We've been in China for 3 weeks now but have had a little trouble getting internet access, hence the lack of stories...
We started off in Hong Kong where we were able to revisit some favourite sites in slightly better weather i.e. it wasn't raining this time! It was nice to be somewhere familiar again with shops from home even if life is lived at full throttle. Then it was on to the slower pace of Macau, you could tell there was more of a laid back Mediterranean influence. They also specialise in fantastic egg custard tarts, so we ate too many of them in our 24 hour visit. Next we went into China proper and after another night train arrived in Yangshuo. This is a really cute little old town in beautiful Karst landscape with (I think) the Li River running though - this is what we imagined China to look like! We immersed ourselves in local culture learning Mahjong, cycling through the countryside and going for a cooking class. As we got to eat what we cooked I can say we were both very impressed with our own efforts!
Then it was time for our Yangtze River Cruise, wher we had a very scenic trip through the Dam and the slowly flooding Gorges. It did feel a ;ittle Hi-de-hi-ish as they gave us wake-up music and announcements on the organised activities... We finished our cruise at the City of Ghosts, where we got to climb up to the Chinese hell (their Gods have some very imaginative punishments designed to match the crimes). They have some tests along the way and even Dave's balance held up long enough to show he was a good boy really!
We then went along to Chengdu to see the Pandas. They are incredibly cute but very lazy and a bit thick. Their favourite position seems to be sprawled back like Roman Emperors with piles of bamboo resting on their big bellies and munching their way through the tastiest morsels. Then it was on to Shanghai, where bits look very like London - though there are a few more skyrises. We had a good few days exploring and eating our way through the city before moving on to Shaolin. We got to watch the kungfu monks and even had a lesson ourselves ( well it just seemed the thing to do). I wouldn't say that we're naturally gifted but we weren't completely hopeless (apart from me tripping over the mat and Dave's lack of flexibility). In Xian we got to see the Terracotta Warriors, which were a truly impressive site - we took far too many photos as per usual.
Now, we're in Inner Mongolia and heading out on a Camel Trek across the desert - should be an experience!
Sarah
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