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Published: March 21st 2010
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Hi everyone, time for entry number three..
As you know, we are now in China but managed to cram lots into our last few days in India. We felt one last tour was in order so we opted for the 'Out of City Chennai Tour'- hoping to spend some quality time in Mamallapuram. Although as promised the tour bus did make a stop here, it was brief to say the least (20 minutes in fact!) The other nine hours were divided up into time spent in India's answer to Pleasurewood Hills, Dolphin City (with no dolphins. No city), Crocodile Bay- although at least the stop here was quite snappy (!) and a temple conveniently positioned opposite an over priced silk shop.
The next day we waved a fond farewell to India, and headed off to our second destination- CHINA. Having picked up a pretty relentless cough in the latter part of India, Jeni was slightly concerned about being taken into quarantine on arrival as we were warned on the plane that illness would not been taken lightly. Luckily however, Rich was on hand to offer sound medical advice: i.e dont breath. Our first stop was Beijing, a city we
instantly loved despite the temperature which would give the Artic a run for it's money. Having decided that Jeni had not packed appropriately for this sub zero climate we headed straight out to pick up a jacket, which we got- along with a pair of gloves and a rather snazzy pair of ear muffs, which she didn't take off for two weeks (including in her sleep!) After a quick rest, we decided to check out what Beijing had to offer. First on the agenda was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, followed by the Lama Temple and the Temple of Heaven Park. All of which did not dissapoint.
The next day we had booked onto a tour of the secret part of The Great Wall; unfortunatley however only Rich could go as Jeni was still one big snot ball. The wall was a breath taking sight but due to the blizzard and slippery conditions, it was struggle to stay on our feet. Rich spent more time on his bum than his feet, resulting in soggy buttocks all round! Next on the itinery was the Summer Palace, which didn't live up to it's name but was particularly beautiful frosted over
like a christmas pudding. We also caught a glimpse of the Olympic Stadium, which enabled Rich to unleash his Usain Bolt pose, Beijing Zoo along with it's Pandas and many of the Hutongs dotted around the city.
It's fair to say the food in Beijing consistantly blew us away. Although we started off rather tamely, trying out the delicious Beijing Duck, we soon moved on to more adventurous fare such as the melt in the mouth 'Donkey Hot Pot'. After a few days in Beijing we moved on to our next destination which was the incredibly preserved medieval city of Pingyao. It was a pleasant contrast to the hustle and bustle of Beijing, but we soon found that our hotel although nice enough was as dead as a dodo. So we decided to gate crash one up the road which was full to the brim with backpackers of all nationalities, many of which we met up with numerous times over the next week or so. This included one night in Pingyao where we learned the wonders of 'The Dice Game' (a drinking game that more ofetn than not, leads to devestating consequences!) coupled with our first, second, third etc
taste of 62% Chinese rice wine. Despite feeling dog rough, we booked onto a tour the following day of the Wang Family Courtyard and Underground Castle and had a fantastic lunch- although Jeni accidently ordering Sparrow was a definate low point (picture spam with bones). We really enjoyed our time there, took loads of photos an dthe day really went off with a bang when the back wheel of our bus exploded on the way home on the motorway. Fortunately the driver was going slowly, otherwise our trip would have been cut short!
Other our near death experience, it was time to head to Xi'an- home of the world famous Terracotta Army. As it was Rich's Birthday we thought it would be nice to walk around the city walls (all 14 Km's). These offered great views and was a fine piece of imperial architecture, but the novelty soon wore off after the first edge! Exhaused after our mini marathon we set ourself up for a relatively quiet night until we were reuntited with the 'Pingyao Posse'. This led to Beer towers, More Dice game, Absinthe shots, bad jokes and Extreme Jenga! We parted ways at 4 o'clock with Rich
heading to a local club for some more drinking and a bit of boogying with Steve (a fellow Essex boy and true gent). He had a great time, although his paranoia about an overly friendly German gay couple slightly tainted it! Rolling in at 6.30am was never going to bode well for the morning, and as you can imagine it was hard to fully appreciate the Terracotta Army. Having recovered from our hangovers, we can now confirm they were an incredible sight as you can see from the photos.
The following day we once again had to depart, which led us to the bright lights of Shanghai. As it's quite a pricey city we had to 'slum it' in seperate dorms. Whilst Rich was welcomed with open arms, Jeni on the other hand was given a more frosty reception and a look that would make small children cry! Shanghai is completely different to everywhere else we have been in China so far, it has a far more Westernised feel with its impressive skyline. Unfortunately construction work on The Bund distorted our first impression of the city, but having walked around other areas such as The French Concession we've really
grown to appreciate it. To escape the crowds of the big city, we decied to do a tour of the nearby Canal town of Zhouzhang, which was like taking a step back in time with it's winding alleyways and ancient buildings. After that we looked for inspiration from the Lonely Planet and decided to get some grub from an entire road dedicated to munchies. We wasted no time tucking into some scrumptious lamb, cumin and chilli kebabs. After the entree, we went to have our mains in a local restaurant packed to the rafters where we had a pot of boiling broth and chose numerous treats to dunk into it. It was the Dog's Bo*****s. Literally.
Only joking.... we draw the line at donkey!
After a varied couple of days in Shanghai we are now on our merry way to Hong Kong. We have absolutely loved our time in China so far, and can't wait to see what the South has to offer.
Lots of love, Jeni and Rich xx
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