And so we caught the overnight train to Xi'an. Surprisingly comfortable (more so than the wooden slab of a bed in the hostel at the great wall) and a good way to save money on a night in a hostel. The only downside was 'Snoring norman' as we named him below me (Gem)! We arrived in Xi'an at 6.40am and made our way to the hostel....which turned out to be a really nice hotel! We then spent the day exploring the local area. We visited the Great Mosque in the muslim ...

Firstly let me apologise for any typos - we are in a really grungy internet cafe and I can't see the keyboard. People around us look like they have been here for days! We left for the Great Wall on Friday on our mini bus and after 3 hrs we arrived in a small village kist off the Simatai section of the wall. We then began our grewelling 4 hr trek along the wall. Parts of the wall have been restored and is like a smooth paved path but the majority is large lose ...

On Wednesday we packed up and moved to a new hostel where we were to meet the group for our tour! We found a few of them in the bar and later met the group leader. We are all about the same age and all get on really well which is good. Yesterday we all went to Tian'men square. It was the first day of good sunshine, no smog for once. We were hoping to see a demonstration but the army are everywhere keeping people under control. Was disappointed not to see any t...

Today we got up very early 7.30! and set out on our first Beijing bus. We got to the Summer Palace an hour and a half later and had breakfast / lunch. Here is a lesson for you - bout time you people learnt some culture!!The Summer Palace is a large park with lakes and lots of bridges where the royals retreated to to avoid the heat in the summer months.There were many temples and the majority of other traditional buildings have been convered into museums.We also m...

Day 4Got up at 8 and started packing stuff. We left Temple Side at about 11 and got a taxi to WangfuJing Youth Hostel - our next stop. It is far less traditional in comparison. Found a room called the boiled water station and we were both hoping this was not their equivilant of a shower. It looked like a hot water tank over a concrete bowl. Luckily we found a normal shower and we are still not sure what the 'boiled water station' is for. Met Ging for lunch (Mets ...