Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
One week down.....40 odd to go! It's amazing how much we've done in a week and how many other things we're going to do before i set foot back in the UK!
Beijing - When I landed it was 9am and 22 degrees. The airport was empty, air conditioning on max. Most foreigners get a taxi to their hotel..I got the train with the Chinese. When I got to the city centre it was 30 degrees. I walked past Tian'amen square to my hostel and checked in. I then went on the hunt for some food. Meat on sticks were the thing to do in Beijing, literally Beef or lamb on a stick with some chilli powder. Simple but very strangely addictive. I must have walked 4 miles before deciding it was time for a pint. I then headed home and had a few hours kip before Kunaal arrived. The next day we did the Forbidden Kingdom...the sheer size was incredible especially considering one man ordered it be built for him! The summer palace the next day was a great break from city life...the marble boat is possibly the stupidest yet most impressive thing ive ever seen! The Great Wall the next day....wow....we basically had the wall to ourselves in the baking heat. We avoided the cable car and walked up the moutain and then walked along the 8km stretch of wall and back again. A great sense of achievement and amazement was well rewarded with an icy cold beer. The Olympics the next day was a complete contrast from the wall but had its own sense of importance. The 13 hour train journey overnight to Xi'an on a hard seat on the otherhand did not...the relief of arrival brought it straight back though! After a few hours kip we walked round the most ancient city in China and got some beers in for the evening. The Terracotta Warriors today were incredible. Comprehending the hours spent creating each warrior is impossible but seeing the excavation sites really prove that it is the biggest finding of the 20th Century and its the 8th wonder of the world. Tomorrow we either climb Mt Hua Shan or we get the train to Chengdu depending on the weather. The next week will be incredible...a train to the edge of Tibet, a hovercraft down the Yangtze to the biggest Dam in the world and the biggest Buddha in the world before heading down to Hong Kong.
I'll put photos up soon when I find the lead and can be bothered! I hope all is well in the UK and chat soon.
Luke
- comments