Day 490: Sunday 1 November - Leaving Beijing in the biting cold The cold in Beijing is biting as the three of us wait for a taxi to take us to Beijing West Station, apparently the biggest train station in Asia. In terms of luggage we are three very unmatched travellers. Bruno looks like he’s travelling for a few days not a few months, I have an average sized backpack and Patricia is carrying the kitchen sink, the entire contents of her wardrobe and maybe even her wardrobe and enough food to keep Tibet fed through the long winter months by [View Full Entry]

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Day 489: Saturday 31st October - A Tibetan temple in Beijing and the Bird’s nest I arrive back in the capital at approaching 9am after my 10 hour overnight train journey from Hohhot. Every train journey I have taken in China has been on my own and I have been the only foreigner in my carriage on each occasion with all eyes fixed on me. Next time I’m on the train, in just 36 hours time it will be with two friends (one who I’ve still to meet) on my way to Tibet. That promises to be a very different experience. [View Full Entry]

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Day 486: Wednesday 28th October - I thought travelling was stress free? Unusually I am writing this as it is fresh in the memory, the same evening sipping a beer and enjoying the sense of achievement. Let me explain. Winding the clock back half a day ago and I am woken by the guard on the train from Beijing half an hour before we arrive in Hohhot (pronounced Huhehaote), the capital of Inner Mongolia. I look out to the more barren landscape that confronts me now, a landscape closer to winter than that of Beijing and surrounds and psyche myself up [View Full Entry]

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Day 482: Saturday 24th October - The Forbidden City I’m not exactly full of beans this morning and it takes me a while to get going. I soon get a bit of urgency to my day when a chat with an Israeli girl over breakfast reveals that the Forbidden City where I had planned to visit today will take a full afternoon at least to walk around. It is 11am when I leave the hostel and walk the 750 metres towards Tiananmen Square. As I enter Tiananmen Square a young girl approaches me and starts talking to me in English. She [View Full Entry]

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Day 480: Thursday 22nd October - Finally getting out of the city for an ancient Chinese town I think one of the reasons that I haven’t enjoyed my second visit to China as much as my first (apart from the weather not being as good) is that I’ve almost exclusively spent my time in cities. Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tunxi, Chengdu, Xian, Luoyang.....nearly all huge cities of several million, choking with traffic, people and smog. I’m no city person and the only place where I haven’t stayed in the city was visiting Emei Shan and travelling up the Yangtze by boat. I [View Full Entry]

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Day 477: Monday 19th October - The bus breaks down I get up early to catch my 8am bus from Xian to Luoyang. There are plenty of buses that ply this route and they leave regularly so I didn’t need to get up so early but I wanted to so that when I arrive in Henan I still have time in the day to visit the Longmen Caves. It may seem rushed and I admit that I am travelling particularly quickly on this section of my trip but I’m in a hurry to get to Beijing. I want to get to [View Full Entry]

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Day 475: Saturday 17th October - Walking Xian’s city walls Xian creates a good impression as soon as I step out of the train station. A section of the imposing city walls built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty are straight in front of me and for the first time since I left Huang Shan 10 days ago the sun is shining. What a difference the sun makes. I catch a bus from opposite the train station to the hostel I have booked, which is close to the city centre. My good first impression of the city is reinforced [View Full Entry]

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Day 472: Wednesday 14th October - The world’s biggest Buddha After yesterday’s exertions on Emei Shan I’m in no hurry to get up early this morning and just take my time instead. After a relaxed breakfast I get on my way. The bus station is next door to the hostel so thankfully it isn’t a long walk. The buses to Leshan are hourly but I’ve just missed one so I have an hour wait. A Swedish guy that was in my dorm last night joins me in the bus station; he is on his way to Chengdu. This guy is one [View Full Entry]

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Day 469: Sunday 11th October - Over the border into Sichuan We arrive in Chongqing at 3am. I know because the ship sounds its horn, collides into the dock with some force and there is a lot of shouting outside. I go back to sleep and wake up at 6am as we have to get off the boat at 6:30am. Riley is staying in Chongqing for a few days but I can find nothing of interest in my travel literature which could persuade me to do the same. It sounds like just another drab Chinese city, and in my brief time [View Full Entry]

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Day 465: Wednesday 7th October - A journey with an uncertain ending I don’t know why I do it to myself but if I’m honest journeys like this are actually one of the fun things about backpacking in a strange way. What am I talking about? Well a journey where you have a destination in mind but don’t know if you will be able to reach it and one where you have no accommodation pre-booked. I’m sure 99% of the population would consider what I’m doing today a definite ‘no way I’m doing that’ but I belong to the 1% of [View Full Entry]

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