"The harbour at Aberdeen with floating restaurant in the background.
 
For a number of years I had tried without success to obtain a visa to visit China, until in 1974 I was offered the chance to join an organised tour that was leaving london that summer. Although I had never liked the idea of travelling this way it seemed my only chance to visit the country at that time, so I joined it.
 
After our arrival in Hong Kong, where we spent the first night, our group of 20 set off on the train from Kowloon to the border. We were an interesting mixture of English, Americans, an Indian lady and a Portuguese chap from Guiana. We were from all walks of life from an American banker to a nurse, a writer, architect and a social worker. All brought together by the one common interest - China. On reaching the border we left the train to go through customs and walk over the bridge to the Chinese side for their customs. We were joined by our 3 Chinese interpreters-cum-guides and boarded another train for Canton, a process that took about 20 minutes. After all the difficulty I had encountered in the past to visit China, I found it hard to believe that I had really arrived. Our journey to Canton in the comfort of a first class carriage was a pleasant one. For me, watching the paddy fields and clusters of farm houses and villages go by was a dream come true." - MH