A couple of random thoughts to start with. Firstly, does anyone have any good ideas for sports we can play on the freighter to keep ourselves occupied and fit? Most of the ones we have come up with suffer from drabacks such as the ball falling into the ocean, or being blown into the ocean.

Secondly, on the Trans-Siberian, Dave had discussed with Aussie Matt the possibility of dying our hair, given that we were away for log enough for it not to matter too much (in terms of you all not seeing it). News has come through from them that Matt is now blonde. Some hair dye has been procured. Watch this space for details over whether Dave really has the bottle to see this through.

Other random thoughts. The key feature of a Chinese car seems to be its horn. This must be used frequently throughout any journey and for any number of different purposes ('I want to pass you', 'I am passing you', 'Get out of the way or I will run you over', 'Get out of the way or I will crash into you',  'I spotted you foreigner' etc etc).

Similarly, no Chinese mobile phone can be answered (when ringing) until at least 10-30 seconds of very loud ringing has occured. This key feature means that all ringtones get a good airing, even those that are bobbins.

There are a number of very dangerous jobs you can have in China: i) sweeping hard shoulder on motorway (note this is about 2ft wide) - why? ii) sweeping central reservation on motorway - why? iii) selling goods from hard shoulder of motorway (ie sitting 2ft from traffic going past at about 80mph iv) being a traffic cop standing in the middle of 4 lanes of traffic with no central reservation - why?

Anyway...we were in Emei to 'have a go' at the monster mountain (sacred Buddhist mountain) there. The following morning we were up relatively bright and early to scrum down Chinese style to buy our bus tickets to get to the mountain 'base'. This was eventually accomplished by holding out a fistful of the correct change and looking pitifully at the attendant. We started our walk at 8.30 and soon we were heading through the 'joking monkey zone'. We had heard many stories of how these monkeys could be vicious, but we saw no sign of this, nor indeed of any 'joking'.

We had nice views in the lower section of the climb but these soon disapeared once we climbed higher into the mist, and once the climb became a straight ascent up what seemed like 1000s of steps (and indeed was). After an eternity of climbing we stopped at a stall for lunch, where a kindly Chinese tourist helped us to order some simple and nourishing noodles. We have been quite lucky in the way that we have chanced on such good samaritans.

Refuelled, we kicked on ever upwards. After about 7 hours climbing for the day, and in very misty conditions (15m visibility), we happened across the monastry where we were planning to stay for the night (technically we almost walked past it but that is another story... lack of signs in English or CHinese, being too tired with all teh uphill steps to pay to much attention to our surroundings, a rather 'stylistic map'and walking faster than the recomended times). Anyhow a room was available for the night, and after we had used a raincoat as an impromptu stop gap to cover one of the holes in its internal wall we were all set for a nice refreshing hot shower. Dinner was a simple affair with the monks (though it did seem to be all workers who were repairing the monastry, and no actual monks at all) and then we retired back to our room (there isn't really much to do on a monastry on the side of a mountain). Alas, we had forgotton a) A-Ms ipod b) cards c) the vodka (again) and so we were left to a game of hangman. During the course of this game ('film titles') a horrific discovery was made which shook our marriage to the core - A-M does not know who Yul Brynner is! Yul Brynner! Bald dude! Westerns! The King and I! (doubtless I guess there are many youg people out there having the same blank reaction.... (NB the hangman film in question was the excellent 'Westworld' from 1973)

Next morning we were up earlyish for the final climb to the summit. We started the day with beautiful views from the monastry across the surrounding hills and valleys... but soon enough the mist descended again and the climb (not as tortuous as the previous day) was in low visibility. As with the previous day, we were generally blessed with a quiet route and few tourists (most had opted for the cable car up). At the summit there was a very impressive Buddha with elephants, ad we hung around for a while as the mist came and (occasionally) went a bit, tempting us with the promise of views of (allegedly) 150km on a good day. We'd had enough walking for the day so it was the cable car and bus back to the hostel for a quick shower, before off to the station for our last train trip in China, an overnight trip from Emei / Omei to the unforgettable Panzhihua.

Panzy is a simple jump off point for people going cross country to Lijiang (for Tiger Leaping Gorge) and so we got a bus across town, and waited a couple of hours before picking up what was supposed to be a 7hr bus from Panzy to Lijiang. In fairness, it would have been 7hrs if it was not for some cocked up roadworks that a child could have sorted out. Instead we sat motionless for 1.5 hrs, seeing our first example of Chinese inefficienc, Chinese arguments andn Chinese burecracy. Being English, the best way we could show our contempt for the situation was to take photos and stand cross armed in the shade, shaking our head at any Chinese person who would look and saying 'shame on China!'. Finally we arrived after journeying through some charming rural scenery and a great climb up the cliffs that line the Yangtze. After some brief map confusion in the dark, we checked into our charming hotel.