Just a quick one as I only came in here to load up some photos, woiuld be spoiling you if I started posting everyday!

Have sorted out my train nightmare, went to the station and got another ticket for a slightly earlier train and it's a sleeper! Wohoo. So now I'm much happier about things, looking forward to moving on.

I'll lewt you know wen anything else worth mentioning happens. Bye for now.

Wish I'd stayed in Chengdu

Grr, am not looking forward to these next few days. When I first arrived here I booked my train ticket out so that I'd deffinately get a sleeper space. Met a girl on the bus who came with me to tha train station which I thought would make things easier. Told her where I was going, when and insisted that I wanted a sleeper. Got the ticket-it's for a seat. Which will be hell. Might get to the station a bit early and see if there's any chance I can pay to upgrade if the sleepers aren't all full. If they are I guess I'l just have to grit my teeth and bare with it. Will not be in a good mood the next morning.
To add to that the nice hotel I'd planned on staying in is either full or closed, couldn't make any sense of what the guy was telling me other than that he had no rooms. He did walk me down the street to another hotel though. it's not the worst I've seen but it's deffinately down there in the bottom few. Bathroom is grim so wouldn't particularly want to be washing clothes in it. Think I'd feel less dirty if I just wear the same ones until I leave.

Left Chengdu for Leshan and the worlds biggest Budda. Had planned to stay two nights but the hotel was just dingy so I opted to see everthing early on in the day and get the bus out next afternoon. Turns out though that although the first tour boat is at 7.30 the ticket offices didn't open until after 8 and in a town where one of the main things is tourism only oine person in the tour office understood any English, and even then only enough to tell me that there would be no boat if I was only one person. Which is clearly all that I am. I'd got to see the Budda from a huge distance so at least I can say I saw it, just didn't get up close. Left Leshan pretty dissappointed but in high spirits that things in Chongqin would be better. Not so.

So again I'm pinning all my hopes on the next place to lift my spirits, or at leat have somewhere I can wash my clothes and a room with, if not a viw, then at least a window! Have two days here before my overnightmare train, hopefully there'll be stuff worth coming for. Will arrive in Guiyang early on 28th, hopefully it'll be worth the effort.
All in all thouygh I think I'd rather have stayed in the lovely place in Chengdu. Oh well, we live and we learn.

Awwwwwwwww

I told you all that this was going to happen, expect this post to be unashamedly cute and girly. The pandas were adorable beyond words. We got there early in the morning, in time to watch them being fed, the adults are enormous and the cubs are so small and cuuuute. No tiny babies, wrong time of year.
You are allowed to hold one of the cubs, for $140, ouch. About 80 pounds, which Wendy does not have just lying around. A couple of American tourists (sorry if that sound derogatory but even the American backpackers I've met hate American tourists) seemed to have nothing better to do with $300 though, we all took advantage of the panda being so close and took our own photos too, nicely cropped so you can't even tell who's holding it.
After they'd all been fed they got let out into the enclosures where they had the choice of playing or sleeping and eating some more. Most of then took the sleeping option, four were all huddled up together in a corner, reckon there had been a wild party the night before and they were all hung over. Saw the red pandas too which are like ginger raccoons and very cute. Got to feel kind of sorry for them with their bigger cousins always being the star attraction, at least the red ones were active so we got to watch them running around.
None of the other people I was with knew quite how obsessed I am with pandas so I had to restrain myself and act like a normal person, but they were sooooo cuuuute. Huge panda gift shop too but because there is so much here with pandas on I have reolved to only buy it if it's really special, most of the stuff they had I already have. I couldn't come away empty handed though so i did buy a badge just so I could say it came from the Panda Zoo.

When I got back to the hostel I had a shower and did washing again, my pyjamas needed doing and it's hot enough here that they'll be dry by tonight. Went and found the secret chairman Mao museum which is essentially just the home of some guy who took the whole cult of personality thibng a bit too far. You name it he had it, every badge, book, poster and commemorative plate ever made. Freak. Went to another monastery too, this one had magic goats but their goaty magic did not work on me. The theory is that if you have any achs or pains you touch the goat (statue, not real live one) where you hurt and it gets better instantly. HAd a bit of a dodgy stomach all day so I rubbed the goats belly. Feels better now a few hours later so maybe it's just a delayed effect.

Got some spict szechuan snacks to bring back for dinner, ate them with chips because, well because I felt like eating chips, don't care how unChineesy that sounds. What I thought was a noodley thing tyrned out to be chicken intestine, mmm chewy. And I'm adventerous up to a point but I draw the line at duck and rabbit heads. Maybe I'll try one later when Sarah joins m, no point eating something that gross without a witness.

Leshan tomorrow to see the world biggest Budda and I've just been told that student ID gets you in for Y35 instead of Y90. Hooray. So don't forget yours Sarah!

I know more than indianna Jones

Yesterday was pretty much a flawless day in terms of a plan well executed. Got up at 6, found a novel way to switch my alarm off, it involved dropping the phone from the top bunk and retrieving it from the floor under the bottom bunk, i don't recommend it. Checked uot and took my big bag to the train station luggage store and got the first bus of the day to the terracotta warriors museum. Another victory for my student ID which I have been flashing everywhere on the off chance that they do a discount that isn't publiscised (at least not in English). 50% off so I cheated and instead of the 15 minute walk to the site I paid Y3 (24p) for a golf buggy taxi instead, yey.
The army wasn;t discovered until the 1970's and there is no record of its existence before that, kind of makes you head go a bit crazy. Means that anyone studying ancient history in the 60's would not have know about it, Indianna Jones (assuming he was real which I know he isn't but that's not the point) would not have known about it, he may know Latin, Greek, German, Sanskrit and Ancient Mayan but he didn't know about this, madness. It's pretty impressive, still an active dig site because it's not all bee uncovered yet. ypu can see all the ones that have been pieced together and then go and see the ones they're still working on with bits missing and stuff. My favourite bloke was one of the archers in Pit one, everyone else was stood to attention, he had his head at an angle as though trying to work out what they were all waiting around for.
I wanted to buty a little mini statue to take home but all the shops on site were crazily expensive. got the bus back into town and went to where all the souvenir stalls were, was very tempted to get more Starbuck's but resisted. Got my figure and hopped on the bus back to the train station where I only had to wait for 2 hours which seems like nothing compared to some of the other waits I've had.

In the queue i saw all the stuff the hacked me off so much on the last journey, thank God I'd managed to get a sleeper ticket I kept telling myself. The peole I was sharing with were really lovely, thought I was hoing to have to kick off with a couple of them when they tool out a cigarette box but they went out to the smoking point down the corridor without even being asked, lovely lovely people. Lights out on most of the trains is 11 o'clock which came and went without stopping the chatter. They taught me how to count to 10 in Mandarin and i taught them the names of all the football players I knew, one advantage of being from Manchester is that everyone knows at least one thing about it!

Slept really well now that i know how the system works. When you gwt on the train you give a lady your ticket and she'll wake you up when it's time for your stop. As it was I was awake well before that. 18 hours later (!) arrived in Chengdu. Had a vague idea where I was headed, was planning to get a taxi there because it's pretty far to walk. In the end I followed a couple of other foreigners who I spotted on the platform. They'd already made reservations at a hostel and rung ahead for a free pick up so i tagged along with them. Think the guy was made up when he managed to fill 3 beds instead of the 2 he'd expected to get.
The place is really nice, had a shower and washed clothes. Found a bank with a cash machine I could use, came back and booked myself on two of the tours arranged by the hotel, means I don't have to worry about finding buses or getting lost or running out of time. Am off to see some Chinese opera tonight-opera here is not the same as in Europe, it's like a singing and dances fire breating circus/stunt show so lloking forward to that. Then tomorrow am off to the Panda breeding centre. Eeeeeeeee. Anyone who lives with me or Hannah will know exactly what that sounds like. SO EXCITED. Am going to put all my photos on my USB stick tonight so I have totally empty memory card for it which i will probably fill up with pandas.

Sorry the punctuation here is all over the place the computer decided that I want to write from right to left instead of t'other way so it made everything go a little crazy.

A Change of Heart

nooooooooooo. I'd just writen an mint post and some how manage to delete it.
Right, long story short because I really do need an early night. Was having a miserable day to start with because mt train journey was hell because Chinese men are disgusting pigs. But then I found a Starbucks (in my orional,now lost, post I'd written a great build up to this full of suspense and all that jazz but I can't be bothered to do it all again. Sorry)

That set the tone for the rest of the day which ended up with me meeting the nicest people I've met so far in China so now I at least know that some of them aren't so bad. The other version was much more gushing and emotional but time is pressing on now.

just a short one, teracotta warriors in the morning, oh and for now I'm able to read comments, not sure how long it'll last.

Killing time in Pingyao

My train is at 22.30, it's now 17.43 so I've got a lot of time to kill. Got into town ont he overnight train at 7.30, have been walking round in blistering heat since then so I think my body will probably welcome being able to sit indoors for a few hours and not have to move. Does mean having th\o brace the toilets in the station though, lovely.

I love sleeper trains, they're brilliant, I only wish Britain were big enough to warrent having them at home. Ewwww, just wiped my hand across my forehead, I really need a shower. First thing in the morning, that's what I keep telling myself: train, hostel, shower, washing. Clean and cool and lovely. If evertything goes to plan.

Yesterday I ha a new person sharing my room, Pippa-I'm in a four bed dorm which I had to myself the first night. Someone on reception must have decided to designate it as the foreigner's room. We both had the same plans for the day so ended up going together. We went up to the caves whcih are huge, full of loads of carvings and statues and paintings and such like. Whilst we were there it completely poured own, a refreshing change from the constant heat so I didn't much mind running around in it. Dried off in about 5 minutes. QWhen we got back into town we went to find dome food, I ordere some even though I was really not that hungry, felt bad because I only ate about half. I checked out of the hotle in the morning to avoi having to pay for an extra night, left my big bag in Pippa's room though, when I went back to collect it I recieved a Chinese ticking off for being there when I'd alreay left. Meh.
Got the train which was lovely though a little noisy. Got into Pinyao early, explored all day. Managed to get into one of the Temples without anyone checking my ticket, wohoo, I love a freebie! It's very pretty but my feet can o no more walking, I' be tempte by the foot massage but they're all so far away from the internet cafe which is conveniently right next to the station.

Not a lot else to report really. Looking forward to tomorrow and feeling clean. Sunburn still hurst even though I've been a goo girl and covered up with a long sleeved shirt the last two days.

Redemption for Taxi Drivers

Gosh darn it, I'd just typed out part of a post when my credit on the computer ran out. Topped it up so now I have a whole hour to kill...that's if it doesn't kill me first, the smoking ban apperaes not to extend as far as Chinese internet cafes (or net bars as this one is called), I'd forgotten how horrible it is *coughcough*

Arrived in Datong last night after missing my train (oops) and having to wait around for ages at the hugest train station in the world. Was more like an airport with loads of departure lounges and different waiting rooms for each train and loads of security checks to go through. I only just missed the first train, probably could have made it if I'd known where I was going and not had to stop to ask for directions at every corner.

It's a lot bigger than I expected, I thought it was say out in the country side but its a proper city. I wke up early today to put plan A into operation, failed miserably. The plan was to book a tour around the local caves and monastery and get a ticket for the train leaving tonight. But for that I needed to get some more money, I only changes 40 pounds at the airport which has lasted fine up to now. Knew that the tours waould leave early and that the train would be booked out pretty fast, tour office opens at 6.30am so I got up at 6.15 figured I could have my money and all my tickets by 7 but it was not to be. Took me until 9.30 to track dow a cash machine that I could actually use. I had planned to change money because i still have 100 pounds that I bought with me, but for such a big city there is only one bank tht can change foreign money and it was on a rod that was closed and all ripped up for repairs. Got so sick of wlking and faffing around, kept seeing taxis but had ruled them out after Beijing experience. Eventually pulled one over and asked him if he'd use his meter, expecting to be told that the meter ws broken i was extremely glad when he let me in and switched it on. Finally got some money, with the help of a vry nice security gaurd who effectively did everything for me because the machine only had instructions in Chines-don't worry mum, he looked away when I did my pin code. He was lovely. By this time I was so hot and flustered that i cheated and got a taxi back to the hotel too. By this time the was already gone so I have booked my train ticket to Pinyao for tomorrow night and will do the tour tomorrow instead.
I spent the day exploring Datong. Visited the two temples which are the oldest buildings in the city from before 1000ad. Was definately worth spending an extra day to see them. I didn't really do much touristy stuff in Beijing so today was sort of the start of the real adventure, and a very good start it was too. Got back to the hotel at 4, in total I reckon I've spent around 8 hours today just walking, no wonder I'm tired. And a little bit sunburnt. Will go back to my room and have a shower before bed. Up at 8 in the morning to pack my bags to take with me, tomorrow night's hotel is an overnight train but if have booked myself a sleeper ticket which means I get a bunkbed. Hooray.

Not sure how long I'm spending in Pinyao, if I can get an overnight train out again then I will do bcause there's so much I want to fit in before I have to be in Hong Kong to meet Sarah and renew my visa. Nerxt stop after that (and so probably next post) will be Xi'an, home of the teracotta warriors. Wohoo.
Don't want to sound like I'm rubbing it in Sarah, but I'm having a mint time.

trouble with comments

Unfortunately the computer here doesn't like showing me any comments that have been left, if you want to you can e-mail them to me insteadat wcostello@hotmail.com or use facebook if you have it. Other computers might let me so I'll let you know if and when I'm able to access them again.
Today I did what I seem to always do on my first day in a big city,I got really really lost. but I did manage to get my train ticket to Datong tomorrow and lots of Beijing that I never intended to so I guess getiing losty isn't such a bad thing.
Had spring rolls for dinner and now I'm going to check my e-mail and have a shower.

Chiiiiiinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

So here I am, just gone dark on my first night in Beijing and I'm liking it alraedy.
was a bit poo to start with because the taxi drivers are all poo faces. But the hotel is so pretty, good job really since big sis and I are booked in here for the return journey too. You'll like it sis, there's a hairdryer and proper toilets that you can sit on.
On arrival I pretty much dumped my bags, changed shoes (hoorah for flip flops) and went off to explore, had to fight really hard to resist buying everything, especially all the panda stuff, setiously I'm going to come back with so much crazy junk, I mean who doesn't need a chairman mao alarm clock?! There are some pretty jazzy teacups that a few certain people may be getting for birthdays too. But I don't know if they read this blog so I'll stop spoiling the surprise for them.
On my adventure I met a woman from London, we were both stood outside a cafe/restuarant pondering how the system worked and decided we'd look a lot less silly if we went in together, nice not to be the lone stranger in the corner eating by heself for a change. It was awesome, they had plates full of eeverything you could imagine all on skewers, you picked the things you want and then they either stir fry or barbeque it all for you. The stir fry was the spiciest sauce I've ever known, think I downed about a litre of water (bottled of course) during the course of the meal. Not sure exactly what it was I ate, on my first night I'm not feeling too hungry so I decided to curb my adventerous side and stick to veggie stuff. I wouldn't like to have had to guess what somw of the meaty ones were supposed to be, just you wait Sarah, I'll drag you in there when you're here and have one of everything. At Y1 per skewer (Y12 to a pound) it's a fretty good way to eat. When we were leaving I paid for mine and London Lady's (never did get her name)without even noticing, figured a pound for a meal wasn't too steep atall, a pound for two meals however is even better.
Going back to my room now, don't feel to sleepy (that could be because my head thinks it's lunchtime-ish) buyt I'll probably be able to sleep, as long as the air-con isn't too loud. It's crtazily hot and humid here.
Exploring Beijing on foot tomorrow, not going to the big sites, saving them until the 2nd visit. Might go to the zoo and see pandas, I'm sure I wouldn't mind doing that twice.

Bye for now!