Next stop Xi’an- and another 16 hour night train…
Xi’an was the former capital of China before it was moved to Beijing during the time of Genghis Khan’s rule. Famous for the amazing find of the Terracota Warriors - just crazy to see what was found by farmers while digging for water.. and the restoration of these pieces – one of our best days in China.
We then flew to Kavs most anticipated part of the trip – Chengdu – Home of the Pandas. We spent time walking around the park – seeing how locals spent their day and learning how to play the Chinese game of Mahjong..
Then Panda research Centre – My (Kav) best day in China – they were soo amazingly cute and cheeky.. think the few picts will show it all..
Eat and Sleep!
Baby Panda venturing away from its friends
(nope - not going to let you take pictures today...)
We then travelled 6 hours to make our way up Emeishan Mountain – for our 2 night stay in a Buddhist monastery. It was amazing to see how they live. the monastery living condition was very basic, this had initially been hard to adapt to… however this was soon superseded by the spiritually enlightening surroundings.
We Hiked up the mountain, visting the crazy monkeys followed by time in the hot springs to ease the pain in our legs…Kav spent time sitting in a fish spa.. London you only get to put your feet in..China your whole body!
Next 3 days were spent on a cruise up the Yangtze River – we got the all in package! Drinks and Food- so this was a messy 3 days with only a few pictures as evidence that we ate, drank and saw the 3 Gorges!!!
No further comment on this part of the trip..
...During this boat trip Andy proposed to charolotte... she said yes!!!
Last Stop for China – Yangshuo! Most touristy town in China – Resembling nothing we had seen so far – People speaking English, Menus in English.. Backpackers and Mountain Climbers Haven…
How the town was Built in the middle of over 2000 mountains and there makes for beautiful scenery- we hired bikes and hit the countryside! Having lunch at a local farmers house – seeing paddy fields, cotton plants and orange trees on every corner…
We again spent 12 hours travelling to last stop on our organised tour – Hong Kong!
Our time here was limited and much about meeting up with a few friends and coming back to a form of reality away from the madness of China… and eating a few Western delights such as pizza and enjoying some red wine..
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