ChengduThe train from Xi'an to Chengdu was 17 hours overnight....we saved about £30 by opting for the hard seat with the locals rather than a nice comfy bed in a private cabin. Possibly the best decision we've made so far because that was a journey I'll never forget and will mean I never moan about English trains again! 10 seats face each other split 6 and 4 by the walkway, we both had aisle seats, Kunaal on the 6 seat side and I was on the 4. The hygiene and behaviour of the locals worsened dramatically with age, the 10 year old kid never made a sound but the parents were clambering about all over the seats, spitting on the floor, letting babies relieve themselves in the aisle and generally doing anything but sitting down quietly! There were 3 kids on my side, well 20, 19 and about 16 who I played cards and conversed in Chinglish with. Meanwhile, Kunaal was pretending to sleep in the hope the others around him would stop climbing about all over him...that seemed to have no effect.Anyway, 17 hours later having had no sleep wegot to Chengdu, checked into a hostel and went to bed for 4 hours. Since we've been here we've seen the worlds' largestBuddha, loads of giant pandas and had a very messy night out!We're chilling out today as its Sunday and then getting the 6 hour train to Chongqing tomorrow where we catch the hydrofoil for 11 hours down the Yangtzee river to the 3 Gorges Dam, the biggest dam in the world. By Friday we hope to be in Wuhan before heading down to Macau. From Macau we're getting the night boat into Hong Kong to see it all lit up, quite a stylish was to arrive considering our budget!More soon, hope the weathers half as good there as it is here, I can barely stand the heat some days!