Waving goodbye to the freedom fighters, Becks and I set off up the dusty path of the Chola Mountains. With all our gear on our backs we walk slowly, taking in the magnificent views, breathing in the fresh crisp morning air and stopping regularly for breaks to catch our breath. After maybe an hour of walking, we had gained a fair bit of ground by slowly plodding the snaking incremental path. Far below we could just make out the truck stop where we had left from ...

Leaving Xinlong with bread, stomach cramps and the s***s, we hike a kilometre out of town and find a nice rock to eat breakfast and prepare ourselves for the day. Feeling fresh and revitalised to face China (or as well as I could feel) we bit into our bread to find pork mince… Of all the breads in China we have ever bought, none have contained pork mince!!! Becks pins this exact moment as her 'beginning of the end' of China; the moment the patience wears thin...

Hitching out of Litang was a little harder than previous times. Walking up the hill to the exit archway we stood with our backpacks, watching cars exiting with pace as they purposely avoid us. Rain started softly falling and the grey sky overhead brought back the morbid tones from this morning's sky burial. As we are busy wrapping pac-a-macs around our backpacks, a posy of cheeky young kids bravely approach us and start poking our pocket and correctly guessing ...

After a few days catching up on sleep and getting our filthy washing finally clean, we leave Shangri-la, our oasis in the north (of Yunnan) and set out in the drizzling rain to make tracks for Sichuan Province. Yunnan Province as a whole has exceeded itself time and time again by giving us countless breathtaking sights, delicious Chinese cuisine, showed us the generosity of the people and showed us the Chinese way of life. Today however, we have set our sights ...

Leaving Shangri La with our legs refreshed, BBQ tofu stores replenished and with our new Chinese Visa's in toe, we leave via the 7 hour bus journey back to Deqin. The road journey was slow and bumpy but unlike last time the clouds had cleared and the views of the spectacular snow-capped mountains were ever present throughout the entire trip. Having been at altitude for over a week and a half the three 5000m passes you cross to get to Deqin were less of a headach...