What’s overwhelmingly sad for me is that this great city, after 500 years of history, is best known as the city that the first atomic bomb was used on in an act of war. This action by the Americans on the morning of August 6th 1945 overshadows everything. It must leave a scar on the memories of the people here. Of all of the people around me, who isn’t affected in some way?

September 1945

Autumn 1945

Hiroshima wasn’t always the target. The Target Committee, led by General George Marshall, nominated four targets in the months before: Kokura, the site of one of Japan’s largest munitions plants; Hiroshima, an embarkation port and industrial centre that was the site of a major military headquarters; Niigata, a port with industrial facilities including steel and aluminium plants and an oil refinery; and Kyoto, a major industrial centre.

The United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945. The Japanese Government declined and its emperor, Hirohito, did not change the decision, setting in motion the events that would decimate this fine city. On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the Atomic Bomb ”Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people within seconds of detonation at an altitude of 600m (1,968 ft). By the end of that year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000–140,000. Approximately 69% of the city’s buildings were completely destroyed, and another 7% severely damaged.

What staggers me is this: Little boy had an explosive yield of about 12 – 15 kilotons TNT and devastated approximately one mile radius. In 2010, the US B53 nuclear bomb, which the US has about 50 of, had a yield of 9,000 kilotons TNT.

This capital of Hiroshima Prefecture has a modern face of an industrial city punctuated with criss-crossing rivers, broad highway, and a populous city center. The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a center for trade and exhibition of new products. The city, and especially its ports, played a big part in both the first and second Sino-Japanese wars and was extended militarily during around the turn of the century. During these war, Hiroshima was used a number of times for high-level talks, indicating its importance in the actions.

From day to day, modern Hiroshima is lively and busy. For shopping and food, Hondori street is probably the place to start. It has many retail stores and good, reasonably priced restaurants and eating places. It’s certainly lively, and you can try some of the local specialities.

Hondori archade.

Okonomiyaki: One of many local dishes.

Why not try some okonomiyaki, look out for places offering anago, maybe oysters or local fugu (though neither are in season), and if it’s your thing, horumon-yaki (grilled offal). Summer is a good time to visit one of the places for Hiroshima style tsukemen as well. Look out for the Hiroshima specialty of kozakana (baby fish) at the sushi places.

There are public parks that create a very open feel, despite some very modern, slick buildings, and well designed urban areas. Next to all of this modern style is one historical event that my virtual self will now go and visit. August 6th 1945.

I hope my camper is ok.

She made it!

What I find fascinating here is that the cranes can remove a single container with ease. It’s like they know exactly where every box is. Maybe they do.

I climb in through the back window and back it out. An exchange of papers and a quick passport and visa check and I’m away. Thankfully, the Japanese drive on the left, so it’s just like home. The ship will leave for its next destination within the hour and I will head north, with a few stopping point along the way.

This morning I drove the camper over to the container depot at Beilun and signed all the forms, let the tires down a little (!) and backed it into a big blue container box, before a crew of men strapped it in place and closed the doors. I will next see my little friend at the port in Japan on Thursday. Well, I can’t waste time here, so I am off in a taxi to see something more interesting than an enormous, robotic crane.

As I don’t have the camper to get myself around, I made the decision to move to a hotel near the centre of Beilun last night. This is the container port that I will be leaving from in the morning at 06:35. In the hotel I manage to download the Shanghai metro app to my iPhone over wi-fi, which is actually great.

Shanghai metro app

Marinetraffic app

The taxi took me all the way into Shanghai and dropped me off near the river at The Bund. This is a popular place for tourists to visit, but in some ways it’s like walking down Wall Street without seeing anything. The Bund, meaning embankment is a section along the waterfront that has some very important buildings that mark the rise of the city outside of the old, walled city to the south.

The Bund during the day.

A more impressive sight at night.

Being the largest city in China and an economically booming metropolis, Shanghai abounds in restaurants and eating places. The restaurants apart from serving delicious Chinese foods; serves Indian, Thai, Italian and French Cuisines as well. Read on to get a proper idea of what/where to eat.

Among the favourite Chinese cuisines, Ben Bang cuisine is loved by many Shanghainese. Fresh fish forms the main part of this dish. This local cuisine has a nice strong aroma. Garnished with Soya bean sauce, the dish looks great. Xiang You Shan Hu is another popular dish in Shanghai which is actually a preparation of eel. Eel is roasted in hot oil and served with a special sauce. Another hot favorite dish among Shanghai locals is Ba Bao La Jiang. Consisted of shrimp, peanuts, pork, bamboo shoot, chicken, tripe and sauce, this dish is yummy to say the least.

The city is maybe more interesting when the sun goes down. There is a lot of noise wherever you go, but that’s where the life is. After a good, very early, evening meal I negotiate a taxi back to my hotel quite early. I have to be at the port at 06:00, so need some sleep. Tomorrow, I head out into the East China Sea.

The city is on the Yangtzi river delta, which feeds into the East China Sea. This was the basis of the original villages that grew around the original delta, but in the 19th century, due largely to it’s ideal port location, it was developed to cater for the foreign trade and a big part of the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. It’s had a slow rise from it’s earliest days, and the Song Dynasty elevated the village to a market town in 1074. It officially became a city in 1922.

I am 5721 miles (as the crow flies) from London and crossed 21 countries to get here. After more than 55 days I learnt so much about our world, the people who live in it and history that spans 120,000 years.

Tomorrow I will visit a few tourist sights in Shanghai and experience their markets and food.

There are hundreds of container shipping services all over the world, and Shanghai happens to be the biggest port in China, and the third largest port in the world. If I am going to find a passage to Japan, it probably starts here. Ships sailing from Shanghai voyage to some 500 ports in over 160 countries and regions all over the world. Due to the slow speed, some long-distance sea routes have been closed. However, the quantity of the goods moved in and out of Shanghai port ranks highly among the world’s major ports. Passenger transportation through Shanghai port is also very busy.

I intend to take the ship from Shanghai to Hakata port, but the ship doesn’t leave until Tuesday morning, so I get a long weekend in Shanghai. There are not as many services that take both the cargo and the passenger on the same ship, so this fits very well.

In order to meet the rules of the transport, my little camper has to be delivered to the shipping office very early Monday morning and put into the container. I will then travel as a paying customer and will have a small cabin on the ship until Hiroshima, where we will both be put ashore. Container shipping is not cheap, but for this leg of the trip, there is no alternative. For instance, a person travelling aboard one of these monsters costs around US$80 – 120 per day. I should be in Japan on Thursday 29th March.

So I get a few days to sit back, discover great things about Shanghai, and look into the history of this fascinating city.

With Chinese ethnicity making up 98% of the resident population,[4] Chinese cuisine is naturally served at home. A majority of Chinese in Hong Kong are Cantonese in addition to sizeable numbers of Hakka, Teochew and Shanghainese people, and home dishes are Cantonese with occasional mixes of the other three types of cuisines. Rice is predominantly the main staple for home meals. Home ingredients are picked up from local grocery stores and independent produce shops, although supermarkets have become progressively more popular. Most restaurant serving sizes are considerably small by international standards, especially in comparison to most Western nations like the United States or Canada. The main course is usually accompanied by a generous portion of carbohydrates such as rice or mein (noodles). People generally eat 5 times a day. Dinner is often accompanied with dessert. Snack time also fits anywhere in between meals.

If shopping is your thing, Hong Kong has plenty to offer. Hong Kong is a very materialistic culture with high levels of consumerism. Shops from the lowest end to the most upscale pack the streets in close proximity. Some popular shopping destinations include Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Causeway Bay.

So I head back across to Shenzhen and my hotel, having sampled the city and some of the many fascinating attractions and histories. Tomorrow I head north and into China as I make my way to Shanghai on the east coast.

You can't help but be impressed.

Everything is taller than me, except for the people.

In 1979, Shenzhen was made a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which opened up the area to high investment. Initially, this was in large scale manufacturing, but the need to service-bases business expanded quickly and billions of dollars has been invested here since. Shenzhen was a small fishing village at the time and quite hilly in its terrain, but almost all of the hills have gone to make way for the vast building projects that have taken over. This is also the third-largest container port in China, after Shanghai and Hong Kong. Like so many areas I have passed through to date, Hong Kong is the product of Imperial rule. It’s situated on the south coast of China between the South China Sea and Pearl River Delta and has always been the centre of trade. Archaeological studies support a human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago, and in Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago. Three Fathoms Cove, to the south of Tolo Harbour, is probably the earliest habitation during the Palaeolithic era.

In 1839, the Qing Dynasty refused to import opium and resulted in the First Opium War between China and Britain. The main islands were taken by the British in 1841. Through many negotiations and false starts, the island was ceded to the United kingdon in Perpetuity under the Treaty of Nanking. Like all imperial rule, this has caused some political unease over the years, but that was largely settled on 1 July 1997, when the sovereignty was transferred to China, officially ending 156 years of British rule.

I think it’s only right that I try to sample the bustle of the city and head off to Sham Shui Po. This is the centre of the city and very busy. I find an unassuming place to eat called Lau Sum Kee. The Food it great and this place seems to have a great reputation, if not for the environment you get to sit and eat in. The menu is just in Chinese, so I stood and pointed and got a nice bamboo cane-pressed noodles with dried shrimp roe.

In 2003, Hong Kong was gravely affected by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The World Health Organization reported 1,755 infected and 299 deaths in Hong Kong. An estimated 380 million Hong Kong dollars (US$48.9 million) in contracts were lost as a result of the epidemic. It has to be said, an epidemic on this type is very rare.

Being interested in such things, I head over to the Hong Kong Space Museum. This is a museum of astronomy and space science in Tsim Sha Tsui, just south on the Victoria harbour. East Tsim Sha Tsui Station will get you here. It’s open until 21:00, but I have other things to do, despite wanting to stay longer. It’s very humid and warm, so I have plenty of water with me as I head off to look along the harbour and then back on the metro to Yau Ma Tei to sit in King’s Park, which is nice. During the afternoon I make good use of the street sellers. Dining at a dai pai dong — the streetside cooked food stalls made of tin painted a distinct green — is an experience. I just point, and feel somewhat stupid that I can’t speak Mandarin, the most widely used language here.

Mong Cai shares the river with the Chinese city of Dongxing on the other side. Mong Cai is widely considered one of the wealthiest cities in Vietnam, and the city is very modern in places. Having resigned myself to not making the crossing, I head along to the river to look across at China. Although Dongxing is more developed an area, it is obvious that Mong Cai is where the money is, or at least where the money is spent. Maybe the Chinese have bigger places to worry about. I was expecting to get across and head off into China today, if only to stay near Dongxing, but the more I do my research the more I think I am better this side of the river. At least for tonight. There is a surprisingly lively nightlife. Families and tourists meander along the bridge and through the streets that branch off from the intersection in the centre of town. The cafes along the river offer a more romantic setting, and a younger crowd tends to gather in the two popular clubs. The town’s five-star hotel has a 24 hour casino, too, but local Vietnamese are not allowed into the hotel, so the only gamblers are Chinese or foreigners.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRKH_bsgIcs?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

The border generates billions in trade between the two countries, and the nearby beach of Tra co draws in plenty of tourists. Mong Cai Town lies by the bank of the Ka Long River. Tra co beach stretches 17km (10 mi) along the south eastern edge of the nearby peninsular. It is mostly Vietnamese tourists from Hanoi and the northern region.

So, here I am, stuck, as it were, on the Vietnam-side of the border and unprepared. I like the look of Mong Cai, so I decide to head off for an early dinner and sample the local food. Not far from the bus station I find a chinese restaurant that is eager to serve me. There is no menu, and the owner insists, in actually good English, that I simply point out the ingredients I want and they will cook it for me.

Afterwards I head back to the camper, make a cup of tea and read for a while, before getting some sleep.

One fundamental thing I have learnt about the southern asia region is that life here goes back to an ancient age, and Hanoi is no exception. The red river area was inhabited from around 3000 BC, and has a strong trading and political base. This predates the Pyramids of Giza. In 1010, Ly Thai To, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed the site Thăng Long or Rising Dragon. In 1408, the Chinese Ming Dynasty walked in and took over. The invading China stuck around for twenty years and were driven out by the Vietnamese in 1428. It became Hanoi when the French took over in 1887.

The red river is part of Hanoi.

Life seems busy.

As it is so close to the hotel I am staying in, my first call is to the Hoan Kiem Lake. There’s a touch of the Arthurian legend here, in that the lake was the home to the Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui), who handed the Emporer Lê Lợi a magical sword that empowered him to defeat the Chinese and drive them out. The lake is often referred to as the Sword lake, and soft-shell turtles live on the shallow island that stands in the centre. The rather impressive Turtle Tower was built in the 18th Century. The soft shell turtle is badly endangered, and no one seems to know how many are actually in the lake. The Old Quarter amounted to just 36 streets a hundred years ago, and each street had merchants that specialised in a particular trade. Now, the Old Quarter is surrounded by the modern city.

For lunch I decide to try one of the street stalls, which look a little less than safe, but the food look incredible. While simply asking for Chicken Street in Vietnamese – Phố Gà Nướng – will probably land you in the right place [If you can pronounce it!], the actual street name is Lý Văn Phúc. I can’t quite face the grilled chicken feet, so I go for the drumsticks instead. A great bowl of rice with a hot sauce makes the meal. There are some concerns about the general hygiene in these markets, and some of the restaurants for that matter, but with a little common sense it shouldn’t be too risky.

Great food, despite the conditions.

Not sure about the grilled feet!

A little further on I pass Hỏa Lò Prison, otherwise known as the “Hanoi Hilton”. It was a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. I know it as the place that drug smugglers end up at after being caught at the airport.

As I head back to the Old Quarter and my hotel, I stop off at the Night Market. It is open late every Friday, Saturday and sundays. Dong Xuan Market was constructed by the French in 1889 and follows the many town markets you see in French towns and cities. It has to be said, it is mostly a tourist market selling souveniers, handicrafts, but I venture in and have a good look round.

It’s been a busy day and I have found some great places and easten dome terrific food. Tomorrow I head out towards China and another border crossing.