Hello all, We have just stepped off our Chinese cruise ship after taking a 3 day trip along the Yangzi River, through the Three Gorges. We got our tickets last minute from a taxi driver who called himself Jack (at least we think he was a taxi driver!). After waiting half an hour in a back street hotel we wondered if there was any cruise at all. It all came good when we were bundled onto a bus with a load of Chinese holiday makers to watch an acrobatic show about...

Just a quick update from China, We took and overnight train to Guilin then a short bus ride and arrived in Yangshuo. The train was a good laugh and more comfortable than we expected although head room was lacking a bit! Yangshuo has stunningly beautiful scenery, with limestone karsts as far as the eye can see. We explored the town which has a strange mix of chinese and western culture, making it a big tourist trap. The heart of the town is West Street and it is...

Hello again! We are wrapping up our stay in Hong Kong so we thought it would be a good time to fill you in on what we've been upto. Over the last five days we have explored Hong Kong's three main regions; Lantau, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. We were kindly offered a place to stay with a family friend (thank you so much Sandra!) on Lantau island, so thats where we started. We visited the giant buddha in Ngong Ping, the buddha was very impressive but the village...

Greetings from Tokyo!! After a long flight and a mild case of jet lag we were greeted by an unexpected festival celebrating the arrival of winter. The Torinoichi festival brings a large gathering of people, it is celebrated with Kazari Kumade; ornamental rakes that are believed to rake in wealth, fortune and success. There was a joyous atmosphere which we couldn't help be absorbed by even though we were rather tired!! On our first full we took in the sights o...