Subject: Cycling, Climbing, Cooking and Craps

Hello once more.

Honestly the distance you can cover sometimes is frankly amazing. We are now in the mid-south of China in a lovely place with some pretty stunning limestone scenery. After 6 weeks on the 'road' we're feeling a little jaded - honestly guys it's a hard life this constant holiday lark! - so we've holed up in a bit of a countryside retreat.

We're spending our days cycling through Chinese villages admiring rivers, mountains, rice paddies and water-buffalo. After cities its surprising pleasant to see this rural side of China, although of course, we suspect its changing quite rapidly as under every conical hat is a mobile phone with the latest ring tone (probably still a song about how brilliant the Olympics were - GIVE IT A REST).

As well as cycling we've also tried a spot of rock climbing (physical geographers amongst you will now be noting the limestone reference in the paragraph above). I'm sure most of you recall but a couple of years ago we took a few climbing lessons in London, so it was a delight to crack out our favourite moves and show the locals how it's done. Yes I suspect it's been quite a while since they've seen the classic 'clinging to the rock in mad panic' and 'freezing in position for 10 minutes before limply dropping off' demonstrated so admirably. What can we say? It's a little different to a wall in SW London, and we loved it! Photos to follow - yes we really were that high.

So all was going well. So well in fact that Polly was even able to persuade Pete to take a local cooking course - logic = we've been eating Chinese for so long it's about time we knew how it was done. We think Polly was hoping that Pete 'beans on toast and a bag of crisps' Canning would even pick up a few tips to entertain you good people back home. Anyway all went well we cooked some great dishes and had a (nother) great time...

...5am next morning Pete was woken by a roll of thunder that was a little too close to home. Never in the history of self inflicted food poisonings has a healthy young body been reduced to such a messy mess in such a small amount of time. Now is not the time or place for details (phewf) but if Pete does offer to cook the Chicken and peanuts or the steamed tofu dumplings ... well you have been warned.

The one good thing about food poisoning is give it 24 hours and it fixes itself. So all parents reading will be pleased to know we are once again fighting fit and loving it.

Tomorrow it's back to city life, Hong Kong here we come...