So it was finally here; the day to leave Beijing behind and find out why I am really here. Unfortunately China is a tad bigger than England and we had to stomach a 17 hour train ride in order to continue upon our merry way. Bags in hand we hopped a bus to the station. It was an hour's ride. An hour I spent dreading carrying my bag onto the train, an hour spent dreading the sheer volume of people that would soon be pressed against me for the next 17 hours. In th...

My first mistake was to take my entire bag with me, my second was the thick polo shirt and my third was taking only one bottle of water. When you hear 'The Great Wall Of China' you think of some massive stone structure that goes on as far as you can see. It's beautiful, ancient and one of the wonders of the world. I too thought this until I realised what was happening. We started walking at about 10am towards the wall, it was overcast (I'm sure the pictures ca...

Sorry that this one is a little late, internet at the hostel is not ideal. So this is my first experience of china:- I know everyone says this but, the first thing that hits you is the smells. Everywhere you go it's something different; from fried meats and Chinese food all the way to drains and the weird mix of fried cabbage and wet dog. The sheer volume of people surging through the streets gives everything a fast pace; even walking down the street tires you...