Morning all So what's been happening since we last blogged? Back to our second day in Chengdu, Estee had come down with my cold, so she was feeling rotten. As if that wasn't enough, we had booked a super early trip to the Panda sanctuary (8.30.. Madness!) so at about 7.45 that morning things looked bleak. But we somehow made it (in the nick of time too) to the minibus and on to Pandatown. The tour left at such an ungodly hour in order to catch the Pandas whilst ...

Greetings! Well firstly our apologies - we've been bad bloggers。Loads has happened since we last blogged, and in particular, Esther learned a few days ago（the night we arrived in Chengdu）that she would be made redundant within 4 weeks。Not the kind of news you want to get in the middle of a holiday! So we've had a few things on our minds, as you can imagine. Also, if you're wondering where all the pictures are at, the two memory cards we were using have ...

Hi all, Right, we left off last time half way through our time in Pingyao. So... Monday was my birthday, but since we were due to catch a train to Xi'an Monday night, we had a birthday meal out in Pingyao the night before. We didn't bank on the fact that in a little town everyone goes to bed early, so we were ready for some celebrating, but were told to keep the noise down as everyone else was in bed! Nice food though... Next day I was very happy to receive a c...

Hi everyone It's been a few days since our last blog, due to travelling and a 12 hour train ride, so there's a fair bit to update you on! Back to our second day in Beijing, we spent the day at the Summer Palace, where Emperors went in the Summer when they'd had enough of the heat of the big city. Well worth seeing.. Not so much a palace as a collection of mini palaces spread over a giant park complex by a lake.. Nice for some! I won't go into detail.. We'll mak...

Hi,We had an early..ish start today! We headed over to the Beijing rail station to buy our train tickets for Pingyao..our train will depart 7.30pm local time on Saturday 4th. Beijing station is huge and chaotic but they did have a window especially for 'Foreigners'. Cathal tried his mandarin..I have to say he was quite good ;-) After battling through the railway hordes, we strolled off towards the Forbidden City. Esther promised me that despite the camera, guide...