Our final location of the trip would be another gigantic and heavily-polluted city, China's capital Beijing. In fact, it was difficult to enjoy the city itself for both reasons - the size of the place makes walking a necessity, but the air quality ensures that said walking really isn't much fun. Fortunately the city is easily redeemd by an amazing range of superlative cultural attractions, in and around the urban sprawl. On the first day, after a quick wander around Tiananmen Square, we visited the huge Forbidden City - with its giant courtyards and numerous splendid halls. We paid a little extra to see the extraordinary display of clocks, many sent by English merchants, presumably as part of a pointless attempt to improve trade relations. They were incredibly elaborate, but most were pretty ghastly, covered as ... read more

Upon arrival at Xi'an's train station, a softly-spoken tout swiftly pulled us from the thronging crowds in the hope of tempting us into a ride to his hostel. Fine by me - it was the splendid Bell Tower Hostel, one of the best I've stayed in anywhere, and perfectly located by the huge crossroads which marks the centre of town. Best of all was the social side - we shared our dorm room with a bunch of other foreigners, so I had a good few English-speakers with whom to properly celebrate my birthday. Xi'an perhaps topped my list as the place in China which I most wanted to visit, and it didn't disappoint. The majestic drum and bell towers, the grandiose city walls encircling the old town, ancient pagodas competing with nearby office blocks for height ... read more

We safely arrived in Yichang, a fairly nondescript town with what seemed a disproportionately large Red Light District (we were looking for an internet cafe, honest). Our plan was to book a Yangzi river cruise to Chongqing, but in the end we opted for one which would return us to Yichang. The main reason was that this was considerably cheaper (by a factor of three in fact). The disadvantage was that it was a cruise designed for Chinese tourists, not Westerners. Despite the low cost, our six-bed cabin was, as ever, furnished with China's favorite two items - a TV and aircon. However, we did have to pay a little extra for the VIP lounge, which contained the only viewing area located at the prow, and the only vaguely comfortable seating. A worthy investment. Much of ... read more

From Macau we journeyed to backpacker favorite Yangshuo, via Guangzhou (Canton). Compared to later journeys (see next blog once I've written it) this one was only very stressful. All we saw of Guangzhou was its smart metro system, the bus station waiting room and millions of Chinese. The bus to our destination was pretty fun, both due to the exceptionally bumpy roads and the alcoholic American in front of us who started loudly accusing the enitre bus of conspiring to steal his cigarettes (in the middle of the night). By fun I mean horrendous. The dawn views of Guangxi's countryside as we approached Yangshuo were truly memorable. Swirling mists swept across endless paddy fields, and then suddenly the region's mighty karst peaks began to emerge from the gloom, their ludicrously steep sides seeming to defy common ... read more

Our next stop was a backpacker classic - Chiang Mai up in the north. Our first day was spent exploring some of the city's many impressive temples and ruins. The most spectacular was Chedi Luang, which was in fact a ruined temple - its majestic stupa towering above the surrounding buildings. Aside from the charms of the city itself, most travellers head to Chiang Mai to embark on one of the popular organised treks. Ours' began with a tough two hour walk through sweltering jungle and up sharp inclines. The reward for our labours was a hilltop village of the Lahu tribe - subsistence farmers originating from China. The views were unsurpassable, the village beautiful and we met some really fun and interesting locals. The hike back down the other side was far more enjoyable than ... read more