Ni hao true believers! Welcome back to the show, when we last left our hero he was about to embark on the final leg of his epic journey; Guilin to Xi'an. So without any further deals, lets see what happened…

Train journey length: 19 hours Total: 92 hours traveling

Distance: 960 miles Total: 6160 miles

As we boarded the final train journey (more on this later) of our travels we were feeling rather down. This was it, the end of the movie, roll credits. The train itself was not an too bad; it was incredibly full so we had some struggle finding a space to place our bags but luckily we were all within the same group of seats so were free to chat. We passed the time in the usual manner, talking, reading books, listening to music and eating the absolutely disgusting food available on the train which was mostly a pot noodle type thing with a sausage in it, though I doubt the legitimacy of the meat in them. If anyone can find a way to 'fake meat' it's the Chinese. As ever it was a long journey with very little sleep meaning we kept occasionally passing out at various intervals along the way but regardless we found ourselves back in Xi'an again (a third time for Dan, Tim and Stephen). We wearily entered the nearest Mcdonalds and ate, famished from the journey, before reaching our final destination; once again the ancient city youth hostel.

When it comes to what we actually did in Xi'an I have to say very, very little. By this point in time Me and Stephen had been traveling and living out of our backpacks for five weeks whilst Tim, Dan and Stephen had been doing it for six. We were, to be honest, exhausted although we did have some fun.

The first thing I have to say is that the hostel was as nice, the staff as fun and flirtatious and atmosphere as comfortable as I remember the last time but it was lacking two little, furry features. The kittens. Wherever the two kittens are that were there last October, I wish them all the best. This time in the hostel we really kept to ourselves for the most part though we did befriend most of the hostel staff and the guys behind the bar. All the people staying in the hostel did not seem too interested in talking to us but then again we never made a formal effort. One group I did talk to was a large group of German girls and one guy who had come to China to travel prior to going to Uni. And I have to say I felt markedly more 'mature' (pardon my snooty-ness) and found it rather difficult to find common ground with them. Though were rather arty and full of profound insights into China whilst I was of the opinion 'It's China innit?" so we never really did get on. We did have a lot of fun having a few drinks at the bar between us, playing pool and making very good use of the wi-fi. Ten out of ten, would stay again.

There were a few things we did get up to worth noting; one was the loop of the whole inner city we managed on one day. We headed down to the south gate of the inner walls and from there just walked. On our travels we came upon an exotic pets market (snakes, Chinchillas and the like) and came across a few huge shopping malls. Mr Erhorn managed to acquire a dashing white shirt covered in little union flags in order to 'aid the nation' I believe. We also had a fair few coffees on our rounds in Xi'an, visited the foreign book store (didn't buy anything though) and visited a 'traditional style street' aka tourist trap. It was very traditional China; full of liars selling rubbish. "Look, look, 100 year old walnut!". No thank you, sir, No thank you.

Unlike our last time in Xi'an we did not get up to too much night life. On two nights we went to a bar found underneath a hostel near the south gate which was populated by a good mix of Chinese and Ex-pats with some live music, an amazing beat boxer and amazing prices. We whittled away some times in that bar chatting amongst ourselves and, again, did not really manage to make any good friends. They did have a fussball table which we made good use of.

Time slowly passed and finally comes the sad part of the story. You may recall we had major issues getting train tickets back into Xingjian (see issue 'Spring festival Shanghai, Editor Alex!) and after much frustration, anger and deliberation we booked flights back from China. These flight cost me and extortionate amount of money which has nearly left me no money for my summer travels but It had too be done in the end. Me and Tim managed to book onto one flight and Stephen onto a flight the next day. When it came time to say goodbye to Dan and Stephen my heart kind of pulled back towards them. Through out spring festival I've felt sad every time it's come time to say goodbye to somebody along the way it has been sad but to leave these two guys behind nearly broke my heart.

Tim was incredibly ill day we took off back to Xinjiang. Luckily everything went fairly smoothly and three hours after we left Xi'an we were back in Xinjiang. Tim ended up staying with us a couple of days after arrival in order to recover, though we just relaxed and enjoyed the company, before he headed back to Kuitin. Again, saying goodbye to Tim was rather difficult as he's fats become a good friend and a man I respect greatly but time goes on and there was work to be done.

And there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen: the end of my Spring festival series of blogs. What can I say about Spring festival other than it was, without even a hint of doubt, the best period of my life so far. It was everything I wanted from my time in China. I say so many different places, landscapes and parts of Chinese culture. I met an incredible amount of fantastic people who helped us along the way and truly added to my year. It also solidified friendships with people on Trust, friends I'm very grateful to have, and I cannot wait to share my next adventure with them.

But it's not over yet folks! I have another five months of China yet to document and I guarantee there's more excitement, weird stories and adventure to come and here's just a preview; Stephens parents visit, My Dad's visit, Beijing Mikes visit, the ancient city of Beiting, new journeys in Urumuqi and much, much more. The time of my life isn't over yet and I cannot wait to share it with you all,

So until next time,

Excelsior!