Hello all,

Apologies for not updating the blog for a while but the past week or so has flown by!! We can't believe we're leaving China tomorrow and are quite sad to say goodbye. China is one place where we definately want to visit again - there's so much to do!

Since the incident in Nanjing, we have visited Xi'an and are currently in Chengdu, staying with my university friend Jeff (or Chinese name, Hai Long). It was a relief to arrive in Xi'an as we had to endure a 15 hour train journey and needed some sleep!! We both stepped on the train feeling fine and left with colds. I'm just getting over mine a week later, so hopefully I'll be right as rain for Australia!

Xi'an was a quick but interesting stop. The location of our hostel was amazing, right in the centre near the Bell Tower and Muslim Quarters. Our first day was spent visiting the Terracotta Warriors which was amazing to see. It's such an interesting discovery, one which I want to read more about (maybe I'm turning into a geek!) In the biggest pit, we saw around 2,000 warriors but they believe there are more than 6,000 if all were uncovered. It was such a huge area, full of these life size figures (which are supposed to be based on the actual people who built them and died with them - again, I need to read up on this to get my facts right!) - this can only be explained through the pictures, which we will hopefully add soon.

During our stop in Xi'an we also went inside the Bell Tower, Drum Tower and visited the Muslim Quarters. The latter was a lovely area, well worth visiting if you are ever in the area....?! We strolled around the streets, which were full of old style shops and tea houses, bird cages hanging from trees and the usual people trying to earn themselves a living! We experienced another 'photo incident' at the Bell Tower. Chris and I were sat down and four Chinese men approached us asking for a photograph. So, one guy took the pictures and the other 3 lined up to have their own picture with us. By the last one our grins were a little forced!

We're really enjoying our stay in Chengdu and I feel as though I am falling in love with the area. This is no was influenced by Jeff being here, but there is just so much to do and see. Plus, there is a real mix of places, from the bustling city centre, to the beautiful People's Park and the old style alleys full of Chinese communities drinking beer and tea. We weren't sure if we would even be meeting Jeff: After several emails and no replies, I assumed we would be staying in a hostel. However, when we arrived at the airport and were fetching our luggage we heard a loud cry of 'LIISSSSAAAAAA!' coming from the crowds!! It's great seeing Jeff again and we've been catching up and remembering our great friend Ashley. We both agree we should live how he did and not worry about silly things but live life to the full.

Our first day in Chengdu was spent sightseeing. Jeff looked very proud as he showed us around his home town. After a bit of shopping, we visited the People's Park which was lovely (again a MUST see if you come to China). The Park is massive with beautiful rivers and lakes, singing, dancing, people drinking tea and so on. Jeff said it's a place for the elderley to meet people and spend their days, which I thought was a lovely concept and something we need in the UK. After tasing some delicious Chinese sweets we took a boat ride around the lake. Chris developed a blister (!) so I had to take over sharing duties with Jeff. At one point we had to manouvere the boat under a bridge, no more than a metre in height (see pics, when we add)!

We've done so much in Chengdu that it would take ages to write about it all in detail. We've experienced loads of delicious food such as duck soup (apparently it makes girls more beautiful), mini dumplings in sugar and sweet chilli, seaweed soup and delicious (but extremely spicy) barbeque sticks. We've also visited the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, took more boat rides and the boys experienced the giant hamster balls! These are massive clear balls which you unzip and climb into and are then filled with air. They push you out onto the lake and everyone laughs as you fall about! I let the boys go together as I had visions of the ball sinking or bursting..! In addition to many activities, we've also had the pleasure of experiencing Jeff's Mums home-cooking: an array of beautiful dishes with so much to spare! It's been lovely experiencing Jeff's life in China. He has taken us to so many places and shown us his old schools, the dumpling cafe he has been visiting since a young age and other things we would never have seen had we come here independently.

Today we're taking it easy as I'm feeling a little worse for wear. Last night Jeff and his girlfrfiend took us to KTV where we met some of his friends. KTV (karaoke tv) is a brilliant concept. You hire a room for the evening, or however long you require (it's 24 hours) and chill out with friends, playing games, singing karaoke and having some drinks. Chris and I were put to shame a little: Jeff is a pretty good singer and he gives it his all but his girlfriend is AMAZING!! The other guys were good too. Jeff says it's because they all visit KTV regularly, but I think Chinese people must be blessed with naturally good voices. Poor Chris was shouting through his songs (he won't like that I wrote that, but it's true!) and I sounded no better with my husky sore throat - an excuse I used for my terrible singing: I told them I usually have a beautiful voice. We learnt some Chinese games, which is the reason I am feeling uneasy today. I played one game with Jeff's friend and kept losing. Therefore I had to down several tumblers of beer one after the other. Needless to say I was pretty ill last night..!

Well, that pretty much explains what we have been up to lately! We will try and add some more pictures shortly. Thanks for emails, messages etc - much appreciated.

Take care of yourselves, Love always Lisa + Chris xxxxx

Ps - Our American friend still has his finger! They managed to sew the finger and the nail back together so all is not lost! x