We’re back in the UK and have had a little bit of time to reflect on our time in China. It’s a country of contradictions. To bring the country up to date by Western Standards huge work is being carried out supplying WiFi nationwide and improving the infrastructure. Meanwhile rural areas have reliable access to the internet but not to water. In the cities the rich get richer, driving around in fancy cars, buying $1 million apartments yet land remains the...

Today was free time in Beijing. We headed out after breakfast with some of our group to visit the Bell and Drum Towers by bus. There is a huge National Political event going on in Beijing right now, hence the increased security we’ve experienced and it’s making the already dreadful traffic worse as they set up road blocks and stop cars. We stopped briefly en route to the towers to have a look around a 155 year old silk shop. Some of the items had been hand e...

We did the walk of shame this morning, back to the restaurant where we had participated so wildly in the karaoke. Our fear was that we’d be seen as shameful westerners and scorned. However we were greeted with cries of delight, waving and lots and lots of smiles. It seems that all is well in East/West relations. The ‘highlight’ of breakfast was preserved eggs - a plate of cooked eggs in their shells with blackened, mouldy yolks. Richard’s eyes lit up wh...

Despite its appearance as a hotel there is a little lacking in this place of rest. Alan got out of bed, which feels like it’s made of cardboard, during the night and it shook so much Angela thought it was an earthquake. The toilet is blocked but we have managed to get the tv on - important because we have some free time today but can’t leave the compound. Today we trekked on Huangyaguan which means ‘Yellow Cliff’, named after the little yellow flowers ...

We got up for a later breakfast. The fare was much the same as previous day's except that today we had the most amazing home made bread. It was part pancake, part muffin and Angela led a Western revolt were we ate them, not with traditional Chinese accompaniments, but with peanut butter and chocolate spread. There is a limit to how many fried eggs and salted vegetables she can take. Today’s trek was on a more tourist friendly part of the wall. A fair bit of r...