nomadnorrie From Sydney to the formula 1 grand prix in Shanghai, Beijing, South Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine and Europe. Final destination by train is London. Hopping on a flight to Finland, then on to Japan and finally back to Sydney.

The giant Pandas in Chengdu are my favorite attraction in China so far.


I stayed in Chengdu for 5 days thinking I could climb the nearby Emei mountain, the smaller Qingcheng mountain and visit the Giant Panda research base. The Pandas were great, two of them put on a show for us that involved one taking a run up and tumbling into the other. I didn’t climb any mountains but I did get my visa for China renewed in a speedy 4 hours in Leshan and at 1/3 the Beijing price (160 Yuan).

While waiting for my visa I measured my self up against the world’s largest Buddha – I am as tall as the big toe.

With the exception of not being able to climb the sacred Taoist mountain Emei, the weather has not caused me any problems. Luckily for me the weather in the Yunan (south-west China) has been cool and sunny.