Beijing, China 24/4/08

Went to see the Forbidden City which is huge with a seemingly unending amount of buildings - all with very strange names like Gate of Benevolence etc etc. We walked for miles in there and still didn't see it all.

It was very busy with huge numbers of tourists which made it hard to imagine the place as it once was. Still impressive though.

Beijing, China 20/4/08

Went to Tiananmen Square today which is Huge! It was full of Chinese tourists taking group photographs. We saw the Mao memorial (the one with the iconic photo on the front of the building) but were too late to take a look at the casket which is only on show in the mornings.

Spent the next few days trying to sort out our Mongolian visas - they spelt Davids name wrong on the first one and we had to go back to get it corrected.

Beijing, China 19/4/08

Made our first train journey in China. Soft seat - they were quite luxurious with little tables - like BR first class really.

Each carriage had its own hot water dispenser for tea and noodles and luckily for David a smoking area at the end of each carriage (well China is the biggest smoking nation on earth). It was quite a good journey.

Arrived in Beijing to rain - ah well. Just about everywhere in Beijing feels like a building site - all preparations for the Olympics. It it a strange mix here. Lots of really old places and history and places just as you imagine China should look like right alongside 12 lane highways (through the middle of the city - with pedestrian crossings at every junction) and skyscrapers.

Shanghai, China 18/4/08

Had a lovely day at the Zoo! It was quite a nice place with lots of green space used by local families for picnics. The animal enclosures were better than we were expecting although we were quite surprised to see an entire section of the zoo dedicated to dogs - just about every breed you can name - and some you couldn't. Obviously, dogs are quite exotic over here.

Shanghai, China 17/4/08

Went to the Shanghai Museum which is in a really lovely park. There were lots of old people doing Tai Chi and stretching (this seems very popular). There is even a section of park which has weight machines and cross trainers and cycling machines for the public to use.

The museum was ok but not a lot of variety.

In the afternoon we crossed to the other side of the river and walked along the river bank which was nice. We saw the tv tower (a big tripod) which is very tall and also had a peek into the sex museum! Blimey, the Chinese are more liberated than you'd think! David took lots of pictures in there which I am not going to post as I am not that kind of girl. Some of the exhibits were very funny though.

Shanghai, China 10/4/08

Had a good wander around Shanghai which is really great. It feels like New York mixed with Bladerunner. Very futuristic. The shops here are great with every other person selling knock off clothes. Every 20 yards along the road someone sidles up to you and says "watch, bag, t-shirt, dvd, shoes, gucci, armani". They even sell copies in little offices at the top of the shopping malls. Very hush hush of course. They are really good copies too.

It's really easy to get around here as well. The metro system is only 3Y per journey and all the signs are in English as well as Chinese so it's easy to work our where you want to go.

We had a really great, cheap dinner in a local canteen (I wouldn't call it a restaurant). We were the only foreigners in there which was good. Neither of us have quite got the hang of chopsticks yet. We drop almost as much as we manage to get into our mouths. Very messy!

Shanghai, China 15/4/08

Hello China!!

We finally arrived in Shanghai after an epic series of flights from Kathmandu. We didn't know that our plane to Chendu was also stopping at Llasa where we had to get out, go through a security check, go through customs, go through another security check, then another security check, then get back on the plane for the onward flight to Chengdu, where we got off the plane, went through a security check, collected our luggage, went through another security check, checked in for our flight to Shanghai, went through another security check, then got on another plane to Shanghai. On arrival we went through 2 more security checks!! Talk about thorough.

We didn't arrive at Shanghai until 11.30 at night and because all the trains and buses from the airport stop running at 11pm we were in a bit of a quandry. The cost of a taxi into the city was 360Y which is quite expensive and then we had to find a hostel. Luckily, a guy at the airport booked us into a local hotel for 160Y with free taxi there and back to the airport in the morning. Of course, we were both waiting for the catch - but there wasn't one! Great hotel room, free taxi, no catch. Blimey!

In the morning we got the Maglev train from the airport into the city. It's the fastest magnetic train in the world. 431 kph. It took 7 minutes to get in to the city. By car it takes an hour. Very efficient! Shanghai is great! Really modern and clean and the metro system is very efficent. We found a great hostel and are going to explore later.

Chitwan, Nepal 10/4/08

Spent the morning giving the elephants a bath. This mainly consisted of me getting squirted with water and then being thrown in (the elephant does a bit of a wiggle and in you go..) and was really fun.

In the afternoon we went on an elephant safari in the park which was incredible. The elephant ride is not the most confortable as they have a very strange lumbering gait but they walk really quietly and because the animals are not afraid of them you can get really close.

We saw 11 rhino! I think that is a bit of a record as our guide kept saying how lucky we were. The group that went out in the morning didn't see any at all. We also saw a baby which was really cute.

We will be sorry to leave Chitwan as it is a beautiful place.

Chitwan, Nepal 9/4/08

This morning we moved hotels to be nearer to the river - our new room overlooks the river. Obviously, this has nothing to do with our hairy visitor last night.

We went on a canoe trip along the river and saw 2 big crocodiles and loads of birds. Then, we left the canoes and went walking through the jungle with our guide. It was quite hard going as the trees were very thick and when we went onto the grassland areas the grasses were about 5 feet high. It was very exciting though. Especially when our guide would suddenly go 'sshhh' and make and stand very still.

I was beginning to think that we wouldn't see anything when suddenly (whilst David and the guide were having a ciggie break) a huge samba deer the size of a horse shot across the bush. This was followed by a really deep bellow and a lot of stomping. The deer had disturbed a Rhino! Also worrying was the fact that it was only about 100m away and we hadn't heard or seen it up til that point!

We followed it through the grasses until we could get a good look at it - full face on and bloody massive - about 5-6 feet tall and built like, well, a rhino. It stood there looking at us for a few seconds and then turned around and thundered into the trees. Talk about scary. And they moved really fast for such a big animal.

On the way out of the jungle David managed to spot another one, but it was scared away before I caught a glimpse. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of the rhino as I was too busy desperately checking out the trees to see which ones I could climb if it charged to get a picture. Sorry!

p.s. when we described our spidy visitor to our guide his exact words were 'ohh very bad, poisionous, very bad'. Not very comforting - I'm glad we've moved hotels.

Chitwan, Nepal 8/4/08

Moved down to Chitwan for a visit to the National Park. It is very tropical here, not at all like we imagined it. It is at least 35 degrees and very humid. The town is quite small, very quiet and laid back and very pretty.

Just before we went to bed, David found an enormous black spider in our room which moved like a rocket! It was about the side of Davids palm and was very ugly and hairy. David did try to catch him in a glass (whilst I cowered on the bed) but failed so tried to bash him with his shoe but the spider was just too quick. In the end he disappeared and we convinced ourselves that he had fled through the open window. However, in the morning we discovered that he had spent the night hiding behind Davids trousers that were hanging on the wall. Urgghhh!

Pokhara, Nepal 6/4/08

Had our final day in Pokhara. Met up with Emily again who has been as an uplifting yoga retreat and is now off to do the Anapurna Base Camp trek. Had lovely dinner together and saw a big group of Tibetans making a candlelit procession of protest along the main street, led by a group of monks.

It was very dignified which made it very moving and powerful to watch.

We are very lucky that we can go home any time we want, unlike some in the world.

Paragliding, Pokhara, Nepal 5/4/08

Went Paragliding off the mountain outside Pokhara. It was a bit strange making yourself run off the edge of a mountain but the ride was fantastic.

The views were brilliant and we managed to get some really good thermals and got even higher than the jump off point.

David had to come down a bit early as some fast spinning by his instructor made him feel sick.

We glided alongside some Himalayan Griffins and a Kite which was amazing. They were only 20ft away from us.

We would definately recommend this (but don't have breakfast beforehand)

Rafting, Nepal 30/3 - 1/4/08

Had a fantastic time on the rafting trip.

There were 13 in our group. 3 Brits, 2 Americans, 2 Dutch, 1 German, 1 Portugese, 1 Nepali and 3 Bangladeshis. All very nice and lots of fun, especially the Bangladeshi guys.

We were in the blue team (we won every day) and had loads of laughs, got very wet, almost fell out a few times (Hork, one of the Bangladeshis fell out 5 times).

Our camps were on the sandy beaches by the side of the river. The tents were made by leaning the rafts on their sides and pulling a bit of tarpaulin over the top. Very nice to sleep in too.

The food on the trip was brilliant and prepared by our rafting instructors.

Had a swim in the river (cold), made campfires every night and on the last night the instructors made a drum from a barrel and sang us Nepali songs and made all the boys dance a Nepali dance. It was a really good trip.

We also saw lots of wildlife including vultures, griffins, monkeys and loads of birds.

The toilet was adequate if primative. A length of tarpaulin hung around 4 paddles stuck in the ground around a hole. The engaged sign was a rafting helmet on a paddle to let people know someone was in there.

All in all a great few days. Well worth it.

Pokhara, Nepal 29/3/08

Got up early and went to Serakot to watch the sun rise over the Himalayas. Very beautiful if a bit misty. Lots of other people there too.

In the afternoon we got a boat over to the other side of the lake and walked up to the Peace Pagoda with Emily, a really nice girl we met at our hotel. It was quite hard going and both of us girls looked really red and knackered by the time we got to the top.

We got back to the boat just as it started to rain and by the time we were almost over to the other side of the lake the wind was howling and the rain thundering down. It was only because our boatman knew what he was doing that we managed to get to the shore at all!

We were very wet but it was a bit of excitment!

Pokhara, Nepal 27/3/08

Went to Linda's first live football match at Pokhara stadium. Nepal v Pakistan (a friendly).

Only 50R to get in. Our seats were right on the front row in the middle of the pitch. (Although the seats were a bit hard (concrete)

The fans were very enthusiastic - lots of drumming and chanting and I think lots of swearing at the ref but I can't be sure.

Nepal lost 2-0, mainly because the Pakistani defense were a good head taller than any of the Nepalese players.

Pokhara, Nepal 24/3/08

Arrived in Pokhara after a 6.5hr bus ride through very spectacular views (including 6 crashed buses).

Pokhara is even more like an Alpine ski village. Got our first view of the Himalayas - they really do look like the pictures you see!

Wandered around town (12 miles in total) and booked ourselves a 3 day rafting trip down the Kali Gandeki river.

Hired bikes and did another 12 mile bike ride to Devi falls which were quite nice although they were a bit reduced as it's low season at the moment. Felt very smug after such excercise.

Watched a bit of a punch up between two locals in the street outside what we think is the local brothel (though it says 7/11 on the sign outside) nothing serious but quite amusing.

Kathmandu, Nepal 19/3/08

Hello from Nepal!

Arrived to find Kathmandu is bright, sunny and very warm. Not quite what we were expecting. Kathmandu is a bit like a skiing village.

Both had really lovely steak dinner which was great.

We love Nepal!

Wandered around Kathmandu for a couple of days and checked our Durbar Square which is the historical part of town and is a world heritage site.

There are lots of people throwing water bombs off the roofs of the buildings in preparation for the Holi Festival which is tomorrow (tomorrow they also throw paint). Linda got very wet as they seem to delight in targeting the western women. And they hurt when they hit you!

Stayed in on the actual day of the Holi Festival until late evening and just watched the mayhem from our hotel. Saw some great sights. Lots of multicoloured people wandering around!

Delhi, India 11/3/08

Went to the National Museum which was ok, booked our flights to Nepal ($110 each) and also applied for our Chinese visa - this was really easy except for trying to get a demand draft from a Delhi bank to pay for it - 6 queues, lots of smiles and confusion.

Spent the next few days doing nothing as Linda has bad Delhi Belly. But at least it's real Delhi Belly, in Delhi!

Delhi, India 10/3/08

Finally arrived in Delhi after our 11.30pm train was delayed for 6 hours! We spent the night on

Agra train station but met some really nice local lads who made the wait interesting.

After getting a bit of sleep and wandering around Paharganj (the backpacker area) for a bit we have discovered that we quite like Delhi.

Again, not what we were expecting.

Agra, India 8/3/08

Got up at 5 to watch the sun rise over the Taj (except that it rises to the left of the Taj) and discovered that it was misty. Never mind.

Had a walk around and looked at the tomb. It's very nice but mobbed.

Watched a great scam by an old guy. All the foreign tourists are given free disposable shoe covers to wear inside the tomb. After they have been in, everyone throws these away but the old guy takes them out of the bins and then sells them on to the Indian tourists for 10R a go (and even some clueless foreigners who haven't realised that they already have some) We watched hime for about half an hour and he was raking in a fortune. You have to admire his ingenuity.

Agra, India 7/3/08

Arrived in Agra to find that it wasn't as bad as we were expecting. Almost no hassles.

Went to Akbars Tomb (impressive), the Baby Taj (very good) and also went to view the Taj Mahal from the dry riverbed at the back of the Taj. The view is the same from every side, you just don't get lots of crowds at the back side.

Maybe because we were viewing from a lower angle, but it looked really huge and impressive.

Ranthambore National Park, India 4/3/08

Got the night train to Sawai Madhopur which is the nearest town to Ranthambore. Got no sleep on the train but did find the Hotel Pink Palace (Pink, but definately no palace).

Managed to get onto one of the afternoon safaris and managed to see a TIGER!!!, also saw crocodiles, a jackal, deer and loads of monkeys and birds. It was fantastic. Everything we hoped it would be.

Udaipur, India 28/2/08

Arrived in Udaipur after getting the night bus. Have discovered that Linda does not travel well in buses lying down!

We are staying in the Panorama Guesthouse which is in Hanumanghat which is nice and quite and only a walk across the bridge to the main town. Very nice. Udaipur is lovely. Not so much hassle and nice places to site and chill out.

Went to see Maharajas Vintage Car Collection which was great and very cheap.

Phoned home for Mothers Day and then felt very homesick.

Udaipur is now probably my favourite place in India. The lake is lovely and the town is lively. Just the right mix.

Jodhpur, India 27/2/08

Went to see the fort as David is now better. It was excellent. Only 250R including camera fee and a brilliant audio tour which told us loads about the history of the fort. This is the best value site we have been to in India and would recommend it to anyone.

Jodhpur, India 24/2/08

Arrived in Jodhpur after an interesting bus journey - We Crashed!

The bus hit an auto after trying to overtake a lorry that was overtaking the auto - standard practice in India. Luckily no one was hurt but lots of mayhem, onlookers, shouted phone called and arguing took place before we managed to get ourselves onto another bus heading for Jodhpur.

Jodhpur is the worst place we have been so far for hawkers, touts and hassles.

We have had to stay in the hotel for a few days as David had Delhi Belly, probably caught in Pushkar.

Pushkar, India 17/2/08

Arrived in Pushkar after a 3.5 hr journey (no sweat for us anymore).

It's very hippyish here with lots of 'travellers'. Nice friendly hotel with good shower (we don't ask for much any more) but no meat, the whole town is vegetarian.

Spent a few days wandering around town although theres not much to see, just the lake and one main street of shops selling clothes and incense etc.

Went on a great horse ride around the town in the dry riverbed. It was really quiet and peaceful and we saw quite a lot of wildlife.

We were both disappointed that we both managed to stay on our horses (we do have aching backsides though)

Jaipur, India 16/2/08

Went to the famous Raj Mandir cinema which is like a big cake. It was really plush. There are 3 types of tickets, standard, Ruby, Emerald and Diamond. We opted for Diamond which was 90R each. We got our own lobby and food stalls and reclining seats!

The film was called 'Sunday' and we thought it was great. We didn't understand a word but got the gist of the film easily enough, it was a thriller, crime, romantic comedy with dancing! What more could you want?

It was a great night out!

Jaipur, India 15/2/08

Finally in Jaipur after a 45 hour train journey (which was actually ok!). Took ages to find a hotel and had to walk around for and hour & half with our packs on. Did find a Pizza Hut though - lovely pepperoni!

Went to the City Palace which was really nice, lots to see there including the worlds larges silver objects (big pots) which were apparently taken over to London at the time of Queen Victorias coronation along with all the Maharajas other travel items!. A nice afternoon out.

Chilika Lake, India 11/2/08

Went to Chilika lake to see the Irawady Dolphins. The local bus journey there was crap but well worth it. We saw loads of dolphins and they came quite near to the boat. There are only about 500 left in the world and 90 of them live in this lake so we were very lucky.

I would like to apologise for the fact that the pictures are not very good, everytime one surfaced I was too slow to get the photo and only got a few decent pictures. Sorry!

David had discovered a new beer, Knock Out! Great name.

Konark, India 10/1/08

Went to Konark to see the Sun Temple which was beautiful. A really big and ornately carved temple (some of the carvings are very rude! - I of course, averted my eyes) . Unfortunately, it's not being very sympathetically restored so get there soon if you want to see it.

Met a really nice Scottish guy called Ian who had just got back from Pakistan and

Afghanistan! We had a good laugh and he and David had a fews beers.

Puri, India 8/2/08

Arrived in Puri after a 33.5 hour journey which was hell , or pretty close.

Our hotel is nice but Puri feels quite dirty. The beach is a massive stretch of white sand as far in either direction that you can see, quite spoilt by the fact that the local use it (literally) as a toilet. After the first 20 yards dodging the steaming piles, we decided to swerve the beach from now on.

It is also vegetarian here and we have found it quite hard to get any really nice food. Most is ok but not great.

Ajanta Caves, India 6/2/08

Arrived in Jalgaon after a mammoth 24hr train journey.

The Ajanta caves were fantastic. A hugely impressive collection of temples carved directly out of the cliff face. They were all in different states of repair and some were left half finished which gave you an idea of how they actually carved them. Amazing considering they are so old.

We spent ages walking around although half that time was taken up by having to pose with loads of school kids who wanted their photos taken with us - no idea why.

The journey there was quite interesting though. An entire hour driving along a road where every hundred yards there was someone with their pants down around their ankles having a shit. They weren't even trying to hide behind a bush or anything. David and I have named it Shit Alley. Not what you need at 7 in the morning!

Panjim, India 2/2/08

Went to Panjim for the day as we were both sick of the beach (can you believe it) and discovered that it is carnival day! Watched some fantastic floats and had a great time.

Got the local ferry back and then got motorcycle taxi's back to Baga (I know, Linda on a motorbike, and she said it would never happen)

Goa, India 26/1/08

Finally arrived in Goa after a huge journey from Ooty.

We had to get the steam train back down to Coonor, then a bus to Coimbatore, an auto from the bus station to the train station, then a train over to Calicut to get the train to Goa. Unfortunately, the second class section was all sold out so we had to do a 10.5 hr journey in 3rd class on hard seats. And it was packed. No sleep at all that night, and no toilet (I was almost overcome from the stench of the toilets every time the train slowed down), no food but lovely people who were very kind.

Went to Baga as we thought that was where John might have gone. Finally found him and we all went to the night market which was good.

Spent the next few days just lying around relaxing, eating English food, lovely puddings and walking along the beach.

We discovered a little beach cove just around the headland which only had one beach shack and a couple of sunbeds on it. Lovely and quiet.

Ooty, India 23/1/08

Got up at 6am to get the steam train to Ooty. We had real trouble getting tickets. The ticket inspector kept saying that there were no tickets available, although half the train seemed empty. Luckily, we were helped by an Indian couple on their honeymoon who hassled the inspector who then happened to discover that there were in fact about 20 first class tickets available. Funny that. And they only cost us 270R.

The journey was fantastic. The train was very slow and just wound its way up through the hills, through tea plantations and farmland and local villages.

On arrival at Ooty we opted for a little luxury after our few hard days travel and are staying at a restored plantation house, complete with and old Austin car parked permanently outside. Teak floors, open fireplaces in all the rooms and a power shower. We are in heaven!

Coimbatore, India 22/1/08

Got the train from Trivandrum to Coimbator which was 9.5 hours but ok.

Couldn't get a train to Mettapulayam where we get the steam train but got a rickshaw there instead.

Mettapulayam is a bit of a rough industrial town, a bit like Tilbury on a Saturday night. Full of unsavoury looking charactors and shifty looking geezers!

Trivandrum, India 21/1/08

Arrived back in India after a 6am bus ride to the airport. Poor David had to stand for 3 1/4 hours! He did get to sit down for the last 5 minutes though he he he.

Arrived back in India at 7.30pm and have to wait until tomorrow to catch the train.

Had great Masala Dosa for 25R.

Kandy, Sri Lanka 20/1/08

Went to the Botanical Gardens with Brook and Lorraine, two girls from our hotel. The gardens are massive and take at least a whole day to walk round. David spent the whole day looking for the Mahogany trees which we eventually found 15 minutes before the park shut. And they just looked like trees...

Our hotel tried to con us over the bill which was a shame as we had enjoyed it there. Dave sorted it though.