This one isn't really a proper blog, but I don't know another way to make sure I mark every location in order on the blog.

The only notable thing to mention, as we have no been through Xi'an a fair few times, is that it was Valentines day while we were there. This resulted in the only day ever were Chinese couples appeared in equal harmony, rather than the usual appearance of Chinese Boyfriends seeming to be in a perpetual state of terror towards their girlfriends. It's hard to explain why, but sometimes you pass couples in China and the guys just appear postively scared.

Oh yes, that's important too. For whatever reason, there were no trains at all back to Xinjiang. We had been trying to buy tickets for a month, and every day, they sold out as soon as they were put on sale And I mean every ticket, even the standing ones. We were therefore forced to spend a horrible amount of money to fly back to Urumqi.

I may also have had the most horrible flight back too. The night before the flight I suddenly struck ill with the worst illness i've had in China - worse than the one where I blacked out on a 40 hour train. I'm pretty certain now that this was from drinking re-bottled water, so if you're in China, be careful when buying bottles of water. If the seal is open, don't drink it!

I'm back in Xinjiang now, and healthy again, so it's not a big deal, but travelling back wasn't too much fun.

Now, the next short blog will be a bit about the unexpected 'recovery' visit to Fukang.