Blogs from Beijing, China, Asia - page 21

Our overland journey from Tokyo to London started with a flight (!) to Hong Kong, hopefully we'll be able to stay on the ground from here on. After spending a few days there with friends we headed across the border to catch a D train from Shenzhen to Hangzhou. The Chinese high speed rail network is impressive - although the build quality and maintenance of some of the stations is a bit iffy the trains themselves are fast, smooth and comfortable with great onboard service. Hangzhou is one of China's most popular tourist destinations and it showed, everywhere was busy, bustling and noisy, especially around the West Lake. We managed to find some peace and quiet with a hike through the mountains (hills really) to the famous LongJing (Dragon Well) tea village. It reminded us in ... read more

2600ft above sea level. Clinging onto a rock with a steep drop below us and the worlds longest man-made structure right in front of us. Chris already with a badly swollen knee, P in survival mode and a Chinese lad (we should really know the name of) completely terrified. Anxiety levels sky high, adrenaline pumping and all wondering how in the world did we get ourselves in such a predicament. Visiting the Great Wall of China should be a joyous and momentous occasion for any visitor. To physically stand on history and be in awe of its enormity. Somehow in our pursuit for that we ended up almost at the complete opposite end of that spectrum. However lets start at the beginning: Beijing - home to 30million people and 6 UNESCO world heritage sites (Egypt has ... read more

We left Xi'an 3 hours late on the long train journey to Lhasa. Unlucky for us our companions in our carriage were a 25yr old mother and a rather noisy 2 yr old boy who we managed to scare most of the trip. Anyway the journey provided some amazing views, especially in Tibet. Lakes, snow capped mountains, yaks, sheep, and not many people. Oh and the highest train station in the world !!! After 31hrs we made it to Lhasa, just in time to reach the hotel before 10pm closing! The altitude causes a few headaches and breathing can be an issue, especially climbing Potala palace. This has to be one of the most amazing buildings in the world, photos will follow. We've also been to a temple and a monastery. Lhasa is like nowhere else ... read more

What a way to spend a Monday morning. Got to stage 4, which is quite steep. And this was a quiet day! Visited tomb of 4th Emperor the an a quick view of the Birds Nest Olympic Stadium. Off out in search of a pub, easier said than done...... read more

Another 12 months have passed since the Southern Africa trip and it's now only 9 days until we spread our wings to the East. A long flight to Beijing where we pick up a tour of Central China. Our original plan was to hop into Nepal for a few days but circumstances have resulted in a change of plan so we should only spend a few hours in Kathmandu airport before moving onto Delhi. There's been a fair bit of paperwork and visas for this trip so we're hoping it all goes smoothly, fingers def crossed. And it's gonna be hot and wet, and thats only the bars! Roll on BA39 to PEK on 20th June.... read more