I'm sure a few of you are aware that I've just been away for a 'holiday' to Hong Kong & Beijing.... I've uploaded my photos to my gallery in case anybody is interested! I did put detailed captions up with the photos until technology intervened and they're now not there!

We had the most awesome time, and came away with very positive experiences and impressions of China and Hong Kong. Have a look through... and then book some plane tickets yourselves!

http://photos.hook85.co.uk/v/China2k7/

Nice pics.

Mainland China is on my list to visit but not till later next year.

My brother and his family lived in Singapore for 5 years and whilst visiting them I also went to Hong Kong. I have now been to HK 4 times and love the place.

Some great photos you have there mate!

this bridge Dan looks like Zakim Bridge in Boston.MA




zakim




some awesome pics thought I always wanted to go to China I been to UK and france

Very beautiful country. Definitely in my top 10 of countries to visit.

The photos are great, Dan! Welcome back. Visiting Hong Kong and Beijing is also on my list of places to visit.

China is on the top list of countries to visit for me as well, it looks so beautiful there.

I've just reorganised them to make it easier to browse through them.. it was a bit heavy going before. If anybody spots any naff photos that I've not spotted please let me know, I'd like to make it a bit smaller!

China is fantastic, but it makes a big difference being with somebody who knows the terrain and can point you in the right direction. We had my girlfriend's brother who works in the British Embassy in Beijing, and so we managed to avoid dodgy restaurants and had assistance in getting around. It can be quite difficult because at present there are only two subway lines (another 7 will be opening in time for the Olympic Games) and very few people speak English. It's also made complicated by the symbols the Chinese use instead of our alphabet so it's impossible to guess at the pronunciation of places you want to visit, that makes getting Taxi's around quite hard!

It's well worth a visit though, and it's possibly my favorite place. We're planning on doing lots of traveling around Asia though, and next summer I'd like to visit the Philippines and Vietnam, and revisit Hong Kong next autumn when it's a bit cooler and less monsoony.

Sorry missed your post Jaime! Thanks for the welcome back, glad you liked the photos. We took over 700 and I've weeded them down to the 200 on there! Digital Camera's are simply the best thing invented, pretty much all our memories of the trip are recorded digitally and it's brilliant - especially the wall, that's something I'll never forget.

I remember Greece was similar in ways like that, since it uses its own alphabet. However, at least there you could guess at some of the names. Like Athens was pretty easy to remember, though in its case, it was also on the signs in English. Helped that we were shepherded around in a bus, too, so we didn't have to guess city names too much.

I picked up on the Greek alphabet rather quickly when I traveled to Greece, and I found it quite easy to read after learning and memorizing the characters of the alphabet. I had fun reading all of the signs to enhance my knowledge of the Greek language. I feel it's always vital to learn some of the language of the country you're traveling to so you can gain a better understanding and respect for their culture (as language is an important part of every culture!), and plus it's very neat!

I know. I tried my best to pick up some stuff beforehand, and learned even more when I was there.