Our trip on the bus from Lijiang to Dali was not without event... Firstly, as we were going over a mountain pass, we were forced to stop and join a queue of other buses whilst the Chinese military played with their tanks. There was a race track with targets set around it and when the tanks fired their guns the windows of the bus shook. Then, as we approached Dali, the bus driver pulled over and jestured for us to get off the bus. Unfortunately we did not realise that he was trying to do us a favour by dropping us at Old Dali. So we just nodded and said "Dali bus station please". It was only when we got there, that we realised that it was New Dali bus station. So we made an about ... read more

So we get off the plane at Shangrila airport, we stepped outside the arrivals hall and were met by a smartly dressed cowgirl who asked if we needed a taxi (which of course we did). We had taken photocopys of some pages of the Lonely Planet, so that we had some idea of where we wanted to stay. We showed them to the cowgirl and she drove us off into the sunset (well into town anyway). We booked into the Du Ke Zne hotel next door to the tibet cafe, on the edge of the old town ( 40 yuan for a dorm bed). Richard had told us that there was dancing in the old town square in the evening (7pm to 10pm), so that evening we took a stroll along there. In the square, there ... read more

So as we pulled into the white cavenous building that is Lhasa train station, we saw people stand to attention and salute the train. We disembarked in an orderly fashion and headed out of the station, only to discover that we were miles from town. After a quick look around, we found that the number 91 bus would take us into town for 1 yuan (better than the 60 the taxi wanted). The Japanese chap who had been on the train, joined us on the bus, his name was Masa and we were to spend a lot of time with him in the future. On the bus a young Chinese lad asked if we had a hostel pre-booked and looked very shocked when we said no. He gave us the telephone number of a hotel and ... read more

So here we are, new town, new blog. We arrived a little earlier than expected in Chengdu and joined four other backpackers who were also looking for the Sim's Cozy Guest house pick-up person. When he found us, he looked a little surprised because his small van could not carry six people plus their luggage. So the luggage travelled in the van and we were sent on in a taxi. N.B: Whilst we are on the subject of taxis. If you find yourself travelling in China, I would strongly advice that you take taxi's not trishaws. Trishaw's may appear romantic but taxi's are much cheaper because they have meters, where as with trishaws negotiating a price can be a hit and miss process at the best of times. If you do wish to go by trishaw, ... read more

Our arrival in Pingyao was some what of a group effort. Having stepped out of the train station exit at Taiyuan (because the first bus to Pingyao did not leave for two hours and was four kilometers away), we started to consider our options for making the lengthy trip. As we stood, more and more bemused backpackers started to appear from the very train that we had just come from. Eventually we started to talk to one another and some of us started to research the alternatives. The local train became our responsibility, whilst other people looked into cabs, buses, bicycles or donkey. Ultimately one chap negotiated an excellent deal (30 Yuan each) for all of us to be taken to the very walls of the city by minibus. Our little group had swollen to 16 ... read more