"Like most people, I enjoy taking a piss after a meal... just not when it comes out of my f***in ass" - Mike Strutter (an extremely crude quote for which I make only small apology)We got a sleeper bus from Yinchuan to Xi'an. A sleeper bus is an extraordinary thing. A bus that has the seats pulled out and bunk beds erected in their place. Three rows, lengthways down the bus. Each bed is about five and a half feet long and not really designed for the likes of V...

"You're a call girl? Wait, you mean like a w****?" - True RomanceOK, so to continue our adventure... We had the previously mentioned hard seat overnight train to Hohhot - eleven hours of sat in cramped, uncomfortable seats being stared at by everyone else in the carraige - but in a fun way.Then we got to Hohhot, and checked into a 'budget hotel'. People had warned us that being a forienger meant you got charged triple for everything in China. We haven...

"It was a cold, bright afternoon in April as the clock struck thirteen" - 1984Everything Vinny says about Beijing is true....All I can add is that I went off to watch some Kung Fu after spending the day being ill while everyone was off marching up a secret wall of some greatness. I was accompanied by Kate the Australian, and it was a toss up between Kung Fu and Chinese Opera... I won.Although they decided to make a musical of the Kung Fu Buddhism story, which is ...

Mike is still working hard on the train section so I, his hairy chum shall give a quick run down of the Beijing days up to this point and maybe Mike shall add some of his own thoughts later. This evening we are starting our Chinese touring. Hohhot in Inner Mongolia is destination uno and are leaving at 9. We have a 10 hour journey all for the sum of 90 RMB about 6 pounds. Apologies if when we list prices it sounds like bragging. The Chinese trains have a 4 tier s...

Hello peopleI, Vinny, have the reins for this one. Mike was continuing his sterling work with the other encounters whilst I, armed with Bruce Campbell, set about scaling the secret great wall of China.We are staying in a lovely hostel on the Da Zha Lan Jie pedestrian street called Leo Hostel (Polly we had unfortunately paid up for 5 nights here before we got your guest book message so haven't seen your Red Lantern). The hostel is very pleasant with two differ...