Bargain

Day 40: Guilin (CN) - Yangshuo. “Two people, two bags. 30 Yuan. No more”, Karen insisted as if she were a local. The ticket seller nodded reluctant agreement and gestured for us to put our bags in the hold as the driver started the engine of the rickety old service bus.

Travelling in China, you can't help but relax, because everything takes so long. Buying a bus ticket for example – back home the price is the price; you pay the money and off you go. Here on the other hand, this simple task can lead to a protracted and articulated negotiation, so much so that we had just spent the last 15 minutes arguing over the equivalent of £1 Cracking sport though!

Climbing the steps on to the bus, the air was heavy with stale tobacco smoke as all public transport tended to be in China. So entwined into the culture is smoking that the act of refusing a cigarette can actually be a great insult to your host – which little faux pas, I managed to commit back in Chongqing, prior to learning this little nugget of cultural etiquette. My excuse that I didn't smoke, clearly was not a good enough reason not to have cigarette and for a moment, I thought I would encounter the full wrath of the Triads!

Arriving at Yangshuo, we were mobbed by hawkers trying to entice us to the many hostels and hotels. Luckily, we stumbled on the fantastic 'West Lily Hotel' proving that the adage 'You get what you pay for' is not always true. Easily, the best accommodation we had encountered so far on our journey, and at £3 a night for an en- suite room, also the cheapest. Bargain.

Chalk & Cheese

Day 39: Wuhan (CN) – Guilin (CN). After almost 40 days into our adventure Karen and I had already learned a tremendous amount from our experiences. We had learned about travelling; learned about different people and cultures and learned about ourselves. I already knew for instance, that when our journey was over I wanted to continue living my life by the 'Travellers Philosophy', and that philosophy states “If it isn't working for you then change it and if changing it is not within your gift, then you shouldn't have been worrying about it in the first place!”. Today, proved an excellent application of our learnings.

After the frustrations of the previous day; the herding, the commercialism, the crowds and the cold we decided to change what we were doing and go back to what we knew best – travelling simply, independently and magically. Chalk & Cheese.

Chinese trains run four classes of accommodation and to help us get 'back to our travelling roots' we opted for a 'Hard Sleeper' (2nd class) ticket for the 15 hour journey down to Guilin. With this class, the carriages are arranged as an an open dormitory with about 70 bunk beds, giving us a chance to get to meet some new people on the way. We were soon taking to Lou-Lou a 25 year old Chinese lady who was making the trip south for a 'girlie' weekend with some of her colleagues from work. Seeming as genuinely interested in our story as we were in hers, one of the things she wanted to know was how my almost 6 foot frame was going to fit into the 5' 6” Chinese bunks! (the answer to that was it didn't and I slept all night with my ankles and feet hanging off the end of the bed!)

Stopping at Xianning, the station platform was awash with people trying to board a train bound for Shanghai. From our carriage window we looked across into the standard Hard Seat carriages of the train, jammed packed to overflowing – the lucky ones who had actually managed to secure one of the seats; but most people standing;, animals, birds in cages; it had the lot! “How long will those people have to stand like that”, inquired Karen. “To Shanghai”, Lou-Lou responded, “About 22 hours”. Never again will I complain if I can't get a seat between Kings Cross and Finsbury Park!

Gorged Out

Day 38: Wushan (CN) – Wuhan (CN). Sometimes travelling can be hard work. Even when you living your life's dream you can still get those days when you think to yourself “There has to be a better way”, For me, today was one of those days.

Since we had been in China, people had told us about the beautiful riverine panorama of the Three Gorges and having reached Wushan by passenger ship, the only way that we now could find to view the Yangzi River's most fabled piece of geology was by joining one of the many organised tourist trips that sailed the gorges. Not just your average tourist trip though – this was a particularly tacky tourist trip in contrast to the way we wanted to travel. This form of travelling involved being herded through the sights without time for contemplation, it meant buying souvenirs rather than taking away lifetime memories, and it meant noise and crowds rather than peace and tranquillity. And on top of all of this, I was cold again! Even though we were at a latitude similar to that of the Canary Islands, the temperature was only just above freezing, a cold wind was blowing and I was back to wearing my thermals and my woolly hat.

But despite my annoyance and my resulting bad mood, nothing could dilute the outright natural beauty of the Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorges. Rising dramatically into view, their cliffs jutting out in jagged and triangular chunks rising to just under 3,000 feet tall; the peaks often disappearing into the ethereal layers of mist. Even with the constant plugs to 'buy the DVD' this made for an incredible experience.

Things got a little better over dinner though and I even managed to crack a smile. Sitting with a group of Chinese people on holiday from Beijing, they were concerned as to the whereabouts of our Tour Guide. When we explained that we didn't have a guide and we had travelled independently from England they appeared quite shocked. Their perception of 'foreigners' was they only ever travel in groups and always with a tour guide!

Slow Boat

Day 37: Chongqing (CN) – Wushan (CN). For the same reasons that Karen and I had come to love travelling by train; boat travel offered the same stimulating and relaxingly adventure; the same change of perspective and pace. Only slower.

Perched on a couple of old plastic chairs just below the bridge of the Su Lie, Karen and I had the perfect vantage point to while away the morning and watch the scenery unfold as the passenger ship that was to be our home for the next couple of days, carefully navigated her way along the world's third and China's longest river. Huge modern cities, grimy towns, quaint villages, rice fields and mountain vistas, the Yangzi had them all. With the serenity and gentle motion of the ship, I closed my eyes to take a nap only to be rudely awakened by a long blast on the ships horn as another vessel crossed our bows. As with the roads in China, the rivers suffer the same levels of congestion as barges, cargo boats, passenger ships, cruise liners, pleasure craft and traditional fishing boats all vie for position.

As the boat meandered it's path along the river we made shore at Fengdu. As with the rest of China we were warmly welcomed, although as the only westerners aboard, we continued to provide a source of entertainment to the locals.

Taking our opportunity on dry land to browse the market stalls, Karen's eye was caught by a rather fetching cashmere jumper. Disappointed by the fact she didn't have it in Karen's size, the trader disappeared for a few minutes only to return with the same oversized jumper but this time with a different label denoting the size sown into it! Whether you call that superb customer service, opportunism or fraud – you've got to admire it.

Hotpot

Day 36: Xi'an (CN) – Chongqing (CN). “Are you hot enough now?”, Karen enquired. Unable to speak, I simply nodded; beads of perspiration dripping from my brow, my eyes watering from the heat. But the source of my discomfort wasn't due to any meteorological phenomenon, it was down to our choice of lunch – Chongqing Hotpot; quite simply the spiciest dish I had every tasted!

Travelling through the night on the sleeper train from Xi'an, we awoke thoroughly refreshed after an excellent nights sleep thanks to the marvellous service provided on the Chinese trains; punctual, clean, inexpensive and efficient. Pulling the curtains back from the window, the sun streamed into our compartment and we gazed out on a very different China from the one that we had left in Xi'an. This was the China of high mountains, terraced rice fields, palm trees and small villages. Stunningly beautiful.

Arriving in Chongqing, we met up with a guy named 'John'', recommended to us by the hostel in Xi'an. He had managed to secure us a passage on a Chinese passenger ship, going as far as Yichang - 400 miles downstream on the mighty Yangzi River. From there we should be able to get a bus to Wuhan taking us in to the heart of the Hubei province.

So with the boat not sailing until much later that evening we had the whole day to acquaint ourselves with Chongqing, and in particular it's famous fiery dish that had caused me so much discomfort. Born on the banks of the Yangzi, Chongqing Hotpot was originally eaten by poor boatmen and is similar to a fondue only the cooking broth is heavily laced with fresh whole chillies and Sichuan spices. Such is the heat of this dish that we as 'soft westerners' were advised to dip our food in an infusion of sesame oils and garlic to take some of the heat out. Even with our 'wimps' cop out, the flavour of this food was mouth numbingly, eye wateringly, tongue blisteringly hot and so I shudder to think what the heat would be like if you opted for eating it the 'hard' Sichuan way!

Identity Parade

Day 35: Xi'an (CN). “Oh, for a moment I thought those two were the same”, I said, trying to feign disappointment, “But if you look very closely, that ones moustache is slightly longer then the other ones and his hair is brushed a little differently”. I had to concede defeat: The archaeologists were right. There were 8,000 life size Terracotta Warriors stood before us and each one one had been lovingly crafted to be unique. Each one had its own individual facial expression – you could even say its own personality. Absolutely unbelievable!

It was my birthday, and this was the best birthday present I could ever have wished for. The opportunity to see first hand the remarkable excavations that had been uncovered in the eastern outer suburbs of Xi'an. Started in 246 BC, the army was crafted for, and buried with the the First Emperor of Qin to help him rule another empire in the afterlife. It is said that a workforce of some 700,000 worked on the construction of Qin's mausoleum over a period of about 35 years, many of which were executed and buried alongside the emperor so that their secrets would never be told.

Just like our visit to the Great Wall a few days previously, nothing could have prepared us for these sights. Sure, we'd seen the pictures in books and on the TV before we arrived, but it was the sheer scale of these sights that was really knocking our socks off.

In keeping with the day's theme, dinner and drinks were at the Park Qin, a Terracotta Army themed bar where a Chinese version of Eric Clapton belted out 'Wonderful Tonight' in between the piped Country & Western music whilst we were looked over by life-size terracotta statues wearing beanies, shades and sporting wispy beards. I know what you're thinking...but in a strange kind of way, it actually seemed to work (or maybe I had just had one too many birthday beers!) As 'Eric' took a break, I caught up with my emails and was completely overwhelmed by the kind words and birthday wishes I had received from our friends all over the world. And then I got to thinking – if only those people could have been with us that evening – then it would have been the best birthday ever imaginable.

So guys, if anyone fancies a Chinese - I know a super place, just off the South Gate. If you could join us, it really would be Wonderful Tonight!

Day 35: Total Mileage to Date: 9,171: Number of Time Zones Crossed: 9; Number of Countries Visited: 8; Number of Transport Modes Used: 17, Maximum Temperature Encountered: +15C, Minimum Temperature Encountered: -32C.

Travelling Dilemmas

Day 34: Xi'an (CN). In the days before Karen and I decided to place our careers on hold to enhance our quality of life and to fulfil our travelling dreams, I used to be a successful manager for a major international retailer. One of the things I used to preach to my team was the premise that 'the only bad decisions they could was to not make a decision'. And here I sat – hesitating, floundering, procrastinating! I just didn't know what to do next.

Karen and I were chilling out on the well worn but comfortable sofas of the excellent Shuyan Hostel. Having made the move south to Xi'an in the search of warmer weather we were now trying to work out where to go next and had enlisted the help of some of our fellow travellers: “Go to Chengdu – you'll be able to hike the mountains to see the panda's”, one of our friends suggested. “No, Lhasa's were it's at – you can ride the highest railway on earth – 5,000 meters up!”, said another. “I wouldn't bother with that – Lijiangs is the place for travellers – head for the province of Yannan”, added a third.

The truth of the matter is China is such a massive country. You can quite easily travel this spectacular, culturally diverse country for a year or so and still end up wanting to see more. With all the opportunities that lay before us, we were in danger of falling in to our old habits and manically racing around to cover as much territory as possible. Fortunately Karen pulled us back from the brink, “Don't forget it's about quality not quantity”, she said with a smile. Of course she was right – this trip was about taking time to understand the people and the culture and we could only do that if we took it nice and easy.

At that moment, I also remembered David's 2nd law of management: 'If you're unsure of what to do – trust your gut instinct'. Earlier in our travels, Karen and I had talked of following a route through China that meandered around a line we had drew on the map connecting Beijing to Hanoi. So that would be our route. This time around there would be no pandas, no mountain railways and no travellers Mecca. But it didn't really matter. From what we had seen of China so far every bit was amazing - every town a fascinating experience, every person a source of enlightenment.

Karen shifted around on the sofa to face the travel desk. “We've decided now”, she said to the incredibly patient JieJie. “Two soft sleepers on the overnight train to Chongquing on Monday. Bottom bunks if you can get them, please”.

Wobble over. Our travelling plans were back on track.