The reams of hooker calling cards delivered to my hotel rooms daily.
I’m in Chinas former capital Nanjing with the final stint to the Bund in Shanghai being all that is left in front of me. It’s not been the most interesting week of cycling but Nanjing has more than made up for it with it’s rich history. A national holiday next week has thrown a bunch more problems at me, regarding accommodation in Shanghai mostly being fully booked, but as always I’ve got a plan…
Another week and, weirdly, another terracotta army. I’ve smashed through the 10,000 mile marker and have just a short 400 miles left until Shanghai. I had one more day of rain after my last post and then the sun burst back through the clouds.
Right, back to the cycling! My little jaunt off to Hong Kong was successful as my passport has now been graced with a brand new Chinese visa, good for another month in the country.
One of the new Tim Ho Wan locations in Olympian City 2, Hong Kong.
A few years ago a story did the rounds of the British newspapers detailing a Hong Kong dim sum canteen boasting the nickname “The cheapest michelin-starred restaurant on earth”. The famed Michelin guide isn’t known for giving out awards casually and waiting times of several hours to get at the treats within seemed to confirm this place wasn’t all hype. I made a mental note that if I ever went to Hong Kong I’d track the place down.
Further apologies to the cycling fans! I’ve been smashing through various writing projects during my time off in Hong Kong (putting out 10,000 words a day into various tasks) and catching up on blogs is one of them. Back in January 2014 I headed into the former British protectorate of Somaliland. On the overland route to the country from Ethiopia I stopped in several places along the way, one of the most fascinating being Harar, well known for it’s urban Hyena’s…
Beached ships in the Port of Berbera, Somaliland.
Another deviation from the cycling posts for those of you following along with that. I’ve currently got some down time in Hong Kong, whilst my passport is in the Chinese embassy hopefully getting a new visa stamped in it, and figured I’d catch up on some of the posts that have been sitting in my “To Do” folder on my laptop. We now jump back to my winter trip in January 2014 to the breakaway state Somaliland, a centre of stability in the otherwise crumbling nation of Somalia.
James Finnerty 