Day 303 September 7th 2007, Tweet tweet - Bharatpur


A little know fact about Shelley is that she is a bit of a twitcher, she doesn't carry round the traditional bird spotting equipment, binoculars, notepad, bird book etc but if there's birds in the area we'll be going to see them. In Bharatpur there is a huge wetland park home to thousands of native and migratory birds.

The best way to explore is by bicycle, Indian bicycle that is. Riding this sort of bike requires some co ordination when steering. The handlebars are so close in that if your leg which corresponds to the direction in which your turning is up, it collides with the handlebar sending you in the opposite direction. With sites on the park map such as python point I didn't want to be taking any detours off the path.


In addition to the smiling antelope above we did see some amazing birds including several species of Kingfisher, Woodpecker, Bee Eaters, Herons, Parakeets and some sleeping owls. The park was also full of Turtles, which you could even see fighting over food in the middle of the ponds.


Back at our home stay you can see Shelley relaxing in the courtyard with the India travel guide. Below is the view from the roof of the village around the hotel


Highlights: Amazing wildlife

Day 302 September 6th 2007, India's most famous - Delhi to Agra to Bharatpur


Shelley has a notion that unless we travel the hard way we have somehow cheated. After seeing some of the buses on India's roads I was not in agreement with this. I also didn't hear any complaints as we set off with our Driver and car towards Agra, home of India's most famous landmark the Taj Mahal.


The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, a combination of Persian, Indian and Turkish styles. This magnificent building was built in 1648 by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his wife. It took about 12 years to complete with 1,000 elephants carrying material from all over India, the cost 32 million rupees about 400,000 UK pounds. Quite a sum of money in the 17th century.


The building is certainly very impressive. After seeing so may pictures of it I wonder what the impact would be seeing a sight like this for the first time, never having seen a photo or TV coverage of it. I had volumising moose in my hair again today and forgetting my sun glasses I could hardly open my eyes with the mid day sun blazing down on us.


After convincing our tour guide that we didn't want to buy any carpets we were on our way into Rajasthan and the small town of Bharatpur.On route we stopped off at the ghost city of Fatephur, which was the capital of Mughal India from 1571 to 1581. Built during the reign of Akbar the Great it had one design flaw there was no access to water. I guess a few Roman aqueducts would have been useful.


Shelley had chosen a set of Heritage hotels and home stays for our trip. I was starting to get a little concerned as we approached Bharatpur, cows and other farm animals blocked the roads as they turned to mud. The small brick houses with thatched roofs that made up the village were certainly interesting, but I was glad when we turned the corner and saw the hotel, a large building with walls.

Highlights: India's most famous tourist attraction.

Day 301 September 5th 2007, Not so old - Delhi


To complete our tour of Delhi we took in the sights in whats know as New Delhi. A display of some impressive Indian architecture starting with Humayans Tomb. This complex of building with the predecessor to the Taj Mahal (above) was built by Humayns senior wife as a memorial to the Mughal leader in the 16th century. The architecture used here was refined over the years to later become the blueprint for the Taj Mahal.


India gate (above) is a 42m high memorial to the 90,000 Indian soldiers that gave their lives during WW1. It was exceptionally hot today so we only managed to spend a few minutes here before dashing back to the air conditioned car, our driver needed constant asking to turn the cooling on. He was convinced that it was better to stay hot then go from hot to cold all the time, valid I'm sure but I think he was just trying to save on fuel.



Perhaps the most famous Indian of all time in Gandhi. Here in Delhi you can visit the house where he spent his last 144 days before being assassinated. Above is the footpath showing the path he was taking to the lawn where he prayed and below is the place where he was shot down,his last words "Oh God" There's a fantastic exhibition here detailing his life and achievements.

On display are the few possessions he owned and the very simplistic room where he stayed. Gandhi's image can be found on each denomination of India's currency notes, the rupee.


After a month in China I was starting to find the food pretty bland, if I count the curry I had on the flight its 3 currys in 3 days and no sign of any blandness. Our home stay hosts Pervez and Lubna put on a fantastic feat for us. Lubna once started on a Channel 4 Indian cookery show. The food was fantastic and I had quite a bit of trouble getting up the 3 flights of stairs to our room.


Highlights: The life and achievements of Gandhi and some fantastic Indian cookery

Day 300 September 4th 2007, Troublesome kids - Delhi


Our tour of India started today with a visit to Old Delhi, first stop the red fort which was built in 1648. Its builder Shah Jahan was in the process of moving the capital city from Agra to Delhi, planning to set up in the red fort. Before he got to Delhi he was deposed by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort. Makes the occasional back chat I gave my parents as a kid seem trivial. Above: A crow checks out the news. Below: The entrance to the fort.




If we had just arrived from the UK I'm sure that the narrow bustling streets of Old Delhi would have been overwhelming, especially as we toured them on a pedal rickshaw. After being in South East Asia before hand we were ready for the experience. The streets with their rows and rows of shops, many no bigger than a broom cupboard, were full of color. Much of which was from the very vibrant saris and turbans worn by the locals.


Highlights: Colorful Old Delhi

Day 299 September 3rd 2007, Not quite a direct route - Beijing to Delhi via Kuala Lumpur


Today's flight took us to Kuala Lumpur airport for the 4th time, if it didn't look like pretty much every modern airport in the World I could claim to recognise it. After eating almost one of everything in Starbucks we were on our way again, this time to Delhi in India. The flight via KL although twice as long is about 25% the price of a direct flight from Beijing to Delhi.
Upon arrival I was as with our arrival in Cambodia expecting lots of hassle, like Cambodia and to my surprise there wasn't any. No queues at immigration, our bags turned up quickly and our driver was there to meet us.
Shelley once again did us proud with accommodation and we checked into a lovely and very comfortable home stay.
Highlights: A decent sandwich at KL airport

Day 298 September 2nd 2007, Great no tourists - Beijing


Today we revisited the Great Wall, our first visit a month ago was nice but the section of wall we visited was close to Beijing and full of tourists. We felt as though we hadn't quite seen it at its best. The taxi ride to Jinshaling took about 3 hours and was well worth it. The long journey is probably took much for most people and we found the wall deserted apart from a few toughened travellers.


From Jinshaling you can walk 10km along the wall to Simatai. It was exceptionally hot and as the wall follows the mountain ridge line quite tough. Every now and again you would come across a drink seller who in addition to water would try and sell us beer. I didn't even bother to ask if it was cold. We were fine for refreshment as Shelley had filled my rucksack up as usual with enough water to survive in the desert for a month.



The views were stunning and we were constantly pausing to take photos. At the end of the walk you can choose to trek about a mile to the car park or take the zip line.


It would have been very James Bond expect for Shelley managing to scream all the way down. She was showing no such signs of distress though when desert turned up in the evening.


We met up again with Mum and Dad in that very Chinese of restaurants TGIs. Great once again to catch up and share stories of their trip so far.


Highlights: Fantastic trek along the great wall and of course dinner with the parents

Day 297 September 1st 2007, Meet the Parents - Beijing

The train rolled into Beijing just after 7AM, we managed a good nights sleep but were still blurry eyed as we tried to find a taxi, after checking out the taxi queue which looked like the great wall we made do with the subway. Given the size of Beijing its surprising that it only has 3 subway lines.

The first hotel we tried to check into told us we couldn't check in as we weren't Chinese, strange as we stayed here only a month ago. "we are only allowed to let Chinese people stay here, the police told us no foreigners" the receptionist told us. Ah ok so the buildings about to fall down and its not something you want on the international news with the Olympics coming up.

Checking into another sturdier hotel round the corner we relaxed for a few hours before venturing to a nearby McDonalds, yep after a month I don't want to see another Chinese meal for a while.

Now the exciting part of the day, my Mum and Dad arrived in Beijing this afternoon for a 2 week tour of China. Both myself and Shelley were very excited as we met them at their grand hotel. Shelley met her future inlaws and showed off the engagement ring. It was great to catch up and we chatted until the bar had closed. A bit strange though seeing your parents in China though.

Highlights: Meeting up with Mum and Dad fantastic

Day 296 August 31st 2007, A dash - Putuoshan to Shanghai to Beijing


Until now we had been taking it pretty easy travelling around China, allowing plenty of time to get from one place to another and never travelling too far in one go. Well with my parents arriving in Beijing tomorrow and no clean clothes to wear we undertook an epic journey to get back to Beijing and scrub up.

Things were going smoothly, the 4 hour boat and bus ride to Shanghai was on time and we managed to find a cab to take us to the train station quite easily. An hour later and we had gone 3km in the taxi, the traffic in Shanghai is something else. Once again I seemed to know where we were better than the taxi driver and eventually directed him to a metro station, from where after a sweaty 20 minutes we arrived at Shanghai train station. A train station with no apparent entrance, so more sweating and shouting before we found the entrance just minutes before our overnight train started boarding.

After claiming our bunks for the night we were pleased to find that the overnight Z class trains were quite civilised, 4 bunks = 4 people for once. After eating the bananas that Shelley had grabbed as we ran through the train station, we ventured to the buffet car. Our expectations were totally exceeded, the service and food was great.

Highlights: My deodorant holding out

Day 295 August 30th 2007, I'm still not sure this is China - Putuoshan


Being a sacred mountain island there are plenty of sacred things to explore, beaches, temples and even sacred caves. A delightful set of fountains makes a tranquil setting in the village. The island is pretty easy to explore with mini buses that zoom you around for a few Yuan.


As you can see there are great views along the coast, after taking these in we made our way to the top of the island. Being lazy these days we opted for the cable car option.


Below: A view over 1000 step beach


In addition to not doing any cleaning at our hotel it appears that they also don't do any cooking. Although we were presented with a long menu at dinner, only the 3 dishes we ate last night were available, oh and of course warm beer.

Highlights: Glorious island sightseeing

Day 294 August 29th 2007, Is this China? - Hangzhou to Putuoshan


A bus and ferry ride away from Shanghai is the scared island of Putoushan, like Wutai Shan its one of the 4 sacred mountains of Buddhism in China. It also has to be the quietest place in China. We were one of only a few guests in our hotel which could accommodate hundreds, the slow trade didn't seem to have afforded them the time to clean the carpets.


A few minutes walk from our hotel was 1000 step beach, this really didn't feel like China at all apart from people asking to have their picture taken with Blondie. They did of course ask for a photo with "the gentleman" afterwards. I guess having a birds nest of brown hair isn't that unique in China.


Highlights: Getting away from it all for the first time in China

Day 293 August 28th 2007, West Lake - Hangzhou


The best way to explore the lake shores by bike, although their are plenty of Parkies stopping you from riding on the pedestrian footpaths that border the lake. Marco Polo visited here in the 13th century and proclaimed the city as "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world" he also exaggerated that the city contained 12,000 stone bridges and was over 100 miles in diameter. I think that things have changed over the years as the city is a concrete dump but the lake is still charming and very well maintained.


The Chinese love playing games, you often see groups of people crowded round a game of chequers on street corners.


Above: The worlds largest water buffalo painted himself gold before taking a dip in the lake.


Above: Shelley poses on one of the many stone bridges around the lake


Above: One of the many picturesque parks surrounding the lake. Below: Well you wouldn't lend tourists bikes that look cool would you?


Highlights: Stunning views around the West Lake

Day 292 August 27th 2007, Anyone know the way? - Shanghai to Hangzhou


Bus travel in China has been a lot more civilised that I had expected, today's short journey from Shanghai to Hangzhou was no exception. The taxi ride from the station to the hotel should win our taxi driver the wooden spoon award. Hangzhou is not a big city by Chinese standards and there are only a few hotels located on the West lake, for which the city is famous. It would therefore be safe to assume that given the name, address and directions to the hotel in Chinese that the driver would be able to find it, ok surely showing him the map would help. After a while I had a better idea of where we were than he did, the mystery of why this guy was so useless was eventually solved, he put his glasses on.

Our youth hostel style accommodation by the lakeside was pretty chilled out, the beer was warm but then it usually is in China. As there were no restaurants within walking distance, having had enough of taxis we tucked into the Chinese equivalent of a pot noodle.

Highlights: Fine Chinese cuisine

Day 291 August 26th 2007, Old pots - Shanghai


I'm not really a big fan of museums, there are some notable exceptions when it comes to Natural History or Science but when culture or history is involved I switch off. I can already tell you before I even go into such a museum what it will contain.

Pottery - old non descript pots followed by generations of more advanced pottery, gradually gaining in color and complexity

Clothes - old and dull leading to new and dull

Weaponry - sticks and spears, followed by bows and arrows then swords, some old muskets alongside some local ornamental weapons

Money - bronze, silver and then gold coins followed by notes that decrease in size the newer they are

Aren't I clever, anyway Shelley on the other hand loves to pour over the exhibits and their descriptions. So after a 10 minute scroll I agree to wait paitently outside, watching the fans of old pots and clothes go by as I catch up on emails with the blackberry. The Shanghai museum although historical is very well done, I did spend more than 10 minutes in the money exhibition, largely due to having it all explained by a video that was playing in there. One particular old pot (above) did catch my eye but I couldn't find a replica for sale in the gift shop.


After a bit more exploring we checked out the Pudong skyline by night, the Oriental Pear Tower on the left stands out at 468m high.


Highlights: Shanghai skyline by night

Day 290 August 25th 2007, Bigger and better than Beijing - Shanghai


I was pleasantly surprised by Shanghai, I was expecting another smog covered Beijing. Instead with its leafy suburbs, its waterside financial center which is faced across the water by the colonial buildings of the Bund, Shanghai actually is a modern city with a pleasant atmosphere and some culture. Where Beijing had its concrete eyesores Shanghai boasts some impressive skyscrapers that would not be out of place in the Hong Kong Skyline. Shanhai is China's largest city with 18million residents, making it the 7th largest in the World, Tokyo is the largest with 35million residents. London with 8.5million is 25th.


Interconnecting the Bund with Pudong (financial district) is whats know as the tourist tunnel. Expecting a walkway I was surprised to find a ride through a tunnel of lights that would be more in tune with the Epcot center. With the city full of expats and high value industries the hotels were more upmarket by this I mean clean. After a few hours of walking through the city we enjoyed a night of flicking through American Cable TV Channels.

Highlights: Taking in the sights along the river.

Day 289 August 24th 2007, Adam at A Dam, Yichang to Shanghai


After all of last nights lock excitement we took a trip out to visit the damn at the center of all the excitement. A construction project of this size has of course some impressive stats.

Its the Worlds largest damn at five times the size of the Hoover damn

The original idea for the damn was conceived in 1919, the damn will be completed 90 years later in 2009

The total project cost is estimated to be $25.2 Billion within 10 years it will have paid for itself with the electricity it will produce.


Above: Myself with the up river side of the damn in the background. Below: The view from down river.


The last of the 3 gorges is after the damn and perhaps the most spectacular. After taking in the sights at the damn we caught a flight from Yichang to Shanghai.


Highlights: The worlds biggest damn