Save for the grubby looks I get when I admit it - Guangzhou is one of my favorite cities in China. The food is good, the weather always fine (except when it's chucking it down) and the culture emerging. Maybe it's just the super-smooth roads but explore a random hutong in Haizhu, particulary the area north and south of Jiangnan West Road and perhaps you'll get a feel for what I mean.
I remember when Hong Kong was as different from England as I could fathom. Now a week there seems like a homecoming break from the intensity of Shanghai.
After a few days of locking umbrellas with the locals we were positively Pavlovian at the prospect of being out on the open water. Thanks to Tomeat's company Junk and a clued-in captain we cruised north-east around Kowloon to the peaceful Clearwater Bay.
Punctures, dings and videos about Banksy aside it was super sweet to roll around Hong Kong with the guys from hongkongfixed.com/, run by Masa. They're an awesome bunch with some really slick rides, I glimpsed an incredibly high spec Pista, a dozen aerospokes and some highly polished chains. The guys in Guangzhou told us that dosh per km, HK outspend everybody. True that.
No better way to say goodbye to London for a while than with a Great Queen street Chicken pie for four... for two!
Good to see Broadway market intact and thriving after the year England has just endured. Maybe that's why the falafel was a little smaller and the brownies are no longer three for two.
Ah. Maybe that's why the Phoenix frames didn't sell so well; They're already all over the place. Every other lamppost has a Phoenix hanging off it. Seems people like to keep the old rod-brakes and wheels on them. Wonder if it is as fun as Shanghai to ride around London with almost useless components.