So here we are in Shanghai, our last stop in China. Six weeks have passed frighteningly quickly and it is only a matter of weeks until my four-month-long trip will be over, tempus fugit! Last time I wrote I was in Pingyao. Although charming at first, after spending a few days there, it began to feel like a toy town. One day we even saw a man dressed as mickey mouse wander down the street, waving at the children and stopping to pose for photos... It was all ju...

Time is certainly flying; another few weeks have gone by, as have our stays in Yangshuo, Chengdu and Xi'an. We are currently in a place called Pingyao which is a lovely walled town- just as you imagine traditional China to be. It is composed of a series of cobbled alleyways bordered by authentically ancient doorways upon which red and gold lanterns are hung. The city walls are intact from the Qing Dynasty and the streets are empty apart from the odd bicy...

So here we are.... In China! Alice and I were reunited (Alice had been touring Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand while I was in Africa) in Hong Kong airport where we went to meet our friend and ex-merchistonian Harris who we were going to be staying with for the week. Harris' flat was on the 35th floor of a very swanky tower block in Wan Chai on Hong Kong island... The central location and view out of our window were insane. We spent our week being real tourists,...