48 hours to Tibet

On Wednesday I began my overland journey to Tibet. Although there's some contraversy as to whether the new rail line should be supported it was recommended as a excellent way of seeing the Tibetan landscape and of gradually becoming used to the high altitudes of Tibet. I got to know a number of my fellow travellers while waiting for the minibus transfers to the train station in Chengdu from the youth hostel and now in Lhasa we're continuing to plan things together with various excursions and maybe even journeying into Nepal on the cards.

Admittedly I didn't relish the 48 hour journey that lay ahead from Chengdu but from the outside I found that I was sharing my 6-bed "hard sleeper" compartment with another backpacker from the hostel, and with so many others on the train things were quickly looking up. Better still there were only two others in the compartment, both Chinese, but at least it meant the top two beds remained vacant and it left us with rather more space than we otherwise would have had at our disposal. Furthermore as the train line to Tibet had only opened this summer the train was brand new and hadn't yet suffered too badly at the hands and feet of thousands of Chinese travellers.

The train departed after 6pm on the first day and once settled in and having met up with others from the hostel in the dining car it was time to head to bed. Not atypically for these trains the lighting and audio accompanyment are somewhat draconian, being switched off at 10pm and starting up with gusto at the unearthly hour of 7am, which does seem a tad on the early side when you consider there's not otherwise a great deal to fill your day on board train.

I didn't sleep terribly well during the first night, owing to being unused generally to turning in so early and so I tried to make up for this by sleeping in the next morning although the Chinese seem quite eager to get up and about from 7am sharp so it was a case of making best use of the MP3 player to drown out the background noise and try my best to ignore the lights. The day passed well enough. The scenery wasn't yet at its best and ranged from lightly wooded to entirely barren rolling hills by the evening, reminding me a good deal of the Yorkshire Dales. Once again time was spent in the restaurant car or otherwise sat in the corridor in my carriage, chatting now and again with other foreigners of which there turned out to be no shortage, including Aussies, Hong Kong Chinese (well it's almost foreign and they spoke English), Israelis and Japanese.

The second night passed somewhat more satisfactorily than the last and although getting up with the 7am train dawn chorus made for a long day the scenery was particularly fine becoming more white as the morning progressed as we made our gradual ascent to our highest point at over 5000m. After passing Golmud and heading into Tibet proper oxygen masks were provided to every passenger on board. I must admit I didn't notice and particular ill effects although I did try out the oxygen for fun but I can't say I found it did much. Once again the day was split between my compartment and carriage, the dining car and the fine "soft-sleeper" compartment that a couple of others from the hostel were enjoying. As the day wore on the landscape became less icy with more greens, browns and greys on show and a greater density of herdspeople towards Lhasa. The buildings of the Tibetans are basic but certainly distinct. You can see some on the photo website at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn/

The approach to Lhasa was slow and we even stopped for a time which struck me as odd given that there's probably barely one passenger train a day in each direction. On our arrival at the spacious brand new Lhasa terminus we worked out that the driver had ensured that we arrived exactly on the allotted time and a not a moment early. Pointless, but that's how they like things here. The more pointless the better seems to be the rule of thumb all too often. In any case we said goodbyes to the Aussies who had other arrangements while the rest of us crammed ourselves onto one of the buses into town along with a great number of other Chinese, as is the way with more or less any Chinese bus in service in the country. Irrespective of the frequency of service the buses are always chocka full. We arrived in town, although without much idea where but secured a couple of taxis to take us with our not inconsiderable luggage to the hotel we wanted to stay in. Alas it was full, so we ended up being spread around several of the more recommended hotels in central Lhasa but at the very least we all got roofs over our heads. This evening we met up again and indulged in fine local food, more or less all consisting of yak in some more. Tomorrow we'll try our luck at booking ourselves into our first choice hotel/hostel again.

For now it's farewell from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet!

Notes from a big red country

Of all the countries I've been on my trip thus far it's China that's undoubtedly the heavyweight backpacker destination of the lot. During the weeks I've spent here I must have spoken to dozens of people from who knows how many countries travelling in almost every direction imaginable. Curiously though, several distinct themes appear to preoccupy foreigners in China as they appear time and time again in conversation. Here's a pick of the favourites...

The issue seemingly concerning most people are the state of Chinese toilets and the rank public conveniences in particular which regularly become the subject of dares to see if you can convince your travelling mate to step foot inside one. Even before entering in China it's impossible to escape the multitude of tales from the WC gladly shared by many others who have experienced China before you. Yet on getting here this toilet humour seems to reach new heights of if not hysteria then certainly a peculiar fascination and revulsion rolled into one. China certainly doesn't have the worst toilets in the world, but they're sufficiently of an ilk so unfamiliar to Western posteriors that it'll be some time before they're forgotten. This said, I've not yet been to Tibet where it's told you shouldn't be surprised to find yourself sharing the facilities with a Yak.

Providing more entertainment, although accompanied by much face pulling at the same time are the reactions to the Chinese favoured pastime of spitting. We're brought up in the West that spitting is a dirty habit but one we can normally allow ourselves to turn a blind eye towards. In China however, spitting and the process through which the material to be spat out is gathered is simply impossible to ignore due both to the ubiquity of the practice and the immense noise required. The vigour and effort put into hacking up whatever unwanted matter needing expulsion is quite extraordinary and to those recent arrivals to China not yet acquainted with the practice witnessing this process generally results in a combination looks of disgust and uncontrolled hilarity.

Communication tends to vex most foreign travellers to China and matters aren't helped by the seeming inability of the populous here to join in with the game of charades that normally accompanies Westerners trying to make themselves understood in a far flung land. Try as you might and irrespective of how obvious the charades in question are, be it pointing at a place name and pointing at a train ticket should you be wanting to buy a train ticket to the place in question say, all efforts are met with an equally blank response. Similarly attempts to recite words or phrases out of a phrasebook are all but incomprehensible to the native populous, even though the correct pronunciation, once uttered by a Chinese person, sounds nearly indistinguishable from what you've just said. Matters aren't helped either by the absolute absence of any similar words between Latin languages and Chinese. Even in Japan there are a good number of imported words, 'hotu cohi' being 'hot coffee' for instance, but in Chinese there's absolutely nothing to go on whatsoever. Nevertheless everyone seems to manage, if at times via routes of near desperation, in making their way through China.

On a positive note China is proving to be by far the cheapest country I've encountered to date. Nearly everything is extraordinarily good value. Find your self a comfortable bed for a little over a quid, breakfast for around 15p and transport for a price per mile you would think should be impossible; certainly it would be with British fuel prices. Unlike many other countries living down to your means doesn't require much effort especially if you're willing to frequent the local eating establishments, struggle with being understood perhaps but at the end of the day the reward will be a heap of food for prices you thought had long since ceased to exist for such nourishment.

Despite heading towards first world status with as much speed as it can muster, China is still home to many practices long since vanished from our lands. Cycle-drawn carts of anything from vegetables to apparent rubbish frequently ply the streets of towns and cities earning you would think a ppitance for their efforts. In some towns goods are still carried hanging from both ends of a pole which the bearer places behind their neck while many older people are eager to accept used plastic bottles off travellers for which its assumed they receive some money for the recycling thereof. Tractors, or at least what we would take to be tractors at home are noticeable by their absence even in rural areas, a range of contraptions instead seem to be used for lugging duties combined with plenty of manual labour. Near Yangshuo there seemed to end of people walking their two cattle, normally numbering only two or three, down the road perhaps between where they lived to wherever suitable grazing could be found. This all provides a curious backdrop to otherwise relatively well organised sightseeing, excursions and activities.

I've started using the joke that it would nice to come back to China in a few years when it's finished. Currently a huge amount of work seems to be underway more or less everywhere you might choose to go. Great new motorways in particular seem especially in evidence, unfinished bridges and flyovers awaiting connection to the existing throng of traffic. In every city a great many of the streets are in a state of being dug up and replaced, while in Beijing especially there's no end of work going on in advance of the 2008 Olympics which includes unfortunately covering a considerable amount of the Forbidden City in scaffold.

China has a funny thing going on with its mix of communist and capitalism. A great deal clearly remains under strict control, yet some of the main shopping streets in the cities could almost have been transplanted from the West. Everyone who can work is provided with a job, or so I've been told, but it begs the question how many can afford to frequent the sparkling Western stores taking ever more hold. It remains something of a mystery to me as to how China can make these seeming opposite poles coexist under one flag. Providing work for everyone is something, but when there's such opportunity to display the stark constrasts between haves and have nots it seems unlikely that discontent can be that far away. Surely the stretching a system between universal provision and a great scale of incomes has got to lead to cracks and discontentment at some point. Perhaps I'm wrong; in any case I'm unlikely to discover the truth of the matter while I'm here.

Day 150

I've reached something of a milestone today having been on the road for 150 days. If anything the past week or two have been some of the most adventurous comprising walking the Great Wall, a cruise down the Yangtze River, walking along terraced fields tendered by indigenous people, walking through a cave system and taking a mud bath and yesterday cycling along the Li River and taking a swim in the river itself.

This is largely thanks to me being able to tag along with a couple of Brits I met in Beijing as otherwise I doubt I would have done a lot of those things by myself. As it was we've had a lot of fun, although now we've gone our separate ways, me heading North to Chengdu to see if I can arrange a trip to Tibet and they South to Hong Kong. We've also been spending time with a Norwegian couple we met on the Yangtze Cruise who we bumped into again in Yangshou. As it happens everyone is making their way through one route or another towards South East Asia, so chances are we'll meet again at some point.

Continuing on from the last post, from the sleeply and thoroughly Chinese town of Longsheng we made our way to Yangshou which could scarcely could have been more different. Something of a tourist capital it was lined with souvenir and fancy clothes shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, travel agencies, hostel and hotels, the majority clearly catering for the Western visitors who were much thicker on the ground than I've seen anywhere so far. This meant that while you can still eat Chinese food, the Chinese food is more akin to a Chinese restaurant menu at home, the likes of Lemon Chicken being available here but otherwise absent anywhere else in China, and almost without exception everywhere serves sandwiches, steaks, burgers and the like to cater for the Western tastes and for those like ourselves who have been eating rice and noodles for that bit too long. With accommodation so thick on the ground we tried a number of places before we found a place we liked at the right price. Similarly bartering is the way to go with all of the street vendors in the town whether you're buying fruit or a souvenir t-shirt.

The major draw around Yangshou is the landscape and outdoor pursuits available. Along the Li River are the most distinctive if odd shaped mountains, something akin to fingers rising vertically from an otherwise flat countryside. It's easiest if you take a look on my photo website to see why they're so popular. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eurobahn/). For the particularly athletic the mountains themselves are the challenge, but there's plenty besides to enjoy. On Wednesday we booked a trip to one of the local caves which involved a boat into the complex and a tour through the caves, past the various curiously shaped stalactites and stalagmites, many with their own names, but the highlight was undoubtedly the mud cave. It was probably man-made but it was essentially a pool of mud and a mud-slide to shoot down into the pool using and get completely covered from head to toe. Needless to say the photos will be uploaded shortly! It was great fun and the mud extremely buoyant, much more than we had expected. After that we climbed out of the caves and walked back the entrance where we showered under a waterfall and in the pool. A fine half-day out!

On Thursday we decided to take a minibus upstream to another town and take a boat through some of the most attractive stretches of the Li river. However for some reason all of the minibus drivers were on strike. (I'm sure they don't use the word strike here, but that's what it was for all intents and purposes). Fortunately we managed to get transport and the river trip booked through the travel centre across the road from our hostel and we were set. As opposed to the numerous large boats that ply the route between Guilin city and Yangshou, our boat took on a more modest section of the river, although generally regarded as the prettiest the Li has to offer, and so we got to enjoy the intimacy of a wooden boat that could seat around a dozen or so people. For much of the journey though we sat out in the sun on the front of the boat, taking photos and viewing the passing hills, boats, batheing cattle and cormorant fisherman amongst others.

Yesterday we rented bicycles and after meeting the Norwegians for breakfast we all set out together to the next town which according to the Lonely Planet offered attractive cobbled streets. A hour's ride there the town proved to be modern and wholly without interest so we rode a little further in search of the river and came across a sign for a natural swimming pool with a locally run cafe to boot. Stocking up on drinks and fab chocolate and banana pancakes we had a good swim in an off-shoot from the main Li river. Afterwards the proprietor of the cafe offered to take us and our bicycles across the river on his bamboo raft for a little less than 50p each, so we did that and took a rough but much quieter road back to Yangshou on the opposite bank of the river. My backside is feeling the 'benefit' today but all in all it was a lot of fun.

Last night I took a late flight from Guilin Airport to Chengdu where I am now. I'm staying in a great hostel which even has a small pig snuffling around the place. It tends to like chewing on everything, be it plants, computer cables or shoes, but everyone loves it. Chengdu has a number of worthy sights in the area such as a Panda Breeding centre, a traditional town where part of Crouching Tiger was filmed, and it's also a good place to book flights to Tibet, which is the main reason I'm here. I'll let you know how I get on in my next post.

Airport fish

Since my last blog post I've covered some distance across China and am finally with internet access again after a few days aboard a boat, but let's start at the beginning.

I arrived into Beijing early from Shanghai so decided to make the most of this rare experience of being up and around early in the morning and having checked in headed straight to the Forbidden City which is a walkable distance from the Youth Hostel. It's a vast complex but if anything looks largely as you might expect although the main buildings seem rather sparse and if anything the side palaces offered more character and an insight into court life. Several of the main buildings are being renovated in time for the 2008 Olympics which means annoying that you can't visit them whereas smaller palaces seem to be left to peel and decay.

Wasting no time on the second day I took a trip to the Great Wall which involved being bussed to one place, walking some miles along and being picked up further down. The stretch I went on was largely unrestored and combined with the steep gradient made for tricky and tiring going, not least in the heat, but the five hours allowed for the distance were more than adequate and it meant I could slow down towards the end. As the tour went from the hostel is was filled entirely with foreigners and interestingly it seems that the Chinese have no interest on tackling the stretch of wall we did, leaving it nice and quiet while they all crowd other restored sections of the wall. My guidebook said the stretch would be the most satisfying and what you would most expect from walking the wall and it was indeed correct. The views were tremendous, the walk challenging but overall immensely satisfying. The locals did bug us along the way trying to sell water or books but it was little detraction from the experience. I've uploaded some photos to give some impression of the nature of the wall.

In Beijing I met some Brits in my dorm room and since we've had largely the same itineraries we've been travelling together since. We've had something of a rollercoaster ride in that we've visited some amazing sights together but also had to deal with the often incredibly frustrating Chinese transport system which generally involves queuing only to be told you've been queuing in the wrong queue and need to queue again elsewhere. Quite why they can't arrange things so that any ticket or service is available from any window I just don't know, but that's the way it works here. We encountered this especially in Beijing when due to a glacially slow bus, taxi drivers not knowing where they're going and rickshaws trying to rip us off we missed a train. The process of buying a new ticket and getting refunded for the first took around two hours and was fraught with frustration, however we got there in the end, even if it did mean that we had to sit on seats on the overnight train to Xian as all the sleepers had gone already. Although not the top experience of China by any means it gave an insight into this country as much as anything else we've visited.

So it was that from Beijing we hit Xian, a pleasant city and much more manageable than the sprawling masses that are Shanghai and Beijing and of course the base from which to visit the Terracotta Warriors which were superb both in quantity which number in the thousands and the intricate craftsmanship that had gone into them, giving each unique features. Goodness knows how they would have appeared all new, intact and freshly painted.

Trains from Xian to Chongqin, our next destination and the start of the Yangzte river cruise were non-existant so we had little option but to fly, as we didn't relish a repeat performance of trying to sleep in a hard seat carriage on another overnight train. As it was the flight cost only around 40 quid so didn't break the bank and took 1 hour rather than the 15 needed by the train, even if it had space.

The Yangzte river cruise no longer spans the distance it once did, due the construction of the "New Big Dam" across the Yangzte river which makes it unnavigable beyond a certain point, however it still takes in the three gorges, some particularly spectacular scenery and soon to be considerably reduced once the dam comes into operation and the water level rises some 8 metres. The cruise, which was on something of a passable ferry with lots of windows lasts three nights and stops at points of varying interest along the way. This includes Ghost City which features some rather grotesque statues and a walk-through ghost-train like experience explaining both Chinese folktales involving gods and demons and a torture chamber showing people in hell having all manner of unpleasant acts done to them. The highlight of course were the three gorges which required transfer onto a smaller boat for navigating the 'little three gorges' and also a short outing on small wooden boats for the even littler three gorges. Lots of necks cricked skyward were the order of the day. It was also interesting to see which buildings would be submerged with the completion of the dam as signs showing certain water levels were placed along the route.

The days about the ship might have been dull if it hadn't been for the good company of some other Westerners on board. The English level of the vast majority of Chinese is non-existent so communication with them as nice as it would have been simply wasn't an option. Happily a couple of Norwegians, Germans and a group of Brits made the time fly by with games of cards, dinners together in the onboard restaurant and the odd evening off sitting on the deck in the pitch black with beers after the boat staff had turned all the lights off enjoying the atmosphere and usually the refreshingly cool breeze generally lacking from the poorly air-conditioned cabins. Highlights of the ferry included an occasion one evening on an outside deck where one of the Brits leaded on a tap which suddenly came on, and trying to turn it off resulted only in the water pouring out at an even greater rate. A stewardess rushed to the scene and the water could only be stopped by tying the pipe down to another pipe. Fine workmanship indeed. The restaurant menu also provided some amusement, our favourite being the 'airport fish'. It's description in English read: "A kind of very famous rough hot fish near the airport". Apparently even the Chinese translated as Airport Fish which was baffling. The Norwegians tried it one night although I suggested we enquire as to which airport it lived near before comitting ourselves.

Following the Yangzte cruise we had a day of travelling taking us from the final stop for the ferry to the nearest town, the nearest city and eventually overnight on sleeper bus to Guilin. Yes, I kid ye not, in China there are sleeper buses in addition to the trains. These consist of beds arranged in three rows running down the length of the bus facing the direction of travel with upper and lower decks in the middle. As with other sleeping transport experiences we found mixed success in getting any shut-eye but it's another weird and wonderful type of transport to strike off the list.

Not stopping to Guilin we headed straight for Longsheng yesterday morning which turned out to be a pleasing if not terribly interesting town but which offered some worthy sights nearby in the form of terraced fields extending the entire height of the hills in the area. So today we set off on what turned out to be a six hour walk including breaks and were sufficiently impressed by the stunning landscapes. To add colour to the day the area is inhabited by an indigenous people whose most notable feature is that the women-folk, or at least the old women-folk all have tote outrageously long hair which is wrapped up in something vaguely akin to a turban. The proved to be more of a pain than anything, forever trying to sell silver coloured (but certainly not real silver) bracelets, postcards and other items which as with so many of their kin lacked any appeal to us whatsoever. Still they were more colourful than the poor offerings the locals were trying to sell on the Great Wall and if you're going to clearly spend a good deal of your morning dressing up in local dress and sorted out impractically long hair, you might as well get something out of it, right?

As with this the events in China are brought up to date. Tomorrow we're heading off to Yangshuo, something of a backpacker haven and featuring some of the finest scenery China as to offer. The guidebook also promises lots of Western food which, after it seems a week of eating little but noodles, might prove somewhat tempting.

Shanghai, Beijing and many sights around

Having checked into the second hostel in Shanghai I couldn't fail to notice the veritable heap of backpackers that were constantly coming and going, or just as often sitting or surfing the web. After checking in I quickly got chatting to some of the people in my dorm and the following day I set out with a Peruvian guy who now lives in Switzerland and a German guy to the nearby city of Suzhou which is reputed to have attractive canals and traditional Chinese gardens. The day didn't start well; although we didn't get set off as early as we'd planned we got to the train station at 9.30 only to be told there were no trains for two hours. However my trusted Rough Guide indicated a bus to Suzhou could be found nearby so we went in search of it. This didn't prove easy. Following several attempts at asking locals around the station by pointing at the Chinese characters for 'Suzhou' and 'long distance bus terminal' we eventually more or less stumbled across the coach station through noticing its rather extensive and bewildering array of scrolling departure boards which show all the departures for the entire day should you chose to hang around long enough and watch them. Tickets were easier to come by, although the first bus was full meaning we had to hang aroud for the departure a little after 11am, which was about 40 minutes away. Still we had killed some time and it was looking as if we'd still get there marginally before the train.

Suzhou itself didn't prove quite the peaceful and idyllic spot I'd somehow got it into my head that it would be. For one thing it was filled with the same wide busy roads as other Chinese cities and there were a barrage of rickshaws waiting to hassle you on leaving the bus station and finding yourself on a major road that was nevertheless not listed on any of our maps. Fortunately we found our way and escaped the bus station hustle. As it was the city centre seemed to be a good deal more spread out than expected, meaning that in the end we ended up visiting just one garden and getting lunch and otherwise wandering the streets to the next destination but finding it was much further than anticipated and to be closed by the time we'd got there. The garden we did visit was nevertheless a peaceful and attractive spot to spend some time and the wider city did offer some canals, although they did vary in their appeal and several did smell rather pungent to say the least. So it was that as evening was approaching we made our way to the Suzhou train station and once again we are told that the first available train is in two hours, something that seems unbelievable given that this must be something of a relatively major line. Yet again we look for the bus station, albeit at the opposite end of town to one we arrived in. Locals proved generally unhelpful and although we seemed to pass through something of a depot for both long distance and city buses the terminal elluded us. The situation wasn't helped by a group of Chinese men who we tried to ask telling us that the last bus had gone for the day and that we'd have to take an expensive taxi. Obviously not willing to fall for that one we decided to head back to the station and wait for the train. Fortunately after just a few minutes walk we spied another likely looking building with yet another grand departure board. We enquired within, ignored the hustlers and got ourselves tickets for the still very much running buses back to Shanghai. Not a terribly productive day but good fun given the company and plenty of experience gained as to the workings of Chinese transport and the Chinese more generally.

Following a day of sightseeing taking in what sights I hadn't visited already my time in Shanghai was over. I found my escape under cover of darkness, taking the sleeper train overnight to Beijing. Travelling in 'soft sleeper' class I shared my compartment with two Chinese men who both spoke English and as a result we had a helpful discussion about the variety of destinations worth visiting in the country. I arrived in Beijing early on Tuesday morning and having checked into the hostel decided to set back out to the Forbidden City which having only shortly before opened for the day proved pleasantly uncrowded, unlike a few hours later when I came to leave by when the hoardes of tourists were storming in. The Forbidden City is somewhat how you might imagine; a large complex of buildings in the familiar imperial Chinese style, each with its own purpose and history and with many housing different types of exhibits. It's too big to take all of it in during a single visit but I got around a good deal.

Today was the biggest highlight of China so far as I took on the Great Wall. Taking a trip arranged at the hostel I was driven with other westerners from the hostel to Jinshanling and from there we had to cover 6 miles in 5 hours to reach Simatai. It doesn't sound like a great distance, but this stretch of wall has largely been left to mother nature meaning that much of it is in varying states of disrepair, and that's without mentioning the many steep climbs and descents as the wall makes its way over the hill tops. The experience, albeit hard work was fantastic, the wall's state and setting was as you'd expect and the views superb. Although there were regular groups of local Chinese at the towers along the way trying to flog drinks and tourist books the path was otherwise lightly trodden with only the people from our own minibus and one or two others evident along the way. This is certainly what I was hoping for and it all made for a welcome change from the big cities.

No photos uploaded as yet as this internet cafe doesn't allow me to do that, but I'll look at getting some online soon.

Keep on rocking in the free world

On arriving in Shanghai I quickly found myself firmly returned to the backpacker trail having been removed from it more or less since Japan. Lots of foreigners were milling around and waiting for taxis at Shanghai airport and similiarly at the hostel I'd booked myself there were lots of Western faces around. My first half-day in Shanghai was relatively quiet just spent seeing a few of the sights; going down the waterfront which on one side is lined with fine colonial banking buildings from the early 20th century while on the far side of the river these are faced with their early 21st century counterparts, HSBC now in a shining tower as opposed to a finely crafted stone building. Yesterday things picked up and I got chatting with some of the people in my dorm room. Dorm rooms aren't always ideal for getting a good night's kip but they are great for meeting people and it only cost 50 yuan or a little over 3 quid, so it wasn't likely to break the bank either. The youth hostel I was staying in was located on the far west of the city centre so I spent the day exploring this area, although one of the main streets turned out to be filled with shops selling bags, fake watches and clothes and each was accompanied by at least one person to confront you with a laminated pictoral guide of the wares they had to offer and each offered various levels of persistence. This is fine on the odd occasion but after 20 or 30 times it becomes tiresome and I ended up heading for the next road down in order to escape them. I didn't discover much of note aside from a building built by the Soviets as a sign of inter-communist friendship no doubt which looked as if it had just been picked up from St Petersburg and dropped in the middle of Shanghai. Very odd indeed. The evening proved of more note though, as a truly international group of us from the hostel headed to a couple of bars a little distance away. It proved a cheap enough night even if the surroundings weren't entirely to our liking. The most surreal moment was in the second bar having "keep on rocking in the free world" played, the irony of which I suspect was lost on the locals but not us.

Needless to say this morning started slowly and sightseeing only kicked off after lunch once I'd properly awoken and moved hostels. Although the first hostel was fine the location was proving to be awkward as it required a bus ride or metro trip from the centre of the order of around three-quarters of an hour. This combined with my unfailing ability to go the wrong way once arrived back at the local metro station didn't help matters. In my defence may I state for the record that the area around the metro station and hostel is a mess of major roads and overpasses heading in every direction. Crossing them requires enough determination and grit (Chinese drivers are perhaps the least forgiving in the world) without having to be troubled with matters such as navigation as well.

And so it was that I managed to book myself in to the outrageously popular downtown hostel for my last two nights in Shanghai. I'm not staying here longer as there claimed that they'd managed to get around more or less everything that deserved a visit in a single day and if you put a full day in it's probably not too far from the truth. As a result tomorrow rather then spending another day trying to extract yet more from what is now becoming a somewhat diminished collection of things to do in Shanghai itself, I'll be taking the train an hour away to the town of Suzhou whose canals and gardens will hopefully provide some welcome relief from the seriously overcrowded, traffic congested and polluted streets of Shanghai. This will likely be short lived however given that on Monday evening I'll be taking the sleeper train to Beijing where I've had less difficulty booking myself into the most recommended downtown backpackers haunt. I've optimistically booked myself if for just four nights to begin with as a number of travellers have said to me that Beijing aside from the main sights isn't really the sort of city you enjoy hanging around in, so the plan is to get around the sights as quickly as possible and work out where to move on to. I might head to Xian for the Terracotta warriors and its other attractions or I might find a smaller destination to spend some time in en route.

Following my first rather unsuccessful experiences I've found the internet access to be somewhat more reliable. Some websites such as BBC News are definitely out but I can access other news sites such as the newspapers. I've not tried out Skype yet. It was installed at the last hostel but not here. I'm not sure if there's a reason for that. Hopefully I'll be able to try it out soon with the new headset I bought in Hong Kong which means I'll be able to plug into any internet cafe PC that allows me to use Skype and assuming it's not the middle of the night at home I can make some calls.