http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/TraceyandChris/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from TraceyandChris en-us Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:41:46 UTC Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:41:46 UTC We have travelled by train from South China to the North straight from the tropics and into Autumn via Shanghai and the middle of the country into Suzhou arriving at 5.30am seeing very little.Immediately the atmosphere in this city is recognisably different to anything wersquove previously experienced in China. There is a nip in the air almost comparable to an early English Autumn and mak http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Jiangsu/Suzhou/blog-347010.html After four weeks in Zhuhai the things that I miss are simple a good English cooked breakfast loose leaf earl grey walking in the peaks with my friends access to my friends crisp autumn leaves the dawn chorus the sound of the wind blowing in the trees the colour of the red November sky changing seasons hanging out with Patti in pyjamas well into the day me nagging my garden light http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Guangdong/Zhuhai/blog-342900.html 8 OctoberOne of the aspects of travelling and moving around is the element of pre booking accommodation and modes of transport. We have travelled the length and across the bottom of China entirely by train except for the bus from Chengdu to Lijiang which seems a distant memory. From Sheffield to Hong Kong our chosen route has been about 25000 km. Our accommodation choices for Hong Kong were li http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-333388.html 4 October 08 Okay so we travelled 1127 km on a train from Guangzhou across the sea to Hainan to fly a 5mtr power kite on the beach at Sanya. As our train drew further south we left behind the 36 degree heat of Guangzhou and woke to dull weather for the first time since Lijiang.The train bumped on until it came to a standstill at the end of China and we wondered how we were going to get over th http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Hainan/Sanya/blog-330662.html This blink of an eye is for Deb.Itrsquos strange but the more I am in this country the more I see and the less I know what to write and what I do write seems trivial and is only scratching the surface of this complex country and its people. I can tell you that I visited the Liu Rong Si 6 Banyun Tree Temple and when I climbed the 187ft pagoda built in 1097 it definitely moved in the breeze http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Guangdong/Guangzhou/blog-330329.html Wersquove been in Kunming for 3 weeks now and I think that I can say that wersquove seen a lot.I thought Irsquod give you a quick over view of what wersquove seen before we leave for Guilin tomorrow. If you'd like to see 2 parents and 2 kids on the same moped driving at high speed across a crossing supposedly for humans then wersquove got it here or if you want to see a live chicken http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-325549.html Kunming after life gifts and getting married 9 SeptemberOn Sunday whilst we were trying to find a public park on the map we discovered a small working temple in a very built up residential area by the side of the train track. The jewel of a temple was hidden by the surrounding area and the only give away sign from the outside was the front gate and temple name above the door written in tradi http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-321432.html 3oth August 08 Kunming Something to write home aboutI love Kunming. We arrived at 5am on the night sleeper coach from Lijiang just before the city began to wake. As our taxi drove across the city the roads were empty and dark. I like a city that sleeps. As daylight broke we could see our new surroundings in the dawning light from the window in our room which is on the 12th floor of the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-318973.html 27August 08 Buying bus tickets for the first time. Although Irsquove been learning Mandarin for some time now Irsquom still painfully aware of my language inadequacies and my basic toneless Mandarin skills. Chris has always been good at languages and is way ahead of me with his Mandarin skills and this puts me in a position whereby I let him do all the talking because hersquos better at http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Lijiang/blog-317510.html Chengdu to Lijiang is a 22 hour bus journey. The bus winds its way up down and around all of the mountains in between the two places and it should be a relatively easy journey except in monsoon weathers where there can be land slides and in the winter where the roads become impassable. Our journey started normally but five hours into it we were stopped behind a traffic jam. We could see traffic http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Yunnan/Lijiang/blog-315899.html Day 3 in Chengdu and at last for a short time it rains and boy does it rain. Up until now Itrsquos been a very hot 40 degree but very humid.We arrived at Sims Cosy Guest house 3 days ago and spoke with him yesterday. He personally sends thanks to all of you who donated money when we sent it for the earthquake disaster fund from Sheffield way back in May. He tells me that the last NGO left http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Chengdu/blog-313855.html This is a short film made by Chris for his dad. http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Russia/Siberia/Lake-Baikal/blog-312838.html 090808 7.30am. I wake to see endless rolling silver birch and fir forests again. Grey skies. The lovely sound of the train and the constant gentle rocking movement. I immediately think of the sad woman in Yaroslavsky station last night. Kirov 12.17pm 957km from Moscow.Kirov renamed in 1934 in honour of Communist Leader assassinated earlier in the same year. Sergie Kirov was at one time so cl http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Russia/Siberia/blog-312824.html Yaroslavsky 080808After watching the Beijing opening ceremony on TV in the hostel we gather our things for the walk to Yaroslavsky station about 40 minutes away including many kerbs and underground crossings of big roads with about 50 steps down and then up. Chrisrsquos new super strength trolly is now carrying his lsquofunrsquo bag and the laptop bag both of which are really really http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-312812.html Sheffield to Moscow Traceyrsquos bit 4 August St. Pancras St. Pancras has a new European feel to it. The cakey shop has very exciting cakes with fruits and berries laden on top of the rich chocolate cakes. The station is like a cattle market though with everyone pushing and no one wants to help anyone. It seems strange to me.My lovely daughter slightly alone at the check in desk for the Eurost http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-309382.html One week to go...Irsquom sitting here trying to find the words to write before we go to China but the sentences wonrsquot really come just thoughts and fleeting feelings related to the time leading up to this time. So here are a few thoughtsTwo years ago Chris and I decided to go travelling extensively and wersquove developed our lives to be ready for this departure. I gave my kids tw http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/South-Yorkshire/Sheffield/blog-305274.html Tesco Green Wheelie bag will travel. As it's only 14 days until we move out of our house and 48 days until we leave for China our thoughts have turned to packing and re packing and re re packing. As Chris has been frantically digging like a dog in the large box upstairs on the landing to try to gather all of his equipment together it's been a dawning lesson to us both as to how we are not go http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/South-Yorkshire/Sheffield/blog-288446.html