Hello all We moved from Xi'an to Chengdu in a soft sleeper train no less! Our new friends (Matt and Ellie) are really posh!....well actually, tickets were a nightmare to get hold of. This is of course the homeland of the Giant Panda and Andy was VERY excited about this fact...for those who don't know, his first ever teddy was a Panda bear (ahhh!). The four of us went on a trip to the breeding and research centre for the morning and it was incredible...could...

Hi Everyone Sorry to leave you in suspense for so long...we are now venturing further south and internet access is more iffy. In fact, photos are still beating us, so it may be a few weeks on that front...HK has GOT to have decent access!? So, anyway.... After Beijing we headed to Pingyao, a small walled city that still seems to live in the Ming dynasty era. It was a fantastic retreat, with no particular sights to trot around, just a lot of mooching along...

Hello Everyone, We are now in China and it has definitely been a culture shock! It is very different to Japan... more crazy busy and full on. We have spent the last few days exploring Beijing which has been amazing - everything is on a grand scale. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City have been real highlights, but we have also enjoyed walking in the parks and exploring the 'Hutongs' - little Beijing back streets. Yesterday we went to the Great Wall and...

Hi everyone We`re now in Kyoto - made famous due to the abundance of temples and shrines (there are over 2000!) What an amazing place. We`ve had a great time exploring just a sample of them and have found some real gems. Our favourites have been the glamourous Golden Pavillion and the tranquil Ryoanji temple. The latter features a Zen garden (see photos) from which you are supposed to take many meanings. We sat there for a while and didn`t come up with m...

Hi everybody. Greetings from Tokyo! 2 days into WT and we`re having a great time. This is an amazing city and a great place to start. People are lovely and want to help (or just randomly chat away at us in Japanese!). We`re staying in a Japanese style hostel which is really nice - beds on the floor, no shoes past the doorway, gentle pipe music and kimonos for general drifting about (see photos). Have had fun adventuring and trying new things all in th...