Maria hardly slept a wink last night as she felt as if she was the midnight snack for gazillions of hungry little visitors.The western breakfast, as advertised, wasn't, so we were in great spirits for the day ahead!In fact, we had contemplated scrapping some of the day's itinerary as the guide book advised against visiting the Bizaklik Caves and Grape Valley as there was nothing worth seeing there.We decided to judge for ourselves and set off on the 30-minute drive to the Buddha caves.

The Bizaklik (Kezier) Thousand-Buddha Grottoes are some of the most famous grottoes in Xinjiang and are about 21 miles northeast of Turpan, high on the cliffs of west Mutou Valley under the Flaming Mountains.The earliest of the Grottoes was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and of the 83 original caves, 57 currently remain although only 4 are open to visitors.

The Caves had been the Buddhist centre of Gaochang but near the end of the 13th century Buddhism in Turpan began to decline in popularity with the introduction of Islam and the religious importance of the caves became less apparent. Many of the caves were destroyed during the ensuing religious clashes and vandals dug out the eyes of many of the human portraits contained in the murals. Later, at the beginning of the 20th century, foreign explorers robbed the caves of much of the treasures.Despite all the destruction, the surviving parts, such as the delicate Buddha seat and the bright colour of the murals, gave us some idea of its past glory.

The most exceptionally rare murals are found in Cave Nos.16 and 17.Buddhist disciples wailing in mourning and Bhikku wailing in mourning in Cave No.33 are also highly praised for their vivid depiction.

The heat was intense and the short walk to the first cave gave a foretaste of what we could expect for the rest of the day; boy it was hot!True to the Lonely Planet, most of the paintings in the grottoes have been destroyed as they were removed by greedy archaeologists from Europe in the early years of the 20th Century.Only a few of the beautiful paintings remain as colourful as they once were and on both sides of many of the statues at the 'head' of each cave are two rows of Buddhist scripture written in Han and Huihu, revealing the prevalence of Buddhism in the Western Regions.

Photography was not allowed, not that there was much to take pictures of anyway, but that didn't matter to us.Sure, there's not much to see but that's what makes the place all the more interesting.What does remain, however, gives a great insight into how wonderful the caves must have looked when they were freshly painted.Even more interesting are the tales of the British, Japanese, Russian, Italian and German 'archaeologists' who stole huge sections of the frescoes under cover of darkness and secreted them away before their evil deeds were discovered.The good thing is that those same archaeologists have done wonders for our future travel destinations as, to appreciate the cave paintings to their fullest, we now need to plan a whole new trip to the British Museum, Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and Berlin's National Museum.

After strolling around, diving into the caves to avoid the scorching temperature outside, it was time to head off to the Flaming Mountains proper.On the way, however, we stopped off just down the road at a 'tourist' village, quite recently built as a paying attraction for those passing through to the caves.Boy am I glad we did as one of the features, a group of statues, took me back to my youth when Simon (twin brother) and I used to waste our time watching too much TV, not least the dubbed Japanese series Monkey Magic!

The statues that caught my eye were nothing less than a depiction of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and the monk Tripitaka (on his White Dragon Horse) fighting the Bull Demon.On chatting with Lucy it turns out that Monkey Magic was based on the ancient Chinese text 'Journey to the West' and that one of the tales in that epic was based here, in the Flaming Mountains.I then started going on and on about Monkey, his flying cloud, his extendable staff that he kept behind his ear like a pencil when it was shrunk to its smallest size and the head-band he wore that would tighten when Monkey was naughty.Lucy was impressed with my extensive knowledge as it seemed that most tourists knew nothing about the plight of Tripitaka and his disciples.

Anyway, the Flaming Mountain part of the tale went as follows:Tripitaka and his disciples were stranded in the Flaming Mountain prevented from continuing their quest by the fire and heat they encountered.The Iron-Fan Princess refused to lend them her palm-leaf fan so that they could put out the fire stopping them and a fierce battle was about to break out as the Bull Demon King (Princesses husband) was squaring up for a fight with Monkey.When the companions got to the raging flames Tripitaka could do nothing but sit on the ground and pray for Buddha's blessing.Not to be deterred, however, Monkey climbed to the highest peak and tried to persuade the Princess to lend them her fan but his request was rejected.So, after three hard battles with the Princess and her husband, Monkey was triumphant, won the fan and put out the flames, thus allowing Tripitaka and his disciples to pass the Flaming Mountain and continue their journey.

Anyway, enough of my childhood excitement, which bored Maria rigid as she was always far too busy reading school books in her youth to watch cheesy '80s TV.We had the Flaming Mountains proper to reach so we hopped back into the minivan for the 30 minute drive to the next item on our itinerary, the Flaming Mountains!As if you didn't know already but did I say we were going to the Flaming Mountains!!!

Situated in the middle of the Turpan Basin, the Flaming Mountains are called Kiziltag, 'Red Mountain', by the locals and they stretch 62 miles from east to west, are 6.2 miles wide and reach a maximum height of 1,640 feet.They are formed from russet sandstone, conglomerate and mudstone which sparkle under the blazing sun, thus deriving the name of Flaming Mountain.

Also, according to a famous Uyghur legend, there was once an evil dragon hidden deep in Tianshan Mountain who liked to eat young children.The top local governor sent a local hero (Halahezhuo) to defeat the dragon and after a heated and breathtaking battle that lasted for three days and nights, Halahezhuo conquered the dragon and cut it into 10 pieces.The dead dragon was then transformed into a mountain and his wounds became valleys; the creature's blood turned all of the rocks deep red.

We reached the Flaming Mountain Scenic Spot, which is another attraction created specifically to cater for the tourist population, but despite its Florida theme park feel the Chinese have done a pretty good job of providing a fun, interesting and educational 'visitors' centre'.Now, you could easily think that I was being biased due to my TV induced emotional attachment to the place but Maria agreed with me...so it's gospel!!

The entrance to the centre is via a tunnel, the walls of which are adorned with engravings on both sides depicting stories from the 'Journey to the West' in chronological order.You are then met with a fabulous scale model of the Flaming Mountains and more engravings of famous individuals from Chinese history.Before heading outside we took a look at the massive thermometer protruding vertically from a circular Yin and Yang base stone; the temperature reading was 47°C!!

To commemorate the contribution Tripitaka and his companions have made to the Flaming Mountain's reputation, serial statues featuring the mythological figures were erected under the mountain in 1998; they are accessed via a ramp from the obligatory tourist shop showing Monkey reruns on TV!Monkey is positioned in the front carrying the magic palm-leaf fan; Tripitaka and his other disciples are also vividly portrayed, bringing the mythological story to the tourists.As one of those tourists, I had another great time reminiscing my youth but that bubble burst as we had one final stop before lunch, the Grape Valley, a valley located on the western slopes of the Flaming Mountains.We were going to see a vineyard without any grapes!

Grapes were introduced to the central plains from the Western Regions along the Silk Road in ancient times. Turpan, once an important strategic place on that Silk Road, has had 2,000 years of history of grape cultivation as it has a perfect environment for growing grapes.

I guess the LP got it right when it said not to visit Grape Valley unless the grapes were being harvested in September; I guess we were a little early going in May then!!That said, the walk was pleasant enough and Lucy told us some interesting local stories, including one about a rich merchant.The story goes that the merchant was so tight that he tried to make a quick buck at every opportunity.One day, a poor villager walked past the merchant's kitchen and caught the aroma of the wonderful food being prepared therein.The merchant saw this and told the villager that he would have to pay for the privilege of smelling the food.

Not knowing what to do as the villager had no money, he went to speak with the merchant's wise and kind advisor, who said he would resolve the matter.That night the advisor was carrying some gold coins in his money bag and walked past the merchant who heard them clinking together.'That pays for the food' said the advisor.

We drove back to Turpan for another fabulous Chinese lunch and when finished drove 15 minutes to our last sight of the day.Jiaohe (Yarkhoto), one of the world's architectural wonders hides in Yarnaz Valley, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Turpan.Like a willow leaf, the ancient city, with a history of 2300 years, lies between two rivers on top of a cliff of over 30 meters high. It is the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen city in the world, is 1,650 meters by 300 meters at its widest and covers an area of 220,000 square meters.

Jiaohe was the capital of the former Cheshi State. An Indian proverb says, 'Intelligence is bound to exist where two rivers meet'; Jiaohe means where two rivers meet!Acording to historical records it was home to 700 households, 6500 residents and 865 soldiers.

Jiaohe distinguishes itself from other ancient cities owing to three features. First, it had only two city gates, the South and East Gates. The main South Gate vanished long ago, leaving a huge breach. The East Gate cut inot the cliff was virtually non-existent. Second, the city faces cliffs on three sides, so there are no city walls commonly seen in other ancient cities. Third, all the buildings were dug from earth and wood was rarely used.

The central avenue, 350 meters long, runs north from the South Gate, separating the city into three parts; namely, residences for common people, temples, and residences for aristocrats.

To the west of the avenue, low buildings with sparse small temples were residences for commoners, while the high ones in the east were for aristocrats and troops. At the end of the avenue stands a large well-preserved Buddhist temple, Jiaohe Temple, with an area of 5,000 square meters.

The relics visible today featured Tang Dynasty architectural style. Houses were dug downward from the earth, and as no house gates faced the streets, military defence was apparently the priority.

At the end of the 8th Century, the city was tossed into the reigns of the Turpan, Hui, and Mongols. Residents fled from the destroyed city continuously until, in the beginning of the 14 Century, the city was abandoned, as was its glory and prosperity of over 2000 years. Miraculously, owing to the arid climate and remote location, the ancient city of Jiaohe remains intact, leaving a rare exemple of an earthen castle.

The weather was scorchingly hot when we arrived at 1500 and the place was deserted! I wonder why nobody else wanted to view the site on this pleasantly warm afternoon????Anyway we walked the main ramp to the central avenue and commenced our walk to the Buddhist temple, walking in the shade of the walls whenever we could to avoid melting on the spot.

We reached the ancient Infant Cemetery first, the spot where more than 200 infants were buried, possibly from the Gaoching Huiha period.Nobody quite knows why so many children were buried at a place within the Government Office but I suspect it has something to do with human sacrifices, not that a guide would ever admit to that of course.

The viewing platform here gave a good vantage point for taking pictures, although I could really only make out mounds of earth and some depressions, but a couple of local ladies had a good enterprise taking photos of us lot!'Here you go Sweetheart, here's a picture of us and 200 infant graves for the mantle piece!'Nice!!

A little further on was the Eastern City Gate which was carved into the 30m high cliff.The gate still consists of two watch towers, one on either side, a sentry post and six ancient wells that were excavated in 1994.

Finally we reached our main destination, the Great Monastery.Covering an area of 5100 square metres it is the largest temple in the City.Located to the rear of the temple, the central pillar style main hall has niches on four sides containing the remains of Buddha statues, complete with some just discernable colour paint marks.

Pleased to be heading back now, we passed the remains of a pagoda and watchtower.The tower had a circumference of 88m, was 8.4m high and consisted of one main underground room and four military side rooms for guarding and peace keeping. From here, it was a short walk to the ramp and cover of the tented cafe adjacent to the car park

On the way out we passed a guide and two elderly women who looked as though they were on their death beds, and that was without the heat.Let's face it, we were finding the heat unbearable so this pair of Miss Marples must have been wishing for a cold bed bath in their geriatric ward of their care home instead of trekking in this insanity!Maria and I muttered to each other that they'd never do the walk we'd just done and that we hoped they'd make it out in one piece!

We slumped in the plastic cafe chairs and hunted in their fridge for an ice-cream, one that hadn't frozen and defrosted more times than the polar ice caps.We passed on the pea ice cream and settled for fruit lollies instead, then watched the ladies struggling back after only 15 minutes.We'd taken an hour!Guess they didn't make it to the Buddha Temple then!!

Our train to Dunhuang wasn't due to leave until 2150 so we had a few hours to kill and Maria absolutely, positively didn't want to spend an extra second within 100 km of our hotel.Sadly, however, it was either sit at an adjoining cafe or drive round for 5 hours killing time.We sat at the cafe chatting and took advantage of the power to charge a laptop...ready for film watching during the pending 12 hour train journey!

We finally left about 2000 for Turpan train station, which is actually located about 50km in Daheyan County so the journey took about an hour.We said goodbye to the driver then embarked on the trauma that was a Chinese, rural travel hub.First, we had the bags scanned then went through metal detectors, just in case we were carrying deadly plastic cutlery, then entered the throng of the waiting lounge.My God, was this place busier than Kings Cross at 1700 on a Friday or what??? Fortunately, we still had Lucy in tow to take us through the formalities and wait with us until we got the train.

We managed to find some empty seats then sat bemused as I watched an old lady eat constantly for two hours; one piece of home-cooked chicken after another managing to find its way out of a foam, takeaway container.Then, a young girl came and stood right in front of Maria and stared at her for 10-minutes, mirroring the two men sat in front and behind her who'd been doing the same thing for the last 20-minutes.I think she was aware...

Next I said hello to a thuggish looking chap who had been eyeing me up for quite a while...no, not like that.In fact, he looked quite menacing and I thought he could have been trouble so instead of squaring up to him I thought I'd defuse the situation by confronting him with a bold as brass, in your face...hello and smile!He smiled back, remained seated for a few more minutes then left.How tough am I?!

The reason we managed to find the seats so easily was, I guess, because we were slap bang next to the toilets, as evidenced by the pleasant aroma that constantly plagued our nostrils and the coughing of phlegm sounds that assaulted our ears.One amusing consequence of this, however, was that we could watch, amused, as the travellers crammed into the loos smoking, then ducked behind a wall when the train staff shouted over the loud hailer for them to stop.Thirty seconds later they re-appeared, a little sheepish, but nonetheless continued to smoke.I'm convinced I even saw the very same member of staff duck in there for a quick puff...not poof!!

We knew the train was on its way when the hall emptied and we pushed our way through the turnstile to await our train and soft sleeper cabin, with four bunks, 2 up and 2 down!Yes, we were indeed only two and we hadn't booked the other seats to give us privacy...so who we'd be sharing with gave us a few anxious moments.

The train arrived, we met another guide with our tickets, who literally just got off the train, we said goodbye to Lucy and climbed aboard carriage 9, eager to find our sleeping companions.Thank goodness we weren't in a car park in Essex is all I can say!!

Anyway, we lugged our bags down the carriage, then back again, then back down, then back again just for fun, whist trying to find our cabin.It was of course the first one we passed when we got on but were surprised to find 3 young men sat in it chatting when we finally worked out that we were staying there also.So 3 plus 2 equals 5, and we had 4 bunks in a 4 bunk cabin. Interesting!

We threw, well teased the 20kg plus bags onto the top bunk then sat on the bottom one facing inwards, 2 feet away from the Chinese lads, who were also facing us.We were in for a fun night!!

As it happens, one lad went to his cabin next door, and the other two soon settled down for the night but before they did the large chap, belly sticking out from under his shirt and sat on the bottom bunk produced a netbook.Nothing less than a Samsung NC10, the same as Marias.Surprised to see the make in rural China we struck up a conversation, as well as you can with people speaking different languages, and managed to discover that it cost about £300, more than in the UK but more than acceptable.

We were then determined to buy another computer so that I could keep on top of the blog (yeah right!!!).

We did our best to get some sleep but it was never really going to happen when we were worried about our stuff being nicked and were constantly bombarded with bowel movements, and accompanying air pollution, from MR Belly opposite together with the incessant coughing sounds of the pneumonic, bronchi tic, lung cancer suffering miner passengers using the toilets next to our bunk!