Paris

Day 1: Just Across the Water...

We set off from our house in West Wimbledon pretty early, with plenty of time to check in for our train to Paris. Even after the fire in one of the tunnels in September, the Eurostar website still insisted that we should half an hour to arrive before our train departure. So we did.... After lining up for almost an hour, we had missed our train and only just made the next one. Their problem was having everyone in the same line... People for all destinations and train times in one line! Ridiculous!!

The train ride itself was quick and smooth. It only takes about 20 minutes to pass through the tunnel under the Channel and about 2 1/2 hours in total from London to Paris.

We had spent the night before checking maps and metro lines to make sure we could find our hotel ok when we arrived. We stayed at the Hotel Ségur. The hotel was 'cosy' and curiously pumped heat into the tiny rooms at a whopping 28°C all night... But we could see the Eiffel Tower out the window!!!

The weather didn't look like it would hold out for too long so we though we should make the most of it. We decided to climb the Eiffel Tower... You can only climb to the second level. I wanted to climb all the way! There's just over 600 steps to the second level, aparently.

The Tower itself is incredible! It was just amazing to finally be seeing it for real. And it's huge, towering over the city at 325m. And climbing it was fantastic! The view over the beautiful city of Paris is amazing. Truly awe-inspiring.

We finished off our first day in Paris with a delicious French/Italian meal in a tiny restaurant right by our hotel. Cured meats and chillis hanging everywhere. Good food and good wine. What better way to start a holiday in Paris...

Day Two: I Would Walk 500 Miles....

Actually we walked about 15km!! We left the hotel at 9:45am and returned at around 10:30pm! We had decided that today should be about all the main sights. We wanted to pack as much in today so as to leave us reasonably free to explore the less touristy parts of the city and relax a bit on our last few days.

We started the day with a delicious warm croissant from one of the many patissiers near our hotel. What you should understand now is that Russ likes to climb things. If there's a tall building, a hill, or simply something a bit higher than everything else, Russ wants to be at the top of it... So, we headed towards the big black building we could see from miles away, Montparnasse Tower. From here you can see another beautiful view of the city, as well as the Eiffel Tower. This building's lift takes you from the ground floor to the 54th floor in 38 seconds. Impressive!

From here we wandered towards the majestic Notre Dame, through the Luxembourg gardens and Luxembourg Palace. That's something that really stood out for us in Paris, their parks are all so incredibly beautiful and perfectly manicured. And the flowers in this garden were stunning!

Notre Dame certainly is a wonderful looking building. I love cathedrals. They leave me speachless. Russ played the Hunchback of Notre Dame outside, to the amusement of a local Frenchman. Inside a service was taking place. I'm not religious, but these buildings command respect and I always say a little prayer when inside. Particularly important to me this time as my uncle David passed away only last week. I lit a candle for him inside.

We followed to city back towards the Eiffel Tower, finding us next at the Pompidou Centre. Russ has been fascinated with this building since a school trip came here when he was a kid. It's really a bit of an eye-sore, but quite appealing at the same time, with its escalator hanging from the outside.

Here is where we found some delicious crêpes, full of gruyere cheese, mushrooms and egg. YUM!

By now we were getting pretty tired. But we powered on to the Louvre - the biggest museum in the world and home to the Mona Lisa. Neither Russ nor myself are any expert on art, so we had a quick look around some other paintings and the remains of the moat from when the Louvre was a castle before checking out the statue of Aphrodite and the Mona Lisa (which is much smaller than I'd imagined). And got claustrophobic trying to find the exit!! It's a maze in there!!!

After this Russ was determined to get to the Arc de Triomphe. He very kindly forgot to tell me how long the road is leading up to it... We walked forever and a day up the Champs Elysees to get there. But when we did get there it was all worth it. It's another beautiful monument. And again, you can walk to the top, so we did.


We were definitely in need of a rest by now so found a restaurant, covered in spoons, forks and pots, just by the Arc de Triomphe. By the time we had finished it was dark and the Arc de Triomphe was lit up. It looked magical! Perfect photo opportunity! From here we took a tuktuk to the Trocadero for a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up in blue. Then on the hour, for about 5 minutes, the Tower sparkles! SO pretty!!

Day 3: The New World

Up early again, keen not to waste any time in Paris, we spent some of the morning milling around some back streets, checking out more delicious food stalls. From this side of the city you can see the CBD. In the CBD, which is in juxtaposition to the rest of the city, you can see another, modern-looking arch (like the Arc de Triomphe but not as pretty). We needed to explore...

After taking the metro to the outskirts of the city, we arrived at the CBD - La Défense. It's full of spectacular high-rises, intriguing monuments, and colourful fountains. We found our way to La Grande Arche. It looks like a building with origami folds. You can get to the top in a glass lift that reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The lift is not enclosed. It's scary!

At the top is a gallery and viewing deck. The gallery holds various artists' work and was showing a computer exhibition. Maybe it sounds a bit geeky but I was fascinated!! They had computers dating back to the '50s, showing how the pc world has progressed. Old chunky laptops, massive floppy discs, and six-foot tall cupboards for storing the computers' memory.

After descending the Chocolate Factory lift, we explored a little. We walked down the 'pier' - a long boardwalk (it looks like they're trying to tidy that part of the city up), found a giant thumb and a group of kids on unicycles.

Day 4: My Birthday

After a rubbish night sleep in a ridiculously hot hotel room, I woke, looked out the window and saw rain. Russ soon cheered me up with some lovely cards and pressies and a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'. I was keen to get outside, despite the weather.


Out of our hotel window we could see a large building with a gold roof. That was enough to get us over there to see what we would discover. And we discovered Les Invalides, a home and hospital for aged and ill soldiers from the French army built in 1670 for this prupose and still used for this today. It really is a magnificent building, full of weapons from WWI and a large statue of Napoleon.

I was getting hungry... We found an incredible food market (some of the bakeries nearby were closed, being Sunday) and bought some crispy baguettes. We found a park near the Eiffel Tower, sat under a tree and ate ur bread and very mature Normandy camembert. Delish!!!

It was time for some more sightseeing... Next stop, the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre, known as Basilica of the Sacred Heart. I saw it on our first day from the Eiffel Tower. This huge white church sitting on the top of a hill. It dominates that side of the city. Again I wanted to walk through and pay my respects to yet another wonderful church.

We hung around Montmartre for a while, exploring some of the back streets and the markets. Eating more scrumptuous pastries (we ate almost everything in sight while we were there).

This is also where the Moulin Rouge lives... I felt like a child waiting for Santa to arrive!! I was SO excited to see it! To see the windmill!! This was in eager anticipation of the show we were going to that night! My birthday treat. *excited girly wiggle*

The show was amazing! Truly amazing! The costumes, the dancing, singing and other acts were all incredible!!! My smile was glued to my face for the entire 2hr show! The bottle of champagne helped... It was everything I hoped it would be, and a little extra for Russ with all those boobs!! Fantastic and highly recommended!!! I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end my birthday! (We drove home in a taxi through the Diana tunnel.)


Day 5: Farewell to Gay Paris

We wanted to make the most of our last day, in particular, making the most of our favourite spots... Russ favourite crêpes and my favourite dessert.

I forgot to mention my dessert... We stopped into one of our locals on my birthday and I ordered the nicest-sounding dessert - something with cake and white chocolate. It was served with a dollop of cinnamon ice cream and a raspberry on top. Cutting into it, the inside oozed with melted cake mixture/melted white chocolate/caramel. It was seriously the most delicous dessert I have EVER EVER eaten!!!

Anyway(before my mouth starts watering).... We visited these places again!


We also checked out Bastille, which is directly associated with the French national holiday of the same name, and relating to the French Revolution. It was a giant fortress/prison. Bastille was largely demolished by 1789 and now the Opéra Bastille stands in its place.

Our last few stops before finally browsing the shops were Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris, Rue Rambuteau, and the stunning Place Vendôme lined with designer stores and the Ritz. The square of any girl's dreams!

We took our last glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and reluctantly hopped on the metro, last stop, Gare du Nord for the Eurostar. Again the lines were a nightmare. They had already announced that all trains tonight were fully booked so you couldn't transfer. So, with 15 minutes before our train was due to depart, I jumped the line to the front, skipping about 30 people or more. I explained our train was leaving soon, got our seat numbers, passed through security and immigration (felt very odd going through immigration for a train ride), and found our seat with less than five minutes to spare before our train rolled our of the station. Phew!!! That deserved a high-five!

We'd had a fantastic trip to Paris - a fantastic birthday!

You can see all of our beautiful Paris photos here.

Moi from Helsinki!

Russ’ brother, Duncan, and his wife, Anu, live in Helsinki where Anu is from… On June 12th this year they had a beautiful baby girl, Iris Amalia. So we booked our flights and headed to Helsinki to meet this new addition to Russ’ family. We had taken Thursday and Friday off work, to return on the bank holiday Monday.

Our flight on Thursday wasn’t until early afternoon, allowing us plenty of time to get to the airport…or so we thought… We left the house with an hour to get to Heathrow on the tube. Delay after delay had us running frantically to the check-in desk (which is actually quite a way!) with one minute to spare before the check-in was due to close, 30 minutes before our flight departed. Check-in had actually already closed so I spent the next few minutes looking as upset and puffed as I could so they would feel sorry for us and let us on the flight! After a few radio calls regarding our bag, they stuck a standby sticker on it, telling us that if our bag was at the boarding gate when we got there, they’d let us on… It was and we made the flight with minutes to spare!! Close call!!

2½hrs later we were met at the airport by Duncan.

After a short ride on the bus to their apartment we met Iris for the first time. Ohh, she is just gorgeous!! She was six weeks old on the Saturday we were there. She is such a curious little baby. Always with her eyes open, scanning the room and everyone in it. She looks very wise. We had lots of cuddles!

Friday was a day of sightseeing… We walked around the city, people watching, checking out Finnish designer store Marimekko, listening to an opera-singing busker, visiting the two dominating cathedrals of Helsinki, eating liquorice ice cream along the waterfront (and being bullied by a Herring Gull), tram spotting, then taking a ferry out to an old sea fortress, used to protect Helsinki during warfare. Suomenlinnan.

Suomenlinnan is also a working community with around 400 residents living permanently out there. It is made up of a few smaller islands joined by bridges. On the outer parts of the islands, looking out to sea, cannons and barricades still stand strong. This fortress is a great place for kids as well with hundreds of tunnels into the ground and in the stone walls. Great for exploring!

That night, while Duncan met some of his friends in an underground sauna – a favourite Scandinavian pastime – Russ and I walked around the city checking out some live music as Helsinki had a festival on that weekend. The Finns love their heavy metal and rock!! There were stages propped up all over the city to entertain thousands. We made our way to a great street with bar after bar after bar… Inside we enjoyed some expensive Finnish drinks at €5.60 for a pint of beer and €5 for a bottle of Bacardi Breezer!!

Saturday was a great day to check out some Finnish landscape in the form of the Seven lakes National Park, just north west of Helsinki. Here you find edible mushrooms and berries growing all over the forest floor. It’s incredible there! It was so peaceful being surrounded by moss-covered rocks and trees. It felt very Hansel and Gretel. We spent our time searching for delicious wild blueberries. They’re so much tastier than those in the supermarket! It was here that Russ also found an adder…

That afternoon we went back into the city to browse the shops and met Duncan for dinner. I always like to try at least something traditional when I’m in a new country, so I tried their creamy salmon soup and Russ the meatballs. Delicious!! It was a really cosy little restaurant, a family local. So we were surprised when the bill came with a 22% service charge added!!! Very tasty though and the meals were huge! On the way home I lost my Salmiakki virginity. They love their salty liquorice out there!!

Sunday was a big day for little Iris. She was to be introduced to Anu’s extended family in a type of non-religious christening.

Russ and I spent most of the day in the city, taking a cruise around some of Helsinki’s many islands. We cruised past some idyllic islands full of summer batches and saunas. Apparently Finland has about 2million saunas.

That evening we returned home where Anu’s mum had come to help with the final preparations for Iris’ christening. She was dressed in a very sweet little white dress with pink ribbons and a little wreath made with irises to wear on her head. She looked absolutely adorable!!! Iris was so we behaved all evening, sleeping most of the way through being handed from one relative to another. She didn’t make a peep, just looked sweet and made everyone fall in love with her.

Monday it was time to say goodbye. We had an excellent long weekend relaxing in a new city, visiting Russ’ family and meeting the lovely little Iris! We’re sure to be back soon!

See the rest of our photos here.

Moi moi!

Surfin' in the Uuuooo Kay

Last weekend, Friday after work, Russ and I set off on a mammoth journey to north Devon for a surfing weekend for Russ' friend Rob's birthday. Just over 5hrs later we arrived in Woolacombe...

On the Saturday Russ took me for a drive around the area, which is famous for its beaches. This is where Russ spent his childhood holidays and hadn't been back since he was young.

It's beautiful down there! People very friendly, the scenery stunning and the beaches huge! It's so nice to have a break from London in a place like that! So relaxing! Despite the rubbish weather that weekend...

Later in the afternoon we all had a surfing lesson with an instuctor that provided a bit of eye candy! It was hilarious!! None of us could really surf - it was really a beginner's lesson! We were all trying desperately to get on our feet, some of us succeeding... Russ did well and I got on my feet for a moment but came stright back off! As frustrating as it was that we weren't all Kelly Slaters on our first try, we all had SO much fun!!! It was an excellent weekend!! Can't wait to do it again!!!

Back to the City

After a month staying with Russ' parents in Fleet while we sorted ourselves out job-wise, Russ got himself a trainee journalist job in Chertsey, just west of London. I got myself a job in Wimbledon. We moved back to our old house in London at that time too.

My job is as a Trining Coordinator for a company called CIPD - the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. They're an institute providing courses in all areas of business management, people management, law, HR, etc etc... I look after the Employment Law courses.

The job itself isn't particularly taxing, but I can't really complain. The pay's not bad, we get free cafe-style lunches and it's close enough for me to walk to work, meaning my expenses are almost non-existent!!

Now we're back in London I plan to do some saving but also travel to as many European cities as I can before I start to settle down and save for a house. It's going to be a busy couple of years!!

April '08 China Trip

Well, the first leg of my journey wasn't nearly as scary as I'd worked myself up to believe! First of all I am flying with Aeroflot - a Russian airline with a nightmarish track-record in the past!! There's actually an internet database where you can search by airline, type of aircraft, etc to see their accident history. Probably not the best place to start! But we figured, if they let them fly out of Heathrow, they have to be safe!!!

Day 1 - Beijing

I arrived at 10am ready to pass through customs, slightly nervous as I'd forgotten to write down the address I'd be staying at, so had to make up a hotel... Turns out anyway, that 'aliens' not lodging in hotels or inns, have to register their visas at the local police station. After a bit of a mission in downtown Beijing to get all the correct documents together, I was finally registered as a temporary resident of Beijing.

This police station was to be my first encounter with squatting toilets! Hmm... As you would imagine, something looking like a potty built into the ground for you to squat over & do your business.. I clinged desperately to the pipe on the back wall, trying desperately not to fall into it!! They have waste baskets next to the toilets as you cannot put toilet paper down the toilet as the sewerage systems cannot cope. Maybe a should have brought that 'she-wee' with me?? I just try to think of it a bit like camping!! What a lovely picture you must have in your head now!! Though it's only public toilets that are like this. Homes & hotels etc are just fine!!

On discussing this further with Ashley & her husband, Chen, in China, you are a resident of the province in which you were born, and you can never be a resident of another province. So, like Ashley, being a resident of Sichuan, she will struggle to find any work in Beijing & will pay higher fees for medicine & education, etc.
So every time I go to another province, I have to register again so they know where I am, as I'm not with a tourist group or staying at a hotel.

Ashley, Chen & his mum (who I call, 'Ai' - Aunty), took me to a 5 star Chinese restaurant for lunch. This restaurant specialises in Peking duck & used to serve only emperors. What's better than eating Peking duck in Peking??? For the four of us with drinks & doggy-bags to take home as we were so full, our huge meal came to about 20 pounds!!

That afternoon Ashley & Chen took me to a massage place in the centre of town where we were pampered with a 2hr foot, back & neck massage, which almost put me to sleep! The perfect way to end an 11hr flight with no sleep!! All for 6 pounds!!

So with a few Chinese words under my belt - 'ni-hau' - hello/how do you do, & 'shishi' - thank you - I've ended my first exciting day in China, ready for tomorrow's sights!
Day 2 - Beijing

After a horrible night's sleep, waking at 1am & not falling asleep again until gone 4am, I felt like I'd been hit by a bus when I was woken at 8am - and probably looked it too!!

Today I really noticed the pollution! At first it smelt like faint fumes & smoke. You can smell it as soon as you step outside. You can kind of taste it to begin with, but you soon get used to it!

We headed to Tiananmen Square on the Beijing Metro, which was filled like London's rush hour, even though it was quiet time... The Square is amazing - HUGE!! The biggest in the world, I think. On one side is Parliament, and the other, a museum. At the end is Chairman Mao's memorial, containing his preserved body, which looks like a wax work from Madame Tussauds. Thousands of people lined up to go through this memorial, particularly this weekend as it was a public holiday to remember deceased loved ones. People were placing flowers respectfully in the foyer.

In front of Mao's memorial is another, smaller memorial, to remember those who died in war.

From here we went on to the Forbidden City, named for its original use in the Ming & Xing Dynasties for only the emperors, his family & workers. The walled city was off limits to anyone else. Now, approximately 30% of the city is open to the general public.

I had no idea how big the Forbidden City actually was until we were inside!! Walking around with a confusing English guide in my ear, we came across many halls & other significant rooms. It's a spectacular place! After more than 3hrs of walking through it, we were very tired & all the buildings were starting to look the same, and we still hadn't seen all of what there was to see... we decided to leave it at that! I did come away with a whole load of photos!!

After this we headed out into the suburbs to meet some of Ashley & Chen's friends & their dogs. They have Tibetan mastiffs, which I hadn't seen before - they look like lions!! We spent the rest of the evening and dinner there... I have tried more new food in the last couple of days than I have in the last couple of years!!!

Day 3 - Beijing

We decided to take it a bit easier today & I got to catch up on some sleep! For lunch we went to Chen's grandparent's apartment where they'd prepared a delicious meal - prawns, vegetables, pork, beef, salad, soup, & lots of fresh GIANT strawberries!! I like Chinese meals in that there's so much variety, but there's always so much food & for someone like me who calorie-counts, religiously, it's hard to try not to offend by not eating all of the food!

I forgot to mention that before I came to China, I wasn't vegetarian, but I haven't been eating red meat, turkey, duck, and anything on a bone... Just some chicken & fish... But even then, I could easily be put off as I have a very weak stomach!! But coming to China, I didn't want to limit myself! I wanted to try as much as I could to really experience China properly!!

In the afternoon we drove down to the Temple of Heaven & walked through the premises, which is like a huge park. Although you have to pay to enter, people can buy season tickets & use the area for exercise & Tai Chi.

The Temple itself is magnificent! It was designed to represent the path from Earth to Heaven.

On the way out of the Temple of Heaven, Ashley told me about an ancient Beijing soy bean drink. They thought I should try it as I wanted to try something weird. They warned me it wasn't at all like soy milk!! Tasting it, I don't think I've ever tried anything more revolting in my life!! It tasted like marijuana and curdled, sour milk together... I had two little sips & that was plenty!! Never again!!!!!

Later on we looked around some shopping malls, where it became obvious that Chinese people love their designer clothing!! We found the streets famous for their weird food stalls... They specialise in kebabs (meat on a stick kebabs), and in particular, strange creatures on these kebabs, i.e. moth pupae, starfish, large & small scorpions, grasshoppers, seahorses, etc.

The first street smelt so bad I felt a bit sick - apparently it was the bean curd they were frying... So we carried on to the bigger, cleaner street, where I decided I should carry out my mission to eat something weird!! After watching a European guy eat small scorpions, saying it tasted like chicken (how original) I decided I should try this too... So I did it, with a little difficulty, as the thought was much more off-putting than the taste!! They tasted like bacon actually...




That night Ash & Chen took me to a Chinese film, The Warlords, which is based on a real Chinese hero. Was really good!!

Day 4 - Beijing - Ba Da Ling

Today we were up early to head to the Great Wall. This is what I'd most been looking forward to!! Just over an hour's drive out of Beijing city we arrived at Ba Da Ling, one of the more touristy spots to do a walk on the wall. We picked this because it's closer & there are other sights nearby. Ashley & Chen decided not to do the walk as it is quite hard work...so I set off alone... It is actually better that way as you can stop when you want & go where you want!

There are two walks at Ba Da Ling, I picked the less touristy left-hand walk to the south. It didn't take long to lose most of the crowds. It really was hard work!! Much steeper than I'd ever imagined! Almost sheer drops in places! I stopped in a small pavilion to the side of the Wall for a picnic & to take in the views. It really was quite humbling to be there!! To imagine the people that built the Wall & travelled along it regularly.

With the sun blazing down on me, it really was a difficult walk & on getting home, I've realised how sunburned my poor wee nose is!! I thought I was just really hot & red in the face!! After walking as far as they allow you to walk on that stretch, I tried my hand at the more touristy right-hand walk to the north. This side was packed with tourist groups, all with their matching hats & flag to follow. This side was also very steep and by the time I'd checked the time it was gone 12 and I'd been walking for over 2hrs. So, I got to a high point to take some more photos, then returned to the bottom to meet Ashley & Chen in Starbucks, of all places... I was exhausted!!!

I would love to go back one day and walk much further. What an accomplishment to walk the whole thing!!

After this we drove to check out the Ming Tombs. The tomb of the 13th emperor is open to the public. There are others that have not been opened. This tomb was situated among trees and a river, which was meant to be good luck for the emperor & his wives who were buried with him, in the afterlife.

Last of all today I walked through The Sacred Way, a long pathway with revered concrete animals lining the sides of the path. This is another site of a tomb, which are all marked with a huge headstone & a creature that looks like a dragon & turtle combined... It is considered good luck to rub its head or tail, so I did this, twice!

Day 5 - Beijing

Today was another day to relax. It's nice not having to rush around to see all the sights in a restricted amount of time! I sent my postcards today, so I'm hoping they all get there, and before I leave!!

This evening Ashley & Chen took me to a huge building with market-style stalls everywhere, all selling electronics. I bought some memory cards for my cameras at a price we thought was very cheap, but I was horribly disappointed when Russ informed me that UK prices had also dropped!! It was here that I learnt you should never pay a price labelled on an item! ALWAYS barter!! I was lucky to have Ash & Chen there to barter for me in Mandarin as I was a good target for people to make money out of!

Later that night they all, including Chen's parents (which is where we're staying in Beijing) took me to a place called Playland, where you book a private room to sing karaoke. The room, with surround sound, plasma TV, leather sofas & tables, including a buffet dinner, for 3hrs, cost a mere 6 pounds each!!! And this was one of the posher ones!! Bargain!!

Although singing karaoke makes me want to die with embarrassment, I did sing a few Spice Girls tunes with Ashley!! It was just like Lost in Translation!!!

Day 6 & 7 - Beijing

Today we visited the Summer Palace. When I think of a palace, I think of something resembling Buckingham Palace, or something similar! Well, this is not like that at all.... The Summer Palace is more like an area you'd find in the Lake District!! There is the main palace & lots of smaller buildings all over the area, then there's a huge lake and river inside!! It really is massive!! We walked around the lake then took a boat to the opposite side & I climbed to the top building where a big statue of Buddha sits. This gave beautiful views over the lake & some of Beijing city. You can't really see very far over the city as it is quite smoggy!!

We walked for around 4hrs & didn't even cover half of the site!! It is spectacular!! It was home to Empress Cixi in the Qing Dynasty. She basically caused the decline of the Qing Dynasty & the rise of the Republican Movement!! She was a nasty piece of work!! Her husband had died & her son was too young to become Emperor, so she took over & changed everything to suit her...

That night, they took me to an area translated in English, 'Back Sea'. It's a small lake surrounded by bars, restaurants & clubs. We picked one with a live reggae band, Blue Lotus! It was a really cool atmosphere & I tried their Lotus Blue cocktail... mmmmmm..... To have a table in a bar they have a minimum amount you must spend at your table. We sat in the side tables, kind of like a Japanese table, with cushions & you take your shoes off and cross your legs... We had to spend 300 Yuan to sit here (about 30 pounds). The tables in the centre you had to spend 600 Yuan.

Day 7 is mainly me trying to catch up on this blog & emails before we fly to Chengdu tomorrow morning to stay with Ashley's family.

I am going to an acrobatic show tonight at one of Beijing's theatres. It is a competition between the best of each province of China. The acrobats in this show have been training since they were very very young! It looks amazing & I can't wait!!!

See my Beijing & Great Wall photos here.

Day 8 - Beijing - Chengdu - Shifang

Up early today to fly south west to where Ashley is from in the Sichuan province. We flew out of a military airport which has only been open to the public a few years, Nanyuan.

I was glad to be leaving Beijing. Not that it's not a cool place, because it really is! It's just that I'd seen all the main sights, plus more non-touristy stuff, which was great! Plus big cities like that all end up looking the same. There are somewhere between 15 & 17 million people living in Beijing.

On arriving in Chengdu, my first impressions were of how humid it was/is compared to Beijing and it is also a bit greener. We didn't spend much time there, just said a quick hello to another Chinese guy that studied at Victoria with us.

From here we drove about 1 1/2hrs north west to the city that Ashley grew up in & her family still live, Shifang. The drive there was amazing!! To Ashley is was nothing special & she couldn't understand why I'd want to take photos of the things I did, but I thought it all looked just amazing!!! It pretty much summed up exactly what I had imagined China to look like. For all its imperfections from western standards, to me this place was perfect!! Exactly what I had hoped my holiday would be about!!

Ash had told me her parents were having their house renovated but when we pulled up I could see they'd actually completely gutted the house and were starting from scratch & adding an extra floor, which is why they were now living out in the country with their grandmother, with no plumbing & I stayed in a hotel not far away. My room was huge and came with a free breakfast (as all decent hotels do in China), all for £10/night!! Bargain!!!

The area where the grandmother (who's 97 & still going strong!) lives has a bunch of houses all grouped very close together & it's all their extended family who live there, so they play & eat together & really look after each other! They're a very close, very lovely family! It does smell a bit out there because of the toilets being longdrops, but the houses are in the middle of wheat & rape fields & it's just so relaxing out there!! Ashley's mum, aunty & grandmother cooked up a big meal with lots of really tasty Sichuan dishes & we all sat snuggly around the table together...cousins, aunts, uncles, the grandmother and us.

Shifang is more remote than most toursts would go so when we drove into town people were staring & pointing & talking about me... I felt like a famous actor or something!! Ashley's mum even invited a friend over just to see me because I'm a foreigner. Even though this friend was an English teacher at a local middle school, she couldn't really speak English at all & she'd never seen a foreigner in person before...

The night ended with a few hours in a local tea house playing mahjong. I think I might have finally got the hang of it!! They're absolutely mad for it down there & love to gamble on it!! It's a fun game but they all play so fast & I'm still setting up my pieces while they've already started the game!!

Day 9 - Shifang - Chengdu

Today was really just a day of organising... I had wanted to see the Yangtze River so we went to an internet cafe & Ashley searched for holidays for me. Eventually she found something and it was to leave the next day... I figured it'd be cheaper to book trips like that from China rather than through a Western company...and I was right!!!

For lunch, Ashley's family treated me to a Sichuan hotpot. They're famous for them!! Basically they are metal bowls in the centre of the table, heated by a gas flame. A small bowl with a kind of liquid stock inside a bigger bowl with oil & chillis & things. You leave them to boil constantly at your table and you cook meat and vegetables in them. When cooked you dip the food into another bowl with sesame oil, garlic and shallots. The longer they cook the spicier they get! But my little tummy could only handle so much spicy, oily food before I had to sit back & watch as they devoured an unbelievable amount of food!!

We spent the rest of the afternoon with the travel agent while Ashley sorted out my trip for me. I felt a bit lost not knowing what was going on...

When everything was booked we raced to an electronic store to buy a USB charger for my (actually Russ') MP3 player. We took it back to the hotel & when I went to plug it in it blew the fuse!! Oops!! Ashley phoned reception to tell them the entry card just didn't work, while I scrubbed furiously at the plug to get rid of the burn marks!! They got someone to fix the fuse & all was well...

Day 10 - Chengdu - Dujiangyan - Shoujiang bridge - Yingxiu town - Maoxing - Jiuzhaigou

It was a very early start this morning because we had a collossal drive in front of us. Up at 5:30am I was picked up from my hotel & taken to the bus for our tour, where I was to be the only foreigner on an all Chinese tour. One girl, Kitty, spoke English, thankfully!

Our first stop was Dujiangyan. This was also our first bathroom stop. This was where I left my dignity... From here on the toilets were basically tiled ditches, without doors and without much of a barrier. I hesitated to use it at first... got stage fright!! But when you gotta go, you gotta go!!

From here we made our way into the mountains where the roads got windier, cliffs got steeper, and drivers & pedestrians got crazier!! I thought Beijing drivers were mad, but Sichuan drivers are much much worse!! Cars will just stop in the middle of the road or turn into your path without ever looking where they're going. They're supposed to drive on the right-hand side of the road but the more remote we got, the less they deemed it necessary to stick to these rules!! So being on a bus, driving fast around corners with sheer drops to the side, driving on the wrong side of the road, after a couple of hours I really started to feel tense!! And I continued to feel this tense for the rest of the 11hr drive!!! They drive with their hand glued to the horn too.. beeping at everyone and at everything!! Yet no one moves and no one pays any attention! You could beep forever and no one blinks an eyelid!

We checked into our hotels & headed to the home of a wealthy Tibetan family. They welcomed us with satin scarves & gave us some Tibetan food to try, such as sheep meat and different spices. They performed for us in their traditional Tibetan costumes. Then it was our turn... They went around each table, picking someone to sing a song. Of course, being the only foreigner, I was quickly singled out!! My friend, Kitty, came up with me & she sang while I clapped along for her. I'm pretty shy in front of a big group of people, even if I don't speak their language... I couldn't bring myself to sing solo!! I did however teach the presenter how to say 'I love you' in English. They thanked us with scarves & beaded bracelets.

Back at the hotel I was less than impressed with my room!! It was freezing with no heating!! Then there was only to be hot water between 9:30 & 11:30pm & I couldn't get any!! I didn't shower that night!!

Day 11 - Jiuzhaigou

After being woken by a rooster this morning, we were back on the bus by 8am, heading for the entrance to Jiuzhaigou Scenic Reserve. We set off on the shuttle busses provided that run all over the park so you can choose the bits you walk.

Driving past the first of many lakes in the area I was awe-struck!!! Words can't even explain how beautiful this place is!!! the water is various shades of turquoise and royal blue, yet is crystal clear!! Just unbelievably clear!!! You can look out into the middle of the lakes and see fallen trees through the water! The water is untouched & even smoking is banned from the reserve.

They say it's prettiest in the autumn when the leaves are golden and red, but coming now in spring is absolutely breathtaking!!!

We drove high up into the mountains for a view over Long Lake at 3103m and there was snow everywhere which made it look and feel magical! Here we dressed in Tibetan costumes and posed for plenty of photos. (I look fat in mine but I had a backpack & jacket on underneath!!!!). Really!! We spent the entire day up in the park, only to return at 5:30pm, walking for about 9hrs!

The Chinese people on the trip and those I've come across so far have been exceptionally nice! Especially one couple who really took it upon themselves to make sure I knew where to go & made sure I sat with them at meals. They also made sure no one was ripping me off!! At dinner a little Chinese girl of about 3 kept staring at me. I could tell her parents were trying to make her stop staring & pointing, but it wasn't long before she shuffled over and said "hello". I'm starting to feel like a freakshow!!

That night we went to a theatre where several groups of Tibetans performed traditional songs and dances. Amazing and very beautiful!!

Day 12 - Jiuzhaigou - Mounigou Scenic Area - Maoxing

Today was to be my first day with no one who spoke English. Turns out the guide knew a little more than she had first let on, though she needed to think carefully before she spoke. We left Jiuzhaigou quite early & with no one speaking English the day was to be a bit of a mystery trip. I had no idea where we were going or what to expect!

Our first stop was a tourist center in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the mountains, selling jade and other crystal. It had snowed he night before and the surrounding views were stunning!! We made a couple more little stops along the way at a food market then somewhere selling traditional Chinese medicine.

Next we came to Mounigou Scenic Area where we took a short walk into the forest to find a magnificent waterfall, Zhaga Waterfall. At over 100m high we walked to the top to take some pictures. It was a very strange walk. Not for the scenery, but because people constantly stopped me to have their photo taken with me & tell me I'm beautiful. It was quite odd!!

Day 13 - Maoxing - Chengdu

Up very early again today, the travelling had begun to catch up on me.

Before leaving Maoxing we stopped at a local teahouse where a woman in a beautiful pink embroidered robe explained the various teas they stocked. She kept pointing up the hill above us which gave the impression they grew the tea close by. Without anyone to translate I tried to guess what flavour the teas we were tasting were. I bought three of them... I love herbal tea!

After this we drove to a factory where they made and sold combs and other items out of cow and buffalo horns. They look pretty interesting...

We drove back to Chengdu after this to end our four day trip. Chengdu is a much bigger city than I'd first realised. It is the 4th largest city in China with a population of around 10 million-ish.

Our last stop in Chengdu was really quite bizarre!! In something that appeared to be a department store-style sales pitch for really sharp knives, we had been ushered into a private room for a display... Why would you have this as part of a tour??? It was very strange!! And it was like they'd never seen anything like it! Odd!

Back at the Honey Hotel I'd grown quite fond of (who wouldn't be fond of a 4 star hotel for £15 a night!?) I spent the night, waiting for my next adventure to begin in the morning.

For photos of my trip to Jiuzhaigou, click here.

Day 14 - Chengdu - Chongqing

Today I had a bad day! On waking just after 5 in the morning I was overtired & grumpy & intolerant! I found myself being irritated by all the smoking and spitting and people staring at me!

We arrived in Chongqing just after lunch & I was taken to a travel agency where they organised my day. After lunch they had a day trip planned to show a small group of us Chongqing. I waited and waited and waited for the tour to begin. When it did, ten of us piled into a small van and were whizzed around the city to see an old prison, a teahouse and another sharp knife place... The city was very dirty & nothing special to write home about.

All I wanted to do was get on the boat and cruise down the Yangtze!! That evening I checked into the boat & managed to convince them to not put anyone else in my room... I had it to myself... ohh yeah!! The boat was named 'Ms Fortune'. It felt like a glass half full or half empty situation - misfortune or miss fortune...

Day 15 - Chongqing - Yangtze River (downstream) - FengDu

I woke up feeling refreshed & much cheerier than yesterday! I think I was just glad that I finally understood what was going on now! Plus I was quite excited about this cruise because it's something I'd wanted to do for a long time!!

After being woken by music through the loudspeaker in my room I got ready & went to explore the ship before breakfast. There are little shops, more like stalls, a dining room, large bar/entertainment area, massage rooms, hair salon & doctors room. It's quite a snug wee ship!

I watched from the top deck as we set off. Just looking around at the state of the water & how much traffic there was on it, you can begin to understand why the Yangtze River dolphin was declared extinct a couple of years ago. I was gutted when I read this!! But with more than 1/3 of China's popluation living by the Yangtze it makes sense...

I chilled out in my room for most of the day. We had huge bay windows in each room and I could lay on my bed, hanging out the window reading & taking photos! It was very relaxing!

In the afternoon we stopped at FengDu - the ghost city. At first I thought it was called this because it was an abandonned city, but actually it is an almost 2000 year old city (the original city in now underwater & the city was reestablished on the opposite shore on higher ground) based on the Buddhist & Taoist religions. It was founded by two men, Yin & Wang, which in Chinese, sounds like 'King of Hell'. this is how the name 'Ghost City' came about.

Throughout the city are various representations of tests one must pass to prove him or herself to be a good person, such as walking successfully over a bridge (if you are a bad person you would fall into the water). Another was for a man to move & then lift a steel object. If he could do this it proved he was a faithful husband. The steel thing weighed 400lbs & when a man in our group tried he failed to lift it, but apparently this still proved he was faithful for trying!!

Everything in this city has some sort of relevance to your current life or your life to come when you are reincarnated. There are lots of things you can do to bring yourself luck, wealth, health, or even to ensure you will become a monk in your next life, or have a baby boy, not a girl, etc...

Near the top of the hill (the Ghost City is on a hill, up 600 stairs) the walls are painted blue to represent hell. Through the 'gateway to hell' there are statues to either side of the path, all representing something different. If you have your photo taken with the one holding a jug, you will never be drunk. Another is of a granchild & grandparent. If you have your photo taken with this one, your sons will always listen to you, aparently... etc etc... You can take from it what you like, but I figured it can't hurt to do some of these things because ultimately we all want happy, healthy lives!! Plus I really like Buddhism!

That night we had a welcome banquet & the crew put on a little show for us. It was really sweet in a highschool show kind of way. During the performance they got some of the audience to come on stage to play musical chairs. Not many people volunteered so Cindy, the guide, picked on me... I wasn't keen on going up there to humiliate myself but I felt bad for her, do did it... And I won... surprise surprise! :o) I won a painting that n artist on the ship did in front of me. He was amazing!!

After this I joined the Australians from an Intrepid tour on the deck for some drinks & English speaking conversation! It was almost weird to be using my voice properly again!!

Day 16 - Yangtze River - QuTang Gorge - Wu Gorge - ShenNong Stream - Ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam

It's raining it's pouring...

We had one hell of a storm last night! I woke up several times to see the sky lit up by lightening. Though the boat wasn't rocking, I would have felt slightly more at ease if we had pulled into a port for the night...

It was really bucketing down before we entered the first gorge, QuTang Gorge. Visibility was pretty low, however once we actually entered the gorge the weather cleared slightly... enough to take some amazing pictures!! It's so beautiful there!!

Wu Gorge was the same weather-wise, but this one had higher, more dramatic mountains to either side, as did ShenNong Stream, which was also much more narrow. All the mist made it appear very eerie. Combining this with local Chinese people on their little wooden boats, I don't think you could get a more perfect snapshot of China!!!

We sailed for 2hrs up ShenNong Stream on a local ferry as our cruise ship was too big. We were meant to be travelling on little wooden boats but because of the heavy rain they thought best not.

That night, after our farewell banquet, we entered the locks for the Three Gorges Dam. There are five locks in total but at the current water level we only needed to use four. Imagining how big the whole thing is is one thing but actually seeing them is quite another!!!

Here are some statistics... We dropped a total of 87m to the river below the dam. Each lock is 280m long & around 40m deep. We fitted four large cruise boats in the lock at one time! It took about 3hrs to get from the top to the bottom. From where the water level sits now (above the dam) at around 153m above sea level, by 2009 it will have risen to 175m, flooding a lot of small low-lying villages & historical relics (some of which are in the process of being relocated to higher ground).

The Three Gorges Dam is the biggest dam in the world and as most people know, has probably been the most controversial!! The Yangtze River is the 3rd largest river in the world & covers 16% of China's landmass. Building the dam meant that about 1.3million people had to relocate... There you go....

It's just so difficult to comprehend the scale of the dam!! I mean, the locks are just enormous!!!

Day 17 - Three Gorges Dam - XiLing Gorge - Yichang - Chengdu

No rest for the wicked... Or in this case for the poor people on this Yangtze cruise who wanted a decent sleep...

Most people were up quite late to watch the ships move through the locks. I went to bed around midnight, after the first lock. Moving through the locks proved to be a fairly noisy process! Our wakeup call went off at 6:10 this morning!!! Aargh...

On arriving at the Three Gorges Dam at half 7, the air was very misty & we really couldn't see a lot of the dam. A bunch of us had been really excited to see this controversial dam, but were kind of disappointed by it in the flesh (or rather concrete...). We could only just make out the 2000m plus length, though we did get a better view from higher ground! Seeing the ship locks on the other side in daylight was pretty impressive!! I've never seen anything like it!!

Our guide proceeded to tell us that the hydro-electric power the dam was to generate, was meant to account for 8 or 9% of China's total power supply, however in reality, once fully functioning, it would only account for 1%!!! ONE PERCENT!!! All that for just 1%!!! And they will add another ten or so dams to the same river in the near future!!! The only "positive" things coming from the dam are that it will "prevent" serious flooding in the future (this is yet to be proven) & it is a step in the right direction to using more environmentally friendly power production (as opposed to the coal power they currently use, of which 80% of their power comes from currently). This certainly explains the level of pollution in this country!!

After this shore excursion we didn't have long before our cruise ended in Yichang, after passing through the third and final gorge on our trip, XiLing Gorge. This one wasn't quite so spectacular...

On leaving Ms Fortune I shared a taxi (actually a local guy with a van) with a couple from Melbourne, Mei & Vince. Vince had a camera like mine (actually Russ' again) so we had shared tips & photo ideas on the cruise. I waited 4hrs for my flight (Yichang wasn't worth checking out).

Unfortunately I woke up this morning with a sore throat & achy body... I think I just needed a good nights sleep!!

See the photos of my Yangtze trip here.

Day 18, 19, 20, 21 - Chengdu

Today (day 18) was a write-off! What a bloody miserable day!!!

Yesterday I had woken with a sore throat. By the end of the day it had become very dry & my chest very tight & heavy. That night I woke up several times dry-retching & finally throwing up...

In the morning we get in the car to go & see the pandas. After being in the car 20 minutes or so I had to get Ashley & Chen to take me back to the hotel. I was feeling really really rough!!!

Over the next two days I couldn't hold anything down or in!!! I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me!!! I was weak & exhausted & think I had a bit of a fever. I couldn't make it out of the hotel to get any more food either.

On the third day I managed to get out of the hotel for a couple of hours to make it to the bank to change travellers cheques & buy some juice & food. I didn't throw up after this but still felt very very weak!! From here on yes I stopped vomiting, but the diarrhea started.. Nice!! (sorry for that excess information!!!)

Over these four days I was left in my hotel, by myself, trying to fend for myself when I really needed help!! It was a bit scary being that sick in a foreign country where almost no one speaks English! I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, especially because the one person I thought I should/could count on aparently had better things to do than offer help to her friend. Basically the extent of it was me receiving a txt from her saying "You'll be fine, just like we were fine when we were in NZ..."

Day 22 - Chengdu - Beijing

This morning I was picked up & we went to see the pandas at Chengdu's research centre, inhabiting giant & red pandas. Here I paid about £40 to stand behind & pat an adult giant panda for a couple minutes & have my photo taken with it. They're very cute & squishy looking!! See my panda photos here.

I went to watch a movie in the afternoon as Ashley & Chen had other things to do...

That night I flew with Chen back to Beijing. I have to say I was well and truly ready to leave! Being ill all I wanted was to eat something familiar & have some help & I got nothing!!!

Though it didn't make me feel bad about my trip on the whole! I loved China! It was absolutely amazing & I really would love to go back!!! Everything about it was new and interesting and incredible!!! I would totally recommend it as a holiday destination!! It's such a vast, varied country!! And the people are wonderful!! On the whole..

Click here to see some other random photos/videos from Chengdu & Shifang & around...