Lan Yuan Hotel Lanzhou

... her from all the people walking past because it would be a bit harsh if i just blanked her. At several points i just started walking towards people and if they ignored me (obviously i stand out so ignores probably the wrong word) then i'd wait. In the end i thought just don't look up...thats the best way...

So we met (at last) and it was cool. Her english was better than i remembered but not good enough to hold an entire conversation. This is hard work but worth it...this is what ...

... altitude 3200m, our guide Sarah decided to mind our place in the queue while we sat down and Gwen had a little oxygen. Mistake number one. When Sarah got within 3 bus loads of the front we went to rejoin all hell broke loose one park policeman took extreme offence and a slanging match took place between Sarah, policeman and guide in charge of the group of Chinese teacher tourists where we were to rejoin ...

... s Tibetan communities, we left equipped with snacks for the vast tracts of land we would now be covering for the rest of our trip. We were driving to Gyantse, some 240kms to the southwest of Lhasa. Stunning brown mountains were soon rippled with black waves, all with many contours, definitions and form - truly stunning - while we snaked alongside the Kyl-chu river on the Friendship Highway. We had to go over the Kambu-la Pass (4,700m), where the 'authorities ...

... lyrics but at least they make sense! Call this a normal Christmas Song? Surely they can't have heard it! But now it all makes sense. Now they very much have the script for National Treasure Part III. But sadly because of me everyone now knows the ending. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus mate! Sheezus, I had to give it away didn't I! Heaven forbid! PSS: There are a heap of photos at the end like usual ...

... around the lake, but is submerged in one part, so we can only walk on one side of the lake. The rain and mist we began to notice at the bottom of the stairs increases its density to a thick fog over the lake. It reminds me of Southeast Alaska until an occasional occasional a breeze lifts the fog like an artist unveiling a statue and we glimpse autumnal trees and ultra clear water. Along the path we find prayer offerings. Some are clearly Buddhist ...

... and Ian found out from them that there was another bus station further down the street. I tried to buy a ticket from the kiosk, and after much tooing and frooing and phoning the police they made negative gestures that clearly indicated they couldn't sell me a ticket. The lady in charge came out and of the kiosk and tried to explain something in Chinese, pointing in the same direction up the street that Ian had dissapeared in. After much manic gesticulations and ...

The China holiday is over. Some overachiever in the party decided that the place would be safer during the Olympics if they got rid of all extraneous foreigners, especially the lowlifes with my type of business visa. So they gave me the boot. Seems like a good time to share China's transportation methods. This week, ceremonies were held for the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin suburban high speed railway. Shanghai ...

... high on a cliff face obviously by freaky monks who were freakin out! That's enough from me...continue reading please! Try your best to make sense of the tourist signs! Though some of them are very funny think about how it would be with out them.Even though we all have a chuckle, without them we would have no idea about the history etc of ...

I've been in Lanzhou for 3 days and I'm getting ready to leave for Beijing. When I get there, after a 25-hour train ride, I'll have crossed China from west to east overland, no flying at all. I'm totally impressed with myself, but now I'm starting to wonder why I've crossed China but not the US. I'm telling you, I'm turning Chinese. I'm driving across the US when I get back and move to New York, but it just seems weird somehow to have done it ...

... hell out the back. The men wisely decided to use the wide open spaces, while a couple of women used the toilet, but DP led a group of the younger and more sophisticated out into the wilderness, after not being able to get closer than thirty feet to the building before almost gagging from the smell. We have written in detail about Chinese toilets in our 2001 diary (when we spent three months in China), and this trip has confirmed that they are still the worst ...