The day stared early as the alarm went off at 5am. This was following a night of broken sleep brought about by not only by having to sleep on a train but also anxiety about sleeping through our stop. As it happens the train was late and so those of us leaving at Nanning had an extra 30 minutes before arriving. Due to the fact the rest of the passengers were going to destinations unknown we had to stumble about in the morning half-light trying not to wake them....

As the train approached the Kunming area I noticed how hilly the scenery had become and a mist had fallen. The mist had disappeared as we pulled into the station and the weather is lovely. It is easy to see why it is called the spring city. We got on the bus number as directed and got off at a notable landmark so we knew where we were for our map reading. We headed further towards the hostel but feeling hungry, I stayed with the bags while Neil did the hunt...

We forgot to mention that I have now picked up the bug that Kirsty had. It starts with a runny nose and this was how I woke up some time in the early hours. While searching for a tissue I got a severe reprimand for the noise from Kirsty's bunk before she turned over and fell back asleep. Admittedly it was taking me a while to open a pack of tissues but, in my defence, it was early, I was not feeling great and it was a moving train! At 7.15 the lights came on, th...

It was a rather cramped, hot and noisy night's sleep on the train, made worse by me still feeling ill but hey ho - it got us to Xi'an. We were met at the station by someone from our new hostel who paid for us to get the local bus back, and more importantly escorted us so we knew where we were going! It was a nice gesture and as we travelled further out of the city walls it made sense why they offered it. We arrived at the hostel and noticed that we were stayin...

[1 GBP = 9.9 RMB (¥) ] We followed Roxie for 5-10 minutes to a waiting minibus. We then had a drive across Beijing to our hostel conveniently located close to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Drivers in Beijing seem much more calm and disciplined than in Mongolia which is a welcome relief. Once checked in to the hostel we had an hour free time to settle and freshen up before our official meeting with Roxie. As both Kirsty and I were not feeling great, ...