My camera broke so thought id use these pics or they will be forever lost. Also, had a few beers so seems like a good idea at the time. I'm in Paris!!!!!! [View Full Entry]

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Day 38 - Wednesday 8th October. Couldn't sleep so got up early for me at 9.30am Got showered and packed as we had to check out by midday. Then wandered out to find some aspirin for my head. Hot today. I came back and before anyone else was up just had time to order a jumbo breakfast. I didn't intend on spending any money today but that soon changed. I was bored so decided to wander off on my own. Decided to listen to my ipod but my earphones had broken. So i headed to the shopping centre. I was looking [View Full Entry]

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Day 37 - Tuesday 7th October - Not too much to add but we are moving on again soon so wanted to get up to date. Got up late around midday, getting a bit too used to these lie ins. A day of sorting things out again really. Finally managed to withdraw money from my bank after 3 phone calls to HSBC. HSBC is shit and anyone reading this associated with them... you owe me at least 30quid in phone bills please. Then we thought we'd take on the mammoth task of trying to get train tickets to Shanghai sorted. To [View Full Entry]

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Day 36 - Monday 6th October - Had to get up early as our tour guide was coming to meet us at 9am. Got clean clothes to wear for the first time in 2 weeks. Hmm underwear, it's been a while!! Our guide (English name 'Wendy') met us and it was about an hour and a half drive to the part of the wall we were going to visit. Along the way we got to experience more crazy Chinese driving, as well as people walking in the middle of the road once we hit the smaller villages. Once at the wall [View Full Entry]

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Day 35 - Sunday 5th October - Woke up at 9am and thought i'd have a few more minutes kip. Next thing i know it's midday! Seem to have this constant feeling of tiredness now. I think i'm just becoming lazy. First of all we headed to the shopping centre and spent a couple of hours sorting out things we needed. I've now got enough books to see me through to Australia and a new memory card ready for whenever i am able to finally put some pictures up. Then we went to se the Forbidden City. On the way in [View Full Entry]

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Day 33 - Friday 3rd October - Got up early for breakfast. Our transfer was at 7.20am and we only had 20mins to eat so i opted for non melted cheese on toast. Our train for Beijing departed at 8.05am. It was a much better journey this time as all the people we had met were in our carriage so we felt like we owned the place. There was this one guy there though who juggled a lot and was always practicing 'Mongolia throat singing'. Best way to describe it was like the sound of a gnat by your ear, or [View Full Entry]

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Day 31 - 1st October!!! We've been going a month. Woken up by the woman who comes to re-light our fires at 6.30am. Didn't realise until then but i was freezing. The temperature really dips at night. Had a huge hangover and found Nick (our new friend) asleep on our floor. Would be used to feeling ill but had already agreed to go horse riding at 10am, which i was now dreading. The nomads saddled them up and we just picked one. I picked one that decided to wander off in the opposite direction as soon as i got on. I [View Full Entry]

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We spent the last day in Moscow not doing too much, trying to relax despite feeling under the weather. We did visit a flea market that had hundreds of stools but only a variety of 3 products. I didn't want to buy a knife, some cheap clothes or a russian doll. At 8pm our transfer came and collected us and took us to the station. By 9.35pm we were on and ready to travel across Russia! First impressions were that i could not believe how similar the train was to other trains. We've got to be on this for 5 nights!! [View Full Entry]

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Our guide (Jenny - who was great) met us at the station. We were grouped with 8 other people, and they would be with us until Beijing. A coach takes us straight to have a shower. We all need it. So the first time i get to meet the other 3 guys from our new group is naked in the showers! The showers were strange. It was just an open room with 6 shower heads mounted halfway down the wall and a small stool under each one to sit on and wash. After this bizarre introduction we are taken for breakfast [View Full Entry]

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For the last day in St Petersburg i decided to go off on a wander on my own. I went to see the fortress of St Peter and Paul. It was more of a wall than a fortress. As i approached i noticed that outside the fortress there was a small beach. Brilliant! We'd arrived thinking it would be freezing and here was a beach. It was sunny all day but still only about 15 degrees. Incredibly, there were a few people sunbathing in just their swimsuits. It was a strange sight, people sunbathing whilst others walking past them in coats [View Full Entry]

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