Hello lovely people! You don't know how excited it actually makes me that people are reading this. It almost makes up for the fact that there was a SERIOUS Earthquake in China...the country I am IN...and only one person cared enough to check that I was OK. Yandles, this is twice a natural disaster has occurred in a country I am in this trip and everyone gets are you ok messages except me, I am sad. Well, maybe you guys just know my itinerary verrry well!

So Beijing previous days updates will have to wait, as will Xi'an proper (where I am now) because I only have half an hour before I have to dash back to the hotel and hop on a 17 hour hard sleeper train (which oh my gosh, are so cool! Pretty comfy and these teensy little bunk beds - if you're on the top level it's a good 2 metres from the ground. Which is pretty cool until it's 3am and you really need to pee and there's no ladder so you kind of launch yourself on to the floor, dash to the loo. INTERLUDE: not a loo. A hole in the ground. Revealing far too much of what's been going on in it. And then you realise you forgot shoes....mmmmmm. That obviously did not happen to me!) to Chengdu AKA. PANDA LAND!!!!!!!!! My excitement is off the scale. I'm having to try and start intellectual conversations with my travelling mates in order to show them that I'm not just the crazy-small-animal-obsessed-girl that I'm coming across as...but come on, baby pandas! Although the likelihood of there being babies is actually pretty small, as I learn yesterday that pandas actually are a little bit clueless about how to reproduce...which contributes to their rarity. Yeah, basically they are becoming extinct because they don't know how to have sex! So in the research centre they've made like...panda porn, to show them how to do it! Obviously I would be youtubing this if it wasn't BANNED in China, but I'm hoping I brighten all of your days by encouraging you to watch pandas fornicating...Sorry Mummy!

Anyhow, Xi'an. 13 hour train journey from Chengdu, but didn't get on til 9pm and lights out at 10 so I pretty much slept all the way through, apart from the unfortunate toilet incident. All of us (Jo - who, Yandles, reminds me loads of Michelle Roszak!!!!!!! (Kate: toommooowooo, toomooowwoo I love yarrr, tomooowwooo - goes through my head pretty much whenever I see her. But she's sweet. Fong - reminds me loads of Diana Wilson actually :-) and Vivian our guide who I am just in love with she is so sweet and cute and Asian.) where in one compartment, but with two other random Chinese people and no door. It was cool though. Whilst we were queueing for the train we got chatting to this Phillipino who...wait for it....wait for it...works at Disneyland in Hong Kong. Unfortunately not as Pluto or Mickey, although both Jo and Fong did independently ask this. He's a musical performer so I got to exorcise some of my theatre energy and talk about London productions. But the best part was when he told me to add him on facebook and thus gave me his name....which was Ariel. (may I? Ahahahahaha). I don't think he took so kindly to my response of "aaaah, like the mermaid!". Ah well. On the train, Vivian gave us a chinese lesson. So far I could say Hello, thank you, you're welcome and water. Which gets you further than you'd think, although makes picking food kind of potluck. But she taught as the four tones and how to count so the poor ladies in our carriage had to hear loads of aaah (flat) ah (up) aaahaha (up then down) and aah (down) which probably just sounded like 20 minutes of this: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

I have to go now so quick summary: first day we cycled the entire city wall in Xi'an. It's the longest complete city wall in the world and was really good fun, but nine miles of bumpiness again is increasing the need for a "massage" (the good kind. Well, depends how you look at it...not the dodgy kind!). Then went to the night market which was awesome - bought presents for Yandles and some other people. Just one special one each, apart from some little post 21st ones for Alice and birthday present for Kate! Mummy and Daddy I got you both something that I guarantee you will actually like! And Mummy you know that's a real feat. Don't worry keeping a close eye on my spending. Its just cheaper to do the shopping here rather than Hong Kong. Saw the Terracotta Warriors, which was amazing, even though our guide was really crappy for that. Oh and went to a show last night - chinese dancing was amazing, oh and in Beijing I saw acrobats which was so so cool. Really have to go, plus the dude next to me is blowing smoke in my face - I know it looks sexy in black and white movies from the 40s, but man is it really not!

Love love love (and Zanna I tried to email you regarding your inbox message: BIG FAT AFFIRMATIVE, but I might have got the address wrong - maybe some other dude in a wig is getting my love...I like the sound of that tbh.)

:-)

Morris and Topsy I MISS YOU.

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