Rosie & Jim's Travel Blog

A blog of all our travels

  |     |   China 2009   |   Tibet, Lhasa
Today we had a half day tour at the Jokhang Monastery and Barkhor Street market. When we arrived at the Monastery, it was raining, but there were still numerous pilgrims outside prostrating for the end of suffering to all beings. There was no time limit on the tour of this Monastery, but it only houses about 110 monks so it isn’t all that big. The Monastery had an thick air of Juniper smoke and many pilgrims were filling butter lamps and reciting mantras as they walked around. From the roof of the Jokhang Monastery, there was an amazing view of the Potala Palace, only slightly dampened by the rain. Once we left the Monastery, we visited the Barkhor Street market, which lines the streets all...

  |     |   China 2009   |   Tibet, Lhasa
We met Jocelyn (our guide) at 0930 in the hotel lobby so that we were able to get to the Potala Palace ticket office in time for our 1020 appointment. If we missed the appointment, we wouldn’t be allowed into the Palace. Another odd rule at the Potala Palace is that no liquids can be carried into the building, and all bags are scanned on the way in. Very much like airport security. The Palace is a very imposing building, with it’s brilliant white parliament buildings, and the deep red religious buildings that once housed the Dalai Lama and his advisors. Due to the altitude, the hike upto the ticket office was a lot more difficult than it should have been. Once we had the...

  |     |   China 2009   |   Tibet, Lhasa
Had an early flight from Beijing to Lhasa this morning. Left the hotel just before 0400. After at the aiport very early because the hours taxi ride only lasted 30mins and left the hotel early. On arrival in Lhasa there was no security checks because it was a domestic flight. We were met by our new guide and driver just outside the airport. We were very tired from the flight, and the altitude (3700m) didn’t help one bit, so we spent the afternoon relaxing/sleeping in the hotel room. Our second day in Lhasa was also fairly uneventful as it was an acclimatisation day. We walked around the town for a bit, picked up a Chinese SIM card so we can keep in contact with our...

  |     |   China 2009   |   China, Beijing
Took a relaxed approach to our last day in Beijing to recover from the Three Nations Expedition. Went to visit Peter Danford, who told us about a good restaurant, and a good place to get camera memory cards. Walked through Ritan Park and had lunch where Peter recommended. Visited “Buy Now” electronics market and picked up some new memory cards. Headed back to the hotel where we checked into our new rooms - Deluxe Suites :). Our tickets for the remainder of the trip had arrived, so we were relieved as we fly out early tomorrow morning. This post will be expanded when we have time, just trying to get back up to date.

  |     |   Three Nations
We have had limited internet access recently due to being very busy with the Three Nations expedition, and not staying in hotels for the last couple of nights. Now that the Three Nations expedition has come to a close, we hope to be able to get all the updates on over the next few days. This will include a full breakdown of what we did whilst in Mongolia and Beijing, and probably what we did in Tibet by the time we catch up, however we will endeavour to keep the pictures up to date so you can all see where we have been and what we have been up to. Hope all is well back home.

  |     |   Three Nations   |   China, Beijing
Woke up to a heavy dew, so sleeping bags a little damp. Packed up our kit and by 0630 we were on our way to Simitai, 30 watchtowers (6 miles) along the wall. Incredible day, amazing views. Everything we imagined. Once off the wall, had lunch and headed back to Beijing. Sorted the kit for Richard to take back to the UK with him and went out for a final farewell Peking Duck dinner, where we also met the owner of the company that ran all the tours in Beijing. Said goodbye to the rest of the group as they were due to leave the hotel at 4am the next morning. This post will be expanded when we have time, just trying to get back...

  |     |   Three Nations   |   China, Beijing
Train arrived in Beijing at about 0715. Headed to KFC for breakfast then visited the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs. Continued on to Jinshangling to the Great Wall. Walked up to the wall to see the sunset before dinner. Not that impressive because it was so cloudy. After dinner, headed back up to the wall to sleep. This post will be expanded when we have time, just trying to get back up to date.

  |     |   Three Nations   |   China, Xi'an
Arrived in Xi’an about 08:00, taken straight to restaurant for breakfast. Turns out Xi’an is in the Sichuan province so almost all dishes contained chillies! Visited the Terracotta Warriors and the musuem, then retired to the tea house where we tried a wide variety of different teas with various health benefits. Afternoon took us to the hot springs, which are just like Roman Baths in an elaborate garden. After a buffet dinner we got back on the train for the trip back to Beijing. This post will be expanded when we have time, just trying to get back up to date.

  |     |   Three Nations   |   China, Beijing
Today was a rest day in anticipation of our night train to Xi’an. Checked out of the hotel and stowed baggage in left luggage room. Then headed out to the silk market to do a bit more shopping. Picked up some Chinese style silk shirts, and had the silk tailors make up some book covers out of off cuts for us. Heavy rain greated us back at the hotel, so got a bit wet on the walk to the bus to the train station. We had soft sleepers for the journey to Xi’an which was due to last 11 hours. This post will be expanded when we have time, just trying to get back up to date.

  |     |   Three Nations   |   China, Beijing
Today was due to be a very busy day because we were visiting lots of sites all in one go. We started the day at Jingshan Park which was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. The top of the park was the highest point in Beijing at a whopping 89m above sea level! We walked through the park and into the North gate of the Forbidden City. At this point we had a little introduction to the City and then split up to explore ourselves. A few of us used our heads and stuck with the guide was a better tour ;). Once we reached the exit, we were hurried through to a restaurant for another buffet lunch. On leaving the restaurant, Rob realised...