I'm on Cloud 9

Shanghai is awesome! They say its the city where east meets west and judging by the amount of Westerners and FTSE company owned SkyScrapers dominating the skyline, I wouldn't disagree.

Our time here is limited so after dropping our bags off we head out for dinner and a leisurely walk along the Bund and a view of the city skyline at night. The next day we jump on an open top tour bus and head to Shanghai old town, Yu Yuan gardens, City Temple and have a gander around the Tea Shops.

Then we head over to the financial district and suddenly feel like little tiny ants in a skyscraper filled town. A few good malls saw us kill a few hours before heading to the Grand Hyatt for Afternoon tea which then turned into dinner and then cocktails in the infamous Cloud 9 bar.

We tried desperately to spend all of our money but everything is too cheap here in china, even at the Grand Hyatt!

Funny taxi ride home with robocop taxi driver who didnt find Luke's jokes funny. Then off to bed and 5am get up time. Rode the first subway of the day to the airport, 70p for an hour long journey and I am now jotting this blog from the comfort of Zurich airport. I am happy to report a return to the free world where Facebook and twitter works again.

Dad you better say a prayer that your whiskey makes it home. Hitler confiscated it only for Luke to take it back off him and check in his rucksack into the hold. If it doesn't make it he'll be sucking his rucksack dry :)

Signing out after an epic trip xxx

You're gorge ous!

We have had a delightful time on the Yangtze River. Our ship, the century emerald is lurvely and feels like a proper pamper after all our exertions.

The 3 gorges area is beautiful and the excursions are centred around each gorge and its particular beauty and pagoda/temple/inaccessible by anything other than water village etc etc. The gorges are dramatic in their current form so goodness knows how incredible it would have been before the water level was raised by 100 metres. That said, the river is very clean, slow running (whereas before it would have been a lot shallower but treacherous) and a lovely colour turquoise so has in no way detracted from the beauty of anything. It's hard to know what to say about the whole project really. Westerners are very fuelled by half truths but seeing the conservation and rehousing project and speaking with locals gives you a totally different outlook on the whole thing. It's quite funny to see where a village has basically been moved 150 meters further up the hill, moving all the temples and pagodas with them, but having new houses in the process.

The dam produces enough energy to power 5 vegas's all day every day at a cost of 5 cents a mega watt. It is cheap and it's clean. There are funny Eco stories about how the sturgeon were repopulated on both sides of the dam and ginko and herbal trees also moved and replanted. In 13 years much of what was disrupted has now resettled and has a new place to call home.

Crew cabaret and karaoke nights were extremely entertaining and took cheesiness to another level. Dani and I took advantage of the on board salon and had our hair coiffed. The lady gave the best hair wash and head massage ever. I went to Chinese calligraphy and dumpling making lessons.

Feeling thoroughly relaxed after our time on board. Lots of naps, films, gym and good food in between excursions.

Navigated Chongqing megatropolis (population 33million) this morning and headed to Jangbei airport where we are currently awaiting our flight to Shanghai where we finish our trip!

Dam you

So our train journey was ummm Interesting!

We were stacked 3 high and stuffed in a cabin full of chain smoking spitting china men and screaming babies. Luke had man flu for the day and thought he was going to die. After fashioning a screen of scarves and jumpers around his bunk he managed to get some sleep, albeit that he sounded like darth Vadar for most of it. Brad slept the whole time, Dani and I read a lot and napped fitfully.

When we got to YiChang the taxi took us to the dock and much to our surprise there was no boat. After 50 phone calls by the taxi driver we were driven through what can only be described as a ghetto rubbish dump and into the town centre where we were promptly ejected outside a 5* hotel without an explanation. We soon discovered that the cruise itinerary had changed and we were to spend a night in The hotel and get on board the following day. All included in the price and didn't put our hand in our pocket for anything. We literally went from hell to heaven in an hour and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the end of 2012 and start of 2013 from our luxurious abode on dry land.

The following morning we were picked up and spent the entire morning on the 3 gorges dam which quite frankly is a man made wonder beyond description and my geeky brain is so full of useless but interesting facts, I think I may explode. I have run out of adjectives which could adequately describe what I have seen these past few weeks. After a tour of the dam, ship elevator (for baby boat - under 10000 tonnes!) and ship locks, of which there are 5, we headed over to our boat for lunch and boarding. Much to our relief it was there, fully staffed and good to go. Brad says this kind of thing is pretty common in china so it's best to just not panic and go with the flow, and we certainly ended up doing alright out of it.

We didn't bother with the optional tour, rather choosing to go to the gym and have a wander around the boat and getting ourselves settled in for the next 4 days.

Bamboo & Bicycles

So this next part of our journey takes us to Yangshuo. After flying into Guilin we then bussed it 2 hours up the road and made it to our lovely little river front hotel.

There are no words to describe the beauty of this place. A series of limestone mounds/peaks protecting the paddy fields which edge the Li River, where the mist gently clings to the tops creating a magical atmosphere.

We are here for 4 days in total so a real chance to relax and drink in the traveller vibe. It's a top spot for travellers but it being winter means that it's quiet and chilled here. That said it still has a true Chinese buzz in the evenings and a market always draws a crowd.

Our first night got us orientated and before dinner Luke and I had full body massages and reflexology. They were about as much pain as you can take but try are super fast to find problem areas ad they really work on them so the outcome is actually a lot of relief. I woke up the next day to lots of bruises over my back and kidneys but felt amazing.

Friday saw us hiring bikes with a guide that took us about 1 hour upstream. From there a tractor took our bikes and we got on the traditional bamboo rafts along the river. It took about an hour and a half to go downstream and got sung traditional songs and had our photo taken at every mini water drop we had to negotiate. There was one particularly steep drop which nearly sunk myself and Brad with our paddle man shouting "wet bum wet bum" in Chinese and making monkey noises cos he seriously thought we were a gonna. He wasn't wrong on the wet bums ..and feet and legs.

We met our bikes downstream and rode back to Yangshuo. Then dinner and drinks followed by 4 head massages before bed. Brad and Luke got more than they bargained for with their 30 minutes tho (nothing dodgy).

The next day we had a lie in followed by a trip to the Golden Cave which is the Chinese version of Wookey Hole but slightly more spectacular. Our guide was hilarious because she had only been learning english for 3 months and likened every stalagmite or stalagtite to an animal or an ear or a booby. After 20 minutes of walking through this cave we got to the mud bath where we promptly stripped off and jumped it. It was freezing! Nothing like being 25 metres underground and covered in mud to go in the random life experiences folder. After the mud was the hot spring which was a little further down (and still in the cave) where we wiled a few hours away splashing around. Very relaxing and all had skin like a babbas bum.

Then it was early dinner and off to the "impressions" show on the river. There are no words to describe this show. It is on the banks of the river and has over 800 performers and is against the most breathtaking backdrop ever. There is something about the darkness, the water the mountains and the music in combination which literally takes your breath away and gives you goosies. No video or picture can do it justice really.

Then today we were up early to make the most of our last day in Yangshuo. Luke wanted to porter around so the 3 amigos headed off to the mountains, me on a moped and the others on bikes. We just pootled about all day down mud tracks, through ancient villages, undulating through the mounds and paddy fields along the river, only stopping to take photos or peek around the odd temple. A really fantastic day seeing some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, really uplifting and pretty.

As I write this we are on the bus heading back to Guilin where we get on the train at 9pm. This is going to be a rather interesting 48 hours as we didn't get the tickets we wanted so we are in 3 high bunks in cattle class. Plus Luke swears he either has lung cancer from the pollution or man flu. Either way we are lucky he is still with us, it was touch and go this morning but it would seem a few pots of ginger tea have enabled him to battle on. Luke is also timing everything he eats from here on in as he has got himself worked up about having a poo on the train. You may have noticed a theme with Luke and his toilet habits.

Next stop after the train is the Yangtze River, 3 gorges river dam and no wifi so updates between now and Shanghai might be limited.

Shining Stones, Mercury and Lady Szhar Szhar

So Wednesday was an epic day, most of which will forever be burned on my memory under the "awesome" folder.

Off we trundled with the cutesy tour guide you have ever seen, Lady Szhar Szhar who was a little china lady with a wicked sense of humour. She took an enormous shine to our Brad (along with most of the other women in china it would seem) and filled our heads with everything we need to know about emperor Qin Shi Huang.

I won't bore you with the details on here but he was the same dude that unified China, built the Great Wall, Terracotta Army and the worlds largest mausoleum, which, according to lady Szhar Szhar is fooul of shyknee stones, mercury and cwoss bo which kwill you if open. The Chinese think he's great for doing all of this, we are all horrified at the amount of people who die achieving all of these things.

After a very educational and slightly mind blowing day there (you keep saying to yourself - I'm looking at the Terracotta Army WOW), we headed back into Xi'an and to the Muslim Quarter. I must say I really like this place. It is insanely busy but has a real buzz about it. The Muslim quarter is a walled old town about 2500 years old with a giant Asian style mosque which is a pagoda with a mosquey bit on it. Surrounding the mosque and going out as far as the corners of the walls is a massive street Market which sells literally anything and everything. The old town walls are 30 metres high and 18 wide so you can ride bikes around the top and look in. It really is quite special. We did a spot of shopping there and then headed back to the hostel for late dinner and early night as we had to be up at 4.30am to catch our flight to Guilin.

Other major news of the day was that Luke managed to stay awake ALL day. I don't expect it to last!

A sleepy little village called Xi'an

Ok so Xi'an may be one of the oldest cities in China, but sleepy little village it is not. This is "real" China. Literally millions of people concentrated into one fast moving madness. When you step off the airport bus it can seem a little overwhelming but the people are not intimidating and you never feel unsafe.

They stare out of curiosity but actually in the main, a westerner is not so much of a novelty anymore and most people just crack on and leave you to it. The hostel here is super cool and we arrived right in the middle of Christmas Dinner there. It was very festive and there were lots of dancing Americans gandering around reception area.

After a quick bag drop we headed straight out to the Tang Dynasty "Broadway" show and meal. Basically this was a dumpling fest with 28 different kinds of dumpling bought to you continuously for an hour and a half at a table next to a stage. Getting there was a near death Experience. Our "taxi" was a 3 wheeled moped with a corned beef can shaped cab on the back held together with gaffer tape and bike clips and there were no rules for getting around. We went the wrong way up the road, on the pavement, through red lights and whatever other way took the drivers fancy.

After eating there was an hour long show which went through the traditional dances, music and costumes of the Tang Dynasty. Luke was so overwhelmed he fell into a coma and Brad found a story on the BBC world app regarding the Italian Prime Minister more interesting, but Dani and I tried our best to look artsy and tried to appreciate the culture. An hour was enough though, only so much xylophone and cymbal clashing you can listen to and all I could think about was how those long sleeves would get filthy and would really annoy me. How can you do the washing up in those? No chance.