starting with Queens.

*be warned, some images shot with my the crappy iPhone cam*