Hi all, Shanita here, time to update this one: Day 23-26

16th-19th Sep: Shanghai

We took the most amazing overnight train- brand new and immaculate (big change from the previous trains!)- from Beijing to Shanghai. Arrived at 7.30am in the city and jumped in a taxi (they're ridiculously cheap) to our hotel. But we couldn't find it- it had been demolished...anyway we soon realised that we had been given the address of another hotel and got everything sorted. We got a great deal on a stunning hotel so lived in luxury for 3 days- i think we deserved it after 3 weeks on the trans-siberian trip.!

We had a good time in Shanghai but i can't help but think how much i preferred Beijing- it was so clean and pretty whereas Shanghai is currently just one big construction site- you can barely walk anywhere without having to do a massive detour and the dust/dirt from the works is horrible. It's all in preparation for the 2010 Expo, so if you fancy visiting, then wait until after that and im sure it will be beautiful- probably like Beijing pre and post the Games 2008. It also rained solid for 1.5days so we got drenched.

It's definitely a night city here- it comes alive when all the neon lights come on in the evening and the skyscrapers are lit up. We crossed over the water to the Pudong area and took the fast lift to the 88th floor of the Jinmao tower to the observation deck for a cracking view over the other side of the city.

Eating out is sooo cheap here- but a good coffee costs more than a meal! We also visited the Yuyuan gardens and bazaar and the chinese style buildings are beautiful. The main square, Renmin 'People's' square is a wee tranquil haven in the middle of this mad city- its beautiful.

Still not managed to find a laundrette so carting around a lot of dirty clothes as well as handwashing what i can! Cant wait to find a washing machine- not least so Stevie smells better!!!

Panic set in on our last day when we cut it a bit too fine for catching our overnight train to Hong Kong- we just managed to clear customs at the train station in time and jumped on the train with about 10minutes to spare! Such a relief as the train only runs every odd day in september so if we had missed it, we would have missed our flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam!

Saying bye to China now but id love to come back to see much more of this amazing country.

Lots of love to you all. Shanita and Steven xxx