Shanghai is a LOT more westernised and dare I say it civilised than Beijing. The journey down was a great start. After getting Paddy on his first train journey in over a year (how the other half live!) it certainly lived up to its reputation as the nicest train in China. In fact it was nicer than most aeroplanes I have been on (even in first class). A western toilet AND a toilet seat cover....have we mistakenly arrived in Japan early?? We were, however, given little rest from the curiosity of the Chinese fellows in the carriage....although this time it was [View Full Entry]

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Beijing. What an eclectic mixture of influences. Every road is either an 8 lane motorway (the city is the proud owner of over 100 fly-overs), bristelling with high-rises, or it is a hutong so narrow that barly a bicycle can fit down it and taxi drivers refuse to take you there, speeding away shaking their heads at the very mention of its name. That just about sums up the nature of this nation's capital city. A juxtapossition of the ancient and the ultra modern, the cut throat competion between vendors of all kinds amongst the remenance of a defunct communist society. [View Full Entry]

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We never really thought we would be able make it Datong as a day trip- it's 400 km from Beijing and the terrain is on the mountainous side. They said it was too far, too cold, not enough transport links, etc. We knew better and are living proof that where there is a will there is a way. We took an overnight train (8 hours) from Beijing to Datong, hooked up with another pair of tourists and shared a car around the sights and then shared a taxi back to Beijing (4 hours) with some Chinese girl arriving at 8:30 pm. [View Full Entry]

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Xian is home to the Terracotta Warriors. And it is one of the previous capital cities. Having taken a lovely overnight train we were greatful to arrive in another nice Hostel. China surprisingly has great accommodation contrary to reports and the dorms are the best we have stayed in. Being China you get a duvet. This is definitely a luxury I have missed from home. Although in a hot country you clearly do not need one, just like back home there is nothing better than snuggling into bed under a big thick duvet (shame I am sharing my room with 10 [View Full Entry]

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Although we have no real plans and just figure out how long we are staying somewhere and where we are going to go based on the mood of the day, transport options etc, the Yangtze river "cruise" was something Andrew had been looking forward to since leaving home - hailed as a must see sight in the world. Well, dissappointed does not even come close. In fact a nice old scots man inspired our blog title when he was giving his video diary. After discussing the merits of scots rugby and the amazing festivities had in Murrayfield a coule of weeks [View Full Entry]

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Without a doubt the second most lovely thing I have ever cuddled in my life! With my fuzzy bear left at home we headed off to the Panda Breeding Centre in Sichuan. Panda's are stupid animals...in many ways they deserve to become extinct. Too lazy to mate, too stupid to realise that their digestive system is made for meat and not bamboo and all they do is sleep. BUT...that first glimpse is enough to send you into overdrive. Although they do look very much like a man dressed up in a Panda suit, they are cute and fuzzy and everything you [View Full Entry]

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Chengdu is a sprawling city and pretty unremarkable in its traits. All the cities all over the world do in actual fact look the same. Once you get used to the aesthetic differences (cows in the roads, tuk tuks careering around or spitting old men) there is not much to differentiate once MacDonald bearing town from another. Yes, it is clear we are glad to be leaving Asia behind. A little prematurely perhaps as China is probably host to the best things we have seen but probably second to India as it has the worst food. There is only so much [View Full Entry]

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We started out on a small hike. 9 hours and 37km later we arrived at middle gorge. Knackered! Tiger Leaping Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world, is 70km North of Lijiang. At this point the Yangzi channels violently through the mountains carving a canyon that is so narrow in the middle that legend has it that a tiger once escaped pursuit by leaping accross. The best bit about it is that for once we were doing something entorely for its own sake. There are no temples to see (thank god), the villages along the way are quaint but minute and [View Full Entry]

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It may sound like a total cliche but every place we go in China is more eye-poppingly beautiful than the last. We thought Dali was about as oldy-worldy Chinese as we would see. Oh my God! Lijiang is so much better. Some of the centuries old cobbled streets are so narrow that you can touch the buildings on both sides as you walk down them. There is no traffic allowed into the old town, even bicycles must be walked. Every little wooden fronted dwelling that lines the maze of alleyways is selling something. Souvenirs carved from jade, wierd medicinal treatments, local [View Full Entry]

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Visiting Dali was not on the itinery to Beijing. Thanks go to Paddy because it was a great stop! Dali is a small, ancient, walled city. Entering through the impressively imposing (I'm running out of adjectives to describe how nice China is) South gate, our first sight was the heaving throngs of Chinese tourists. It may be low season here but that does not seem to go for the Chinese, who arrive en mass, all sporting matching baseball caps being led by a tour guide dressed in local traditional Bai dress carrying a flag (and we thought it was Americans who [View Full Entry]

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