Our flight arrived in Chongqing about 20 minutes early which was great as we hadn't anticipated being in bed until about 2am. The taxis are very efficiently organised at the airport and we just needed to tell an official where we were going, she wrote it down and passed it to the metered taxi driver. Seemed easy except our driver was a complete git. First of all, he drove to the petrol station and there was a big queue so we had to wait 10 minutes. We tried to have a go at him, telling him to switch off the meter, [View Full Entry]

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The flight only took about an hour from Chengdu and there was an airport transfer bus to Lijiang centre, where numerous taxis were available, so it was a pretty easy journey. The taxi dropped us just outside the old quarter as it is pedestrianised, then we made our way through narrow streets and alleyways to our chosen guesthouse, 'The First Bend Inn'. We've no idea how we found it - it was pure fluke as we didn't have a map of the area. The guesthouse is a traditional Naxi style house, the ethnic group of the area. The rooms are built [View Full Entry]

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We stayed in a place called Mix Hostel but again, because we'd booked a double room, they actually put us in a hotel just down the road. It's a good way to get to stay in a hotel for cheaper, cheaper price!! We went with Darryl for a walk around the area near Wenshu Temple, which wasn't far from Mix. It's an arty area and all looked quite new, although it has been built in a traditional style. We searched for somewhere to have lunch, which was surprisingly difficult. There were a few bars but none serving food. We spotted a [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Datong really early in the morning - something like 6:30 - and found the CITS office in the station. Three other back-packers also made their way into the office and we sat while the guide explained our tour options. We all signed up to go to Yungang Caves and the Hanging Temple, leaving at 9 o'clock. CITS told us there were no train tickets left for onward travel to Xian so we would have to go to Taiyuan on the overnight sleeper and sort out another ticket from there. In China, you cannot buy tickets unless you are [View Full Entry]

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We left the hostel at 06:40!! Orla was in a terrible state of shock, finding she is up earlier everyday travelling than she ever is for work at home! It took 3 hours in a cramped minibus to get to Jinshanling - our starting point for our walk of the Great Wall. Our bus driver was a maniac so the drive seemed longer! A German girl called Andrea asked if she could walk with us. She was really nice and we started walking together with shouts from local traders of "Postcard, postcard" - something you hear alot in China! The weather [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Beijing 3:30pm really looking forward to our stay in China. Wow!! What a difference! After the quiet/hardly a sole for miles Mongolia, the hustle bustle of Beijing's main train station was quite daunting. The place was buzzing; we just stood in the plaza outside the station taking it all in for a few minutes. After composing ourselves we found a very friendly taxi driver who had heard of the hostel we'd booked, told us 100yuan was the going rate. Ok, great we're off. Got to the hostel and were told that a taxi from the station should cost around [View Full Entry]

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We arrived at UB train station at 8am and were met by a guide and driver from Black Ibex. They took us to our hotel - Ulaanbaatar Hotel - we were amazed (and delighted) that we seemed to be staying in the poshest hotel in the city! George Bush has stayed here and while we were there, the Korean Minister for Security was also there. We checked into our luxury pad and Orla got excited about the free shampoo, shower gel and toilet roll. We've only been travelling 9 days so can't imagine what she'll be like after a year! We [View Full Entry]

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Got on train number 4 bound for Beijing at 21:00, then it left at 21:35. After the evil Tobias at Intourist had sent us 2nd class ticket vouchers, even though we'd paid for 1st class and he'd ignored our complaint letter, we were amazed and delighted to find our 1st class berth. Two beds (bunks), an armchair and table, plenty of luggage space and a shared washbasin room with the couple next door. Luxury. We dumped our bags and went straight to the dining car to check out the beer situation. Plenty. We decided to order some food - shashlik - [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Moscow and found our hostel, Godzillas. Hostel ok but got eaten alive by mosquitoes on our first night - welcome to travelling!! We'd been up at 5 in the morning to catch our flight from Heathrow, so were obviously delighted when the party people and the customary guitar-player were in the kitchen (next door to our room) until 6 the next morning! Orla asked for a new room the next day but was told it was a one off and wouldn't happen on the Saturday night. Saturday 9th, we got up late and made our way to Red Square [View Full Entry]

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In the final stages of preparations for our round-the-world trip. Three weeks to go and counting!! Still the big hairdryer debate rages on!!!! (It's the debate that's big, not the hairdryer!!) [View Full Entry]

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