Mainland China

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After the tour company messed up our train tickets we ended up training across china for 4 days before finally making it to our destination, which would have been quicker to just take a bus but know one would let us. Anyway on the morning of the first we got on our train heading for Xi'an. Our lovely guide was panicing that we were going to miss the train, so we had to turn up to the train station over an hour early, which including a little bit of rally driving through Lhasa, alittle bit scary when there had been fresh snow over night. Made it safely and then getting through security was interesting, they wanted us to take the wheels off our bikes, which makes it pretty hard to carry all our stuff so we had about 3 or 4 guys helping us, meanwhile the guide kept making us run, even though there was still like 45 minutes until the train left. Then the guide left and we were woundering what was going on, but we managed to find the gate and were let on first for some reason, which was good but we couldn't just follow everyone else so weren't sure if we made it to the right train, but we did over 30mins before it left!!

The train ride was pretty cool the tibetian plateau was amazing especially with all the freah snow, but it was pretty boring since we were on the 2nd bunk and the options were either to lye down where you couldn't see the view or stand and the bunks were to small to sit up right and there were kids on the bottom playing silly buggers. At about 9.30pm the next day we arrived in Xi'an, since we were trying to get to kumming (way warmer further south) we (actually Katherine whislt i guarded the stuff) managed to get us another train ticket for 10.20 to kumming, so after an hour or so of freedom we were back on the train. Although this one we thought would be better, 2 nights and one day rather than 2 days and one night. So we thought we would be able to sleep, except Katherines bunkroom was fulled with screaming kids and drunk parents and mine was practially the infermary. Its surprising no one died. Unfortunetley though i think that Katherine caught a bug, as she is now sick in bed (hense the long blogs, well that and the internet is free). Anyway turned up at Kumming, both alittle shell shocked at the size, there are only 1 million people but realisticaly we've been in the wops for awhile.

The hostel is pretty cool, although they have free washing machines, i think they were a tad grossed out by our clothes, but it feels good to be clean again, we even splurged out and found the best new years sales, 2 pairs of pants for $25, so now we both have clothes that fit and aren't held together by duct tape. But Kummings pretty cool, has this amazing park/lake thing in the middle was we've spent qualitly time people watching and hanging out, sunbathing in tea shirts, so good to be warm again. The only minor downer is that we got some bad advice in Kathmandu and they won't extend our visas so we are off to Hanoi when our vietnam visa come through in a few days, only about 500kms out of the way, but Katherine thinks we can get on a junk boat back to China so it might turn out quite entertaining, and we get to eat vietnemese food for a few weeks!!!

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Photos

Green Lake Park
People watching in Kumning

Comments

[Alison Haig]

You wonderful women
Great writing - love you both to bits. Am with you in Hanoi even though I have never been there. You had better enlighten me.... Much, much love to you both Alison