Zi Yu Hotel Datong

... a taxi van with a French couple, not really wanting to make the ride over hills of packed dirt and potholes on a mototaxi. <br><br>The grottoes themselves are pretty amazing. I have been to Mogao Grottoes (&#33707;&#39640;&#31391;) in Dunhuang, Gansu, and these rival that trip. The only reason I would say Mogao is better is that they seem to be better taken care of--those there are each closed off from the elements by metal doors, and an expensive but knowledgeable guide takes ...

... the rail track race by under foot as you did a wee.<br>Were talk how to cook a pot noodle Chinesse style on the train - cost 40p<br>Given unknown looking sausages to add to said pot noodle<br>Given a cucumber to eat<br>Other unknown foods we couldn't refuse<br>Getting to know people who had never met a westerner and using any means possible to communicate ;0) <br>

Tuesday (09 Jun 09) morning I found my way by subway to the train station to embark for Datong. Although most signs were in Chinese, the numbers are still the same so I was able to find my train without much trouble. My seat was one of a group of 6 that sat 3 facing 3. There was a nice older woman at the window across from me with what I suspect was her granddaughter across from her, 2 younger people in the middle seats and a woman about my age across from me. No ...

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... and timer switch. Much to the amusement of the Chinese people who watched us. According to the Lonley Planet (LP here on in)we are now men as we have stepped on the great wall, which is good to know! We got back to Beijing at 5pmish and were knackered so went to the noodle place next to our hotel for massive amounts of noodles and rice for under 2pounds. Wooo! Then we had to pack all our things up again and become tortoise ...

... was the top, until the final scramble though shin-deep snow took me a peak that might well (or might not, it's not really that important) have been one of the five terraces for which the area was named. Despite the lack of path, there was a small shrine at the top, surrounded by some beautifully windswept snow. I don't think anyone had been there for a while; good to have a bit of time and space to myself. And running downhill through snow is great fun :)

Our First Excursion in Jinan was a visit to the Birth Place of good old Confucius. What a trip that was, two hours by bus through the worst smog I have seen thus far, it was an interesting place, lots of things to buy, and a lot of history. Despite that the ...

Set off to one of China's sacred Budhist mountain ranges, the highest peak being 3058m to a village in the valley. A 5 hour minibus ride through some lovely scenery. The two English chaps and a Dutch couple were heading there also. Arrived around 13:00 to a small village around 1km end to end with so lots of temples on the hills. Wu means 5, Tai means states and Shan ...

Set off for the caves late morning. They are cut into the southern cliffs of Wuzhou Shan 16km west of Datong and house some 50,000 Budhist statues. Had to take two buses, the first costing Y1. There is no ticket collector. One simply deposits the money in a box by the drivers seat. I only had a Y10 note and the driver seemed completely disinterested in my predicament. So a ...

... wave "hello". Most of the monks I've encountered haven't been that friendly (unless I'm hanging out with the Craziest Man in China - see previous entry). The train trip to Datong was uneventful, despite being our longest yet - 17 hours. We slept most of the way however (it was a night train). The hotel we had hoped to stay in was very close to the station, and even cheaper than the last one. It has a TV, but no shower that we can find, only wash basins ...