Wonder of the wall

I was sad to say goodbye to some of the group after a week's travelling round in such a crazy fashion. Celia, my roommate and I hung out with Nicole and Charlotte, a couple from Kent, most of the time. Poor old Celia got the nickname 'Simples 250' as she often didn't pay attention to all the information and would then ask questions about what time we were meeting or where we were going! If you call someone 250 in Chinese it means you are calling them stupid. She took it on the chin.

The last night altogether was spent downing beers and singing karaoke. Charlotte had already demonstrated her talent on the first night but I missed it after being virtuous and going to bed early at the time. We sang a few songs and were entertained and embarassed in equal measure by Tom, a very pissed Irishman who no on could understand - drunk or sober - as he had such a strong accent. His rendition of Roxanne was really never to be repeated (or heard in the first place for that matter).

Once the remaining ten from the group were assembled and joined by three new couples we set off for the Chinese seaside where the wall starts from the coast. It was very random as there were a fair few tourists and even a very old pier that was actually a temple. They didn't sell sticks of rock but they had lots of shops selling things for two yuen (about 20p). A bargain hunters delight.

Being further away from the big cities did mean that we had to contend with plenty of staring, and the Chinese really make no bones about being rude. We had to walk to the supermarket at the end of the day and get some supplies for the rest of the week and I have to admit that I asked Zelda if she wanted to go together as I didn't feel comfortable walking by myself. It was only ten mins from the hotel!

The rest of the week was spent visiting various sections of the wall in various locations, some stunning mountain scenes with the wall snaking along as far as the eye could see. Some parts of the wall really were pretty hairy, scrambling up loose rubble with nothing to hold on to and a sheer drop either side. I didn't expect the wall to be quite so steep everywhere, there really were no flat bits whatsoever. We all got a bit sick of steps.

Again it was lots of travelling around, not staying anywhere for long and we did experience some very basic accommodation. But we knew to expect that. Still, a hot shower and a soft bed was all we longed for at times. The two final locations before returning to Beijing were fantastically close to the wall though and we stayed in garrison-style buildings with the wall as our backdrop.

The second to last night we went to one of our guides house and shop for dinner cooked by his lovely wife. With the wall high up on the mountain behind us, we drank beer and firewater and sampled his wife's cooking, which was superb. Phil, other half of Carole, both of which I spent most of my time with in the second week and got on really well with, enjoyed the fire water a little too much and lost the power of speech and the use of his legs by the end of the evening!

By the end of the whole trip I was in dire need of a bit of a rest so Shanghai was a good respite. I really could live in Shanghai and loved the vibe of the city. It helped that Lone took me round and showed me all the lush places. I always much prefer a city when you experience it how a local does. We didn't do too many touristy things but did get one of the sightseeing buses in the drizzly weather. Most of the time was spent walking around, admiring the architecture and sampling the delicious food. There were times when I craved a bit of independence and doing my own thing but it was lovely to spend time with Lone, she's so knowledgeable about the local life and challenges you face as an expat.

So now I'm in Sydney, staying in my first hostel. Which doesn't seem too shabby so far. Two girls in my dorm have been making me laugh with phone calls to a local salon to get their eyelash extensions redone and a spray tan. But they're very sweet.

Have spent the day wandering around shopping for a few more winter bits and bobs - it seems freezing cold out here, something about an arctic wind - and trying to recover from lack of sleep after my night flight. I headed out to the harbour for a light festival that's been going on. The opera house looked fantastic with all sorts of creations being shone on its exterior. There was also a pyrotechnics display to music on the other side that kept the tourists entertained for a while. I keep thinking I'm not going to be swept away by somewhere that I've already been or seems so like home but everywhere I go I never cease to be amazed in one way or another.

This doesn't feel like the most exciting blog post but I must be too tired or just trying to catch up on being a bit behind over the last few weeks.

I'm sure I'll be back to my sparkly self tomorrow! Until then...