Longyan Xin De Hotel

... what my Shaolin master did, so you will have to watch the video, you can really tell his speed if you have the sound on as well. The Shaolin group then had to setup the mats for sparring in the afternoon but wouldn't have been complete without a session of 'silly sanda'! see photos! First ever session of sparring - brilliant!! with any luck i have been able to upload the videos from the teo rounds, (i'm the one with the little legs!!)

Once the wounds ...

... for the 4 hour journey! WOW what a boring journey! Tried not to sleep but i couldnt help it, being 4pm it wasnt good if i was to get over the jetlag!

Well after driving for 3.5 hours in one direction on the same road we finally made it to Taining, and shortly after that (which included a slightly round the houses route as the cabbies got lost!!) we arrived at the academy! Met the owner and the ...

... understand what we needed. They took us from one aisle to the other showing us everything from toilet paper to toilet bowl cleaner and still no one knew what we meant. Finally, while leaving the store, we found one, but it was definitely a close call. The people were very sweet, but definitely new to the tourist trade.

... group seem to have the ubiquitous eggs and cake - rather them than us. We revisit the "King of Tulou" (it was almost dark when we passed by first) - the largest of them all which has over 200 rooms and once had around 600 people living there, now there are only 400. Despite the drop in population it's interesting because they have not turned the inside into a hotel or shopping experience and so it does feel like someone's home (well 400 someones!). We can climb up to ...

... 1511; 93;ת עשרות תאים שמשמש 97;ם כחדרי 01; למשפח 93;ת שגרו פה. המבנה הזה איננו עוד בניין מגורי 01;, אך ה ...

... of China to escape the invading Mogul hordes initially and indeed further later wars. These people were Han Chinese, not ethnic minorities, and eventually moved towards the south coast of China where they came into some conflict with the indiginous peoples who gave them the name Hakka. They stayed in "safe" retreats in the mountain provinces all along (but back from) the south coast where they built these fortified community houses. Quite a lot of the ...

... from the owners and the people that eat there. Most also seem to have less 'Bugs & Crawly Things' racing around the place. TODAY Today for lunch I headed to one of the tastiest places in town, especially if it is meat you are after. I call this place 'Melina's Eatery' as we used to meet up here for lunch once or twice a week so we could chat and she ...

... green rice fields. All the above and everything in between has been missed by a lot of my family. The future holds what it holds and one thing I do know is that Asia still holds me deeply captivated within her bosom (Oh Er! Yummy!). Sometime in the near future I will head home for a visit or two but what I would really like is to take my family with me as I journey down the ...

... Remember, we don't speak Chinese...this seemed to be a very big issue in Xiamen.) Gu and Leo, not only showed us around town, but took us out for dinner and even bought a surprise birthday cake for Tim!!!!! We are super appreciative of them and cannot speak enough of their hospitality. It was very fun to get to know them and their culture. Things we've learned about China so far: -women will wear heels everywhere, including on the beach ...

... one behind another in an almost mirror image. The mist here makes them look very mysterious if you could say that about mountains! To beging with we cycled along the main roads, which to be honest is something I don't do back in the UK with all the security measures and helmets etc etc, but here you do not see anyone equiped in such a way and if you do I think you will be laughed at! :) But it wasn't too bad. There were occassional moments where ...