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Emi Shan, China – Hikes & Hot springs

We awoke to the sound of monks chanting and ringing bells at 6:00 AM. After a rather uncomfortable night on a rock-hard monastery bed, it was actually quite lovely to lie there tucked under warm blankets against the crisp morning air, listening to the monks morning routine unfold.

Eventually, it was time to pack up, admire the misty mountain backdrop as the sun came up, and enjoy a breakfast of chicken broth and noodles prepared by the monks. Once we finished, they kindly signaled the directions for us to meet up with our guide via mime and after a bit of back and forth we deciphered: turn left, walk until you see a big tree, and head down until the path flattens out. Armed with bamboo walking sticks and our backpacks, it genuinely felt like we were embarking on a pilgrimage fueled by noodles and vague instructions.



It took about 20 minutes to reach the flat section where our guide was waiting. The other four members of our group had opted to stay in a hotel about a 40-minute walk away, having decided to skip the monastery’s rustic sleeping arrangements. Walking to meet them turned out to be my absolute favorite part of the trek, feeling like a well-earned prize for surviving the hard beds.

Along the way, we stopped at another small, impressive monastery where the monks seemed to get fewer visitors, making them far more keen to chat and insistent that we say a prayer. Daniel and I were promptly volunteered as our group’s representatives. We were taught the proper way to kneel and bow to the gong, which involves leaning forward with hands in a prayer shape, moving your palms upward on each side of your head while pressing your forehead to the ground, returning to a kneeling position, and repeating the whole sequence three times. I was so focused on getting the choreography right that I completely forgot to actually say a prayer. Fortunately, we had already left little blessing cards for our families’ health and happiness at a previous stop the day before, so I figured that would suffice as my default divine wish.

After leaving the monastery, we wandered through the forest to a river gorge with soaring stone walls and crystal clear water rushing underneath. It was stunning. We spotted what we thought were ancient rock carvings depicting legends about the origins of Buddhism, though our guide gently informed us they were not quite as historic as they looked. They were actually molded cement added to the rocks 25 years ago and simply weathered to look old, which was quite amusing.

We continued along the river, passing waterfalls and crossing delightfully weathered old (well old looking, apparently you can’t actually be too sure!) bridges, and arrived at a picturesque pagoda situated right where two rivers meet, it was stunning and if I hadn’t have taken the photos myself I could have sworn they were edited to look that good!

More peaceful forest trails followed, filled with wildlife and birds, making for a wonderfully relaxing morning. Eventually, we reached the scenic lake where the rest of our group was staying, and they joined us for the final leg of the walk down the mountain to the bus station. When we asked if they had enjoyed all the lovely sights along the trail the evening before, we learned they had simply taken a more direct route in the dark, which made me feel a bit better when they informed us that their hotel had a hot tub, at least we had the beautiful walk!

The final stretch to the bus stop was still beautiful although busier, I remain endlessly amused by the fact that China always has Wi-Fi hotspots no matter where you are. Even halfway up a mountain, you can still get online and people walk along glued to their phone. We reached the station, headed back to the hotel by 10:00 AM, and realized we had already smashed our 10,000 steps for the day.



After a much-needed shower and a quick sort of our laundry (the less glamorous side of traveling), we sat down for a simple lunch of dumplings in broth and egg fried rice, eagerly recounting our monastery adventure to the others. We also got to try a new fruit, Pomelo which tasted like a much sweeter, and in my opinion nicer, grapefruit and is apparently the ancestor of many other fruits including butter orange and grapefruit.

After lunch we had a bit of downtime and a solid hour of catch-up sleep before we headed out at 4:00 PM to the local hot springs at a nearby hotel. The facility featured several hot pools scented with lavender and jasmine, cooler soaking options, an ice bath, and even a pool with tiny fish that nibble away at dead skin for an extra fee.

Adam and Daniel bravely tested the ice baths, while I happily played the coward and stuck to the scented thermal pools for a few hours. They worked absolute wonders on our sore muscles.

Properly relaxed and already ready for bed, we stocked up on snacks and fruit for our upcoming train journey, grabbed some super-noodle-style pots for an easy dinner, and headed straight to sleep.

The following day, which is today as I write this, is entirely dedicated to travel. We took an hour-and-a-half train back to Chengdu, followed by a seven-hour train ride to our next stop, Yichang, the gateway to the Three Gorges, and we are currently two hours into that journey. I will tell you all about it soon.

Love, Alice x

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Emi Shan, China – Temple stay

We woke up at 5:30 to discover that today would not be a good hiking day, the forecast was thick fog and a lot of rain, but sadly for us we’re on a tight schedule so we would be hiking regardless!We kicked things off with a bit of sightseeing by taking a bus up the mountain. Honestly, I am still not sure if it was more or less stressful navigating the sharp mountain turns when you couldn’t see more than a foot in front of you. Thankfully, we made it to the top in one piece. From there, we shuffled along in a massive queue toward the cable cars. The path was lined on both sides with vendors selling bamboo walking sticks, prayer beads, warm clothes, snacks, and pretty much anything else you could possibly think of. I thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of free food samples. Ribs and corn on the cob seem to be the go-to hiking staples around here.

When we finally reached the cable car, my nerves of how hard this hike was going to be started kicking in, especially after spotting several people in line clutching small oxygen canisters and masks. We hopped into a little cable car to ride up toward the peak. Because of the pea-soup fog, we couldn’t see a single thing on the way up, but at least it saved us from a grueling uphill slog in the rain.



Once off the cable car, we continued on foot toward the temple at the summit. As it turned out, my anxiety about the “hike” was completely unnecessary. The biggest hazard was simply trying not to get poked in the eye by a sea of umbrellas. The trek was really just a mildly steep walk up a fully paved path. It was wild seeing people using oxygen spray cans and even hiring porters to carry them up. I thought I was out of shape!

Eventually, we reached the temple. Even in the gloom, it was an impressive sight, though I was a little bummed we missed out on a clear view. On a sunny day, it must be incredible. A big flight of stairs lined with intricate elephant carvings leading to the giant, shimmering gold Stupa. Sadly for us the stupa was mostly obscured in fog but we did get glints of gold peaking through and managed to see the bottom which was still an impressive scale. We wandered around the surrounding buildings until we were thoroughly soaked, then took the cable car back down to grab some lunch.

Adam spotted his very first monkey in the wild on the way down. We spent a good while snapping photos, keeping a respectful distance since they can get a bit feisty. Right after that, we rounded the corner only to encounter about thirty more of them scattered along the trail.


After many more photos and another tasty lunch, our group split up. Half wanted to head back to the comfort of the hotel, while the rest of us opted for a more energetic trek. Once again, calling it a “hike” was generous. It was essentially a pleasant three-hour stroll with a few stairs thrown in, but the best part was having the path mostly to ourselves. I am starting to gather that strenuous walks are not particularly popular here.

For me, this afternoon’s walk was the highlight of the day. The rain finally cleared up, the fog lifted, and for three hours we soaked in the quiet scenery. We passed through peaceful rural villages and caught glimpses of daily life. People were tending to their vegetable patches, gathering around tables for cards and mahjong, and selling traditional herbal remedies. At one point, we even saw two men carrying a large branch with a buzzing bag suspended from it, which turned out to be a live beehive.

We paused at a few small monasteries along the way, including one that was practically overrun by monkeys. It was so popular with the locals that a security guard was stationed outside armed with a slingshot just to keep them at bay.

As dusk settled in, we were given a choice: sleep at a nearby monastery or walk another half hour to a proper hotel. Adam, myself, and two others decided to embrace the adventure and stay at the monastery. The beds were hard as rocks, the windows were just holes in the wall covered by bin bags, and the bathroom was communal. It was a cold and decidedly rustic night, but hey, who needs luxury on a honeymoon? Besides, how often do you get the chance to sleep in a Chinese monastery?!

We spent a lovely evening at a small open-air restaurant further up the path. After a good deal of miming and pointing at the menu, we managed to order a delicious spread of food. We ate under cover while listening to the rain fall outside, enjoying a cozy meal together. Afterward, we wandered back to the monastery for the night. I’m writing this right now, tucked under a massive pile of duvets on a rock-hard mattress!

Tomorrow we will wake up when the monks start their chanting at 6am and them make our way back down the mountain.

Tell you all about it soon, love Alice x

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Leshan and Emishan, China

Our private bus ride from Chengdu to Emei Shan began with a two-hour drive to Leshan, a town best known for its famous giant Buddha carved straight into the cliffside overlooking the junction of three rivers.

At 71 meters tall, it holds the title of the largest stone Buddha in the world. It took over 100 years to complete, construction of it began in 722 AD under the leadership of a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hai Tong. He believed the Buddha’s presence would calm the treacherous waters that kept wrecking local shipping vessels. He was beyond dedicated to the project, when funding for the project was threatened, he allegedly gouged out his own eyes to prove his piety and sincerity.

Bizarrely enough, his plan actually worked. The sheer volume of stone rubble dumped into the river during construction altered the currents and genuinely made the water safer for boats, though the Buddha’s watchful eye surely helped too.

You can hike up to the carving but to get the best view of the entire statue, you have to view it from the water, so we hopped aboard a bit of a rusty old junker of a ferry boat. Seeing it from the river was incredible, and really let you appreciate the scale and what a giant undertaking it must have been. It was also a nice feeling to tick another UNESCO World Heritage site off our list.


After taking in the view, we piled back onto the bus to head toward our base for the next few days, Emei Shan. A 3,100-meter-tall mountain, the highest of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China and supposedly the birthplace of martial arts. We navigated some extraordinarily twisty roads before finally arriving at a green and misty little town at its base. It was so peaceful and quiet, well, quiet for China anyway.

We fueled up with another tasty meal that bridged the gap between a late lunch and early dinner. Feasting on an array of dishes, notable dishes included a tasty fish and some DIY pork buns. Afterward, Michael took us on a casual stroll around the village to check out a few local temples and Buddhist carvings. Shortly after, we turned in for an early night, knowing we had a serious amount of trekking waiting for us the next morning.

Will tell you all about it soon, love Alice x

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Chengdu, China – Giant Pandas

Another early start this morning as we loaded the bus for the Panda Research and Breeding Center at 7:00 AM, arriving around 8:00 AM. In the wild, pandas are typically found at elevations between 1,200 and 3,700 meters, where temperatures are a bit cooler than down here on the ground. So because of the heat, they tend to be active in the mornings at the institute and then hide away for the rest of the day. Although “active” seemed to mostly mean short shuffles between different spots to eat before another nap. Honestly, that is the exact level of physical activity I can get behind.

The pandas are kept individually in large habitats. When we first started walking around, I wondered if we would even be able to spot them. Since pandas are such a huge tourist draw, it turns out you just look for a massive crowd and there is your panda.

It is pretty amusing how rangers are stationed all around the park holding signs asking everyone to be quiet, yet their main job seems to be yelling at people to keep moving so traffic does not grind to a halt, or breaking up fights over pushing and shoving. People are very keen to see these animals. It is no wonder there is not much breeding going on in the wild because they do not get a single moment of peace.

That being said, we were lucky enough to see plenty of baby pandas, which were delightfully clumsy and adorable.

After a morning with the pandas, we headed back into town for a group hot pot lunch. Hot pot is a traditional type of communal dining where bite-sized pieces of thinly sliced meat and vegetables are cooked in flavored broths in heated bowls on the table. Michael ordered for the group, and he went a tad overboard. We ended up with several plates of rice, beef, lamb, and potatoes, alongside two types of broth: a fiery spicy one and a rich mushroom one. It was an absolute struggle to finish it all, yet the entire feast came out to a grand total of £6 each, drinks included!

Once again, the food was incredible. The waitress kindly skimmed off about 90% of the peppers and chili paste from the spicy side before pouring in the boiling water, and we were super grateful she did. It was still wildly spicy, but thankfully manageable and oh so good. The Michelin-star noodles are still just barely clinging to the top spot on this trip, but the hot pot is now a very close second!

Unfortunately Adam wasn’t feeling up to it but after a necessary food-coma recovery session, a few of us ventured out to the theater to catch a variety of traditional Chinese acts. The lineup included a musician playing the erhu, several music and dance performances, a classic opera scene, acrobatics, shadow puppetry, normal puppetry, a comedy skit, and the famous face-changing routine. It was fantastic entertainment, and they even had English subtitles on either side of the stage so we could follow along.

My favourite act had to be the shadow puppetry, the woman was amazing, not just in making the animals themselves but also with the movement of them, she even made some of the animals blink! A great performance and to top it all off, our ticket unexpectedly included a complimentary back massage, which was a surprising bonus and wonderfully relaxing. Safe to say, I definitely felt wined and dined!

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Chengdu, China

Today was another travel day, up at 7am for an early exit from the city and onto another four-hour bullet train. It is crazy how much of China we have managed to cover in just one week. You can really tell from the change in scenery outside the train window, as we are starting to see many more rice paddies and even a few small villages with no high-rises in sight.



For the first time, we are also seeing a lot more children about. It is probably because it is a Sunday, but all the kids we come across seem fascinated by these “big nose people,” as our guide Michael calls us. I always smile back at the inquisitive faces. While on the train, I made friends with a three-year-old through a fierce competition of waving and sticking our tongues out at each other. Her parents seemed quite keen to interact with us too. They asked for photos with their daughter and even sent her over with a bag of baked goodies to sweeten the deal. As if I would have said no to a photo before, but definitely not now with snacks involved. After we had our photos taken, we tried the coconut balls, chestnuts, and a type of walnut bread that the dad explained, via Google Translate, was made in their village. Everything was very tasty, and the family seemed pleased when we shared the treats around our group. A few stops later they got off, following many rounds of goodbyes and blown kisses from my new little friend.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We arrived at the hotel around 2pm and headed straight out for a tour around the city. We were taken to see a famous statue of Mao in the old town, where Michael treated us to a local snack of rabbits head, that of course I was the first to try!

After, we headed to the People’s Park for a wander. The park was absolutely jam-packed with life. It was almost overwhelming, with stalls selling arts, crafts, food, and pretty much anything else you could think of. There were groups dancing, people singing, bands playing, tea drinkers chatting, checkers players concentrating, and others practicing calligraphy. It was so lively and fun to walk around.



My favourite part was the dating profiles. There was a fence filled with hundreds of dating applications, alongside a few mothers holding actual billboards advertising their single children, conveniently colour-coded by sex with phone numbers provided at the bottom. It was fascinating to walk along and read them, with the generous help of Google Translate, of course. Alongside the wall sat a row of fortune tellers, ready to guide singles toward their future matches using palmistry and psychic readings. We spent some time taking it all in and picked up a few art prints to take home before heading back toward our hotel.

Michael had previously pointed out a local noodle place near our hotel and recommended we try the food, especially their dessert. It was closed when we walked past at 5pm, but when we peeked through the window, we saw it was actually Michelin-recommended several years in a row. We decided to drop off our purchases and head straight back at 5:30pm when it reopened.

We had not realised quite how popular it was. We arrived at 5:30pm on the dot, and there was already a queue. We joined the line, moved up quickly, and had to make a split-second decision on our food after catching a glimpse of an English menu for all of five seconds. I went for the Dan Dan noodles, a mix of pork, peanuts, spring onion, and Sichuan pepper. Adam went for a squid and chicken soup, and we shared a side of chopped chilli and cowpea wontons. Boy, did it deserve the awards. It was delicious and easily knocked the Chinese burger off the top spot to become both of our favourite meals of the trip. I was very tempted to order a second bowl of Dan Dan noodles, and only the massive queue outside stopped me.



We did, however, try some of the recommended dessert that Daniel, who joined us for dinner, had ordered. That brought us right back down to earth. Adam declared it the worst thing he has eaten in China, and I was not a huge fan either. I was hoping for something sweet after hearing the word “dessert,” but the tofu jelly and red bean paste was not particularly sweet at all. It mostly tasted like plain soy and gritty beans. Safe to say we will definitely be back to the restaurant, but we will probably skip dessert next time.

Tomorrow we will hopefully be seeing some giant pandas! We will tell you all about it soon.

Love, Alice x

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Xi’an, China – Terracotta Army

This morning finally wasn’t an early one, and by that I mean it was an 8:30am start instead of 7:30am. Still, it gave us enough time for a slight lie-in and a quick pit stop to grab another Chinese burger, which we were told yesterday is actually a breakfast food.

Fueled up, we joined the group on our private bus for the hour-long journey to the Terracotta Army museum. Along the way, our guide mentioned how much he loves the history behind the army, casually dropping that he even appears in a BBC and a Netflix documentary talking about them. Having led this tour for ten years, he assured us he never gets tired of sharing the story.

He also gave us a breakdown of China’s rapid progress over the last 10 years. When he first started guiding, this exact route took 28 days to complete. Thanks to better roads and modern high-speed bullet trains, that same trip now takes just 18 days.

Michael went on to tell us about Emperor Qin, founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor to unify China, standardize its currency, and align its written language. Interestingly, the name “China” comes from a historical mispronunciation of his name. “Qin” (pronounced “Chin”) was passed along the Silk Road by Arab traders and later written as “China” by the Romans, who added the “a” at the end to signify it as a place.

Emperor Qin ordered work to begin on his mausoleum back in 246 BCE when he was just 13 years old. The massive project took over 30 years to build, which makes sense given that it covers roughly 38 square miles. It holds an estimated 8,000 unique terracotta soldiers, over 600 horses, and according to historical texts and modern soil samples, literal rivers of mercury. Legend has it that the craftsmen knew they would be executed once the tomb was finished, so it is easy to imagine they dragged their feet a bit to keep the project going longer.

The site remained hidden until 1974, when a local farmer digging a well accidentally unearthed a terracotta soldier’s head. The farmer is now in his 90s and quite famous across China, partly for his legendary discovery and partly for a  supposedly hilarious diplomatic mix-up during a meeting with President Bill Clinton. Since the farmer didn’t speak English, he was taught to say “How are you?” and instructed to simply nod or reply “Me too” in agreement to whatever the president said. When the moment came, instead of asking “How are you?”, it came out as “Who are you?” When Clinton chuckled and replied, “Oh me? I’m just Hillary’s husband,” the farmer cheerfully replied, “Me too.” Whether the story is entirely true or not, Michael found it absolutely hilarious to tell.

Since the Terracotta Army is one of China’s top tourist destinations, visiting on a Saturday meant joining the massive weekend crowds and queuing up in the rain. But expectedly, it was worth every minute.

There are three main pits, and they are all enormous. Each displays statues at various stages of discovery, including completely untouched sections, partially excavated sites, figures currently being pieced back together, and fully restored sculptures. Most of the army actually remains buried underground, as exposing the statues causes their original, vibrant paint to fade rapidly into the iconic plain terracotta finish.

Even so, seeing them with such vivid detail lined up in such incredible numbers was awe-inspiring, even if we had to gently elbow our way to the front a few times. Being on the taller side definitely helped us see right over the crowd, though a few people in our group were not quite as lucky! But it was wonderful to behold and we spent a long time admiring all of the different features, hairstyles, outfits and poses, until eventually it was time to go.

After our tour we were taken for some food, which as always was delicious and seemingly never ending with plates of veggies, tofu, meats, rice, noodles and bread coming out until we were stuffed. Particular highlights of this meal included some delicious pork in a sticky sauce and some warm cooked chilli in a doughy bread. Followed by a tasty desert of pomegranate.

We were supposed to cycle around the city wall in the afternoon but seeing as it was chucking it down with rain, we decided to actually spend a bit of the holiday relaxing. So we spent a cosy afternoon reading books and playing games in the hotel while watching the rain outside.

Tomorrow is another early one, we need to be on the bus at 7am to catch our next bullet train to Chengdu.

Will tell you all about it soon, love Alice x

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Xi’an, China

Our day started at the bright and early hour of 7:30 AM with a private bus to the local station. We pulled up by 8:30 AM, only to discover our crack-of-dawn departure was just a strategic maneuver to beat Beijing’s legendary morning traffic. Our train didn’t actually leave until 10:30 AM, so we piled our bags up at the gate and took up residence in the departure lounge, chatting and watching the room slowly fill to the brim.

By 10:15 AM, everyone began forming multiple single-file lines. The moment the gate swung open, it became a full-blown competitive sport to board. I was relieved we were near the front, though even there it was a total mad crush of humanity. We all had assigned seats, but overhead luggage space is a finite resource. Thankfully, we managed to claim the racks above our heads and avoided spending the next four hours with heavy backpacks wedged onto our laps.


The bullet train was ridiculously fast, covering 1,100 kilometers in four hours. We spent much of the ride chatting with our guide, Michael, who gave us a fascinating look into his daily life in China, which in many ways feels surprisingly similar to our own. Michael was remarkably open about communism, explaining that people today know a lot about the outside world and view daily life as fairly comparable. He jokingly described China’s current system as capitalism under a single party.

He also spoke fondly about his 16 year old daughter, who is clearly his absolute pride and joy. Due to the legacy of the former one-child policy, Michael, his wife, their parents, and his daughter are all only children. His family places immense faith in her, and their entire lives revolve around giving her every possible advantage.

To keep up with her education, the family moves house every time she transitions to a new school. Her schedule is nothing short of intense. Her day starts at 7:00 AM, followed by morning classes until midday. She comes home for lunch and a quick nap before returning for afternoon lessons from 1:30 PM to 6:00 PM. After eating dinner at school, she attends evening classes until 10:00 PM, comes home to work on homework until midnight, and finally goes to sleep. She repeats this routine six days a week, with private tutoring taking over her Sundays.

When we asked if that felt like a bit much, Michael explained that this is standard for every child. University spots are so insanely competitive that you have to keep pace with everyone else. With only one child, families feel they have just one shot at success, and failing to perform brings shame on parents and grandparents alike. He added that his wife regularly reminds their daughter, “You have no friends in school, only competition.”

It sounds absolutely brutal. Yet just a few minutes later, Michael casually mentioned that despite all this effort, there are surprisingly few jobs for university graduates because of the sheer volume of applicants, leaving many to end up working as delivery drivers.

When we weren’t chatting with Michael, we spent our time watching the landscape whiz past the window. Even though you know the statistics on paper, seeing the country fly by really hammers home just how massive China’s population actually is. Outside, I saw what I can only describe as endless forests of high-rise apartment blocks, easily two to three times taller than anything you would find in London or other European cities. They weren’t just concentrated in urban centers either, they were everywhere, even dotting the rural countryside, with countless more under construction.

It is actually impressive that you do not feel the true weight of this population on a daily basis. The train stations, museums, and public parks are built on such a grand scale and planned so efficiently that huge crowds rarely cause a disruption, aside from the occasional mad dash for train seats.

Our destination is Xi’an, one of China’s four ancient capitals (specifically the Western Capital) and the seat of imperial power for over a thousand years. It is famous for being the starting point of the Silk Road and was supposedly one of the first cities in the world to reach a population of one million back in 700 AD. Today, it is humorously considered a modest, small-town Chinese city, boasting a tiny population of just 12 million people.

When we arrived, we dropped our bags off at the hotel, which was a huge upgrade from the last one. Although, this room came with a bathroom featuring full glass walls, which made for an… interesting setup.


Our plan for the afternoon was to explore the Muslim Quarter, a 1,000-year-old neighborhood right in the center of Xi’an. Its roots go all the way back to the Tang Dynasty, when Arab, Persian, and Central Asian merchants traveled to ancient Chang’an to trade silk and goods, eventually settling down for good.

On our way over, we spotted an ad for Roujiamo, a local specialty of the Shaanxi Province. We stopped to split one, and while it is often called a Chinese burger, it is actually a lot more like Chinese pulled pork stuffed inside a flatbread bun. It was easily the tastiest thing we have had in China so far. Then again, I seem to find a new favorite dish every single day at the moment, so we will see how long this one holds the crown.


The Muslim Quarter was packed with incredible food options. Everywhere we looked, there were fresh fruits, cooked dates and rice, dried breads, hotpots, hand-pulled noodles, savory pies, roasted chestnuts, seafood, and a massive supply of my personal favorite: meat on a stick.

Naturally, we sampled as much as humanly possible. We teamed up with Daniel, a guy from our tour group, so we could split dishes and avoid filling up immediately. Together, we tackled pomegranate juice, mango juice, lamb, beef, squid skewers, biang biang noodles, specialty milk drinks, dates, sticky rice treats, and a persimmon doughnut.

Every single bite was delicious, with one notable exception: the durian. This was pretty disappointing since I have wanted to try durian for years and finally decided to bite the bullet. It is the famously pungent fruit that is banned from public buildings across Asia, and it set me back £17, which is more than the cost of a full dinner for two in China. In my opinion, it was aggressively average.

Luckily, the dozens of other dishes we tried were amazing. By the end of the walk, it is safe to say we were completely stuffed. Unfortunately, we might have been a little too enthusiastic with our street food marathon, as both of our stomachs were feeling a bit loosey-goosey by the time we got back. As you can imagine, that made our see-through bathroom setup extra romantic.

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Beijing, China – The Great Wall

Another early morning for us, we were on the bus leaving Beijing by 7:00 AM with the hope of avoiding the city’s legendary traffic. The drive to the Great Wall took about an hour and a half, though the first hour was spent just trying to escape the sprawling metropolis.

Before long, we arrived in the countryside at the base of the trail. The entrance was packed with souvenir shops selling bamboo hats, fridge magnets, and “I Heart BJ” t-shirts that I definitely wouldn’t risk wearing outside of Beijing. Naturally, there was also a Burger King and a Subway to really get everyone in the mood for a rich cultural experience.

To reach the top, we had the choice between hiking or taking the cable car. We opted to hike. It was a steep 20-minute climb up a long series of steps. Once we reached the top, we held hands as we stepped out to catch our first view, because, we’ll it’s our honeymoon, and we’re soppy like that.

It was absolutely breathtaking. Beyond the massive, imposing structure of the wall itself, the surrounding mountains were gorgeous, really highlighting what an incredible feat of engineering it was to build. We were lucky enough to get long stretches entirely to ourselves, as the majority of the tour groups seemed to cluster near the cable car drop-offs. We spent several hours walking along the ramparts and watchtowers, taking it all in and taking hundreds of photos.

The terrain is actually much steeper than we imagined. In some sections, you practically have to scramble on all fours up steps that come up to your knees, but feeling connected to such ancient history made every thigh burning step worth it. That said, there was a distinctly modern twist: even atop an ancient wonder, you are never quite free from the gaze of security cameras, built into the wall itself.

On a much more fun note, another modern addition is the option to ride a toboggan all the way back down for £11. They even throw in an action photo for an extra pound, so how could we possibly resist?

Once back at ground level, we had a very overpriced and underwhelming lunch in a tourist trap of a restaurant/gift shop. I know, all the red flags were there, but it came recommended by our tour guide. Afterwards, we hopped back onto the bus to head toward the city center. Heavy traffic made the journey drag on much longer than expected, so the driver eventually dropped us off at the Olympic Bird’s Nest arena. We snapped a few quick photos before rushing off to the metro to make our final activity of the day.


We had tickets for a local acrobatics show, and it was ridiculously impressive. The performers were immensely talented and masters of escalation. Just when you thought you had seen the ultimate death-defying trick, they would dial up the stakes. We watched handstands on leaning towers of chairs, backflips through hoops, and towering human pyramids. Then they repeated those same stunts while balancing on the head of another acrobat, on the seat of a moving bicycle, or while swinging from ropes.

The grand finale featured a motorcyclist riding loop-the-loops inside a giant spherical metal cage. That alone was incredible, but then they just kept adding more bikes. By the time the fifth motorcycle entered the cage, we were on the absolute edge of our seats watching them weave through overlapping circles, missing each other by mere inches. It was a thoroughly entertaining end to an unforgettable day.

Tomorrow is another early day, surprise surprise, were getting the bullet train to Xi’en.

Will tell you all about it soon, love, Alice x

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Beijing, China – Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City

On our first real day of the tour, we were up bright and early at 6:30 AM. We needed to leave the hotel by 7:30, so after getting dressed, we headed out on a mission for a quick breakfast. We bought… well, actually, I’m not entirely sure what we bought, but it was warm, filling, and did the job. It was a bit like a thin pancake or crepe, filled with shredded potato, egg, and carrot.



By 7:00 AM, we were walking toward the metro. It was far quieter and cleaner than I expected, though I made the rookie mistake of mentioning how quiet it was out loud. I quickly learned that was only because we were still in the tourist part of town; shortly after, the crowds arrived. Still, it was a very convenient way to reach Tiananmen Square. We joined the queue, scanned our passports, went through a thorough pat-down and search, and then we were in and free to explore.

The square itself is massive, around 440,000 square meters, with enough space to hold a million people standing side by side. It was also still decorated from Golden Week with some gigantic flower displays. The “Tiananmen” in Tiananmen Square refers to the famous gate with Chairman Mao’s portrait hanging above it, which translates to the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Apparently, the portrait is cleaned once a week and replaced regularly to keep its colors bright.



We took plenty of photos and even ended up in an impromptu photoshoot with a very insistent local lady. Adam found this hilarious while I was being posed, right up until she dragged him into the photos too.



The square is surrounded by major administrative buildings, as well as the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. We didn’t go inside any of them since they are hugely popular with domestic tourists, especially the Memorial Hall, which holds Mao’s embalmed body. You have to buy tickets weeks in advance and still queue for hours to get in. I kid you not, there were thousands of people waiting; Google tells me it gets around 32,000 visitors a day, or 11 million a year. We were more than happy to just take in the sights from the outside.

After exploring Tiananmen Square, we made our way into the Forbidden City. As the world’s largest preserved imperial palace complex, it served as the political and ceremonial heart of China for 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors between 1420 and 1924. Walking through the massive grounds and learning about the everyday lives of the emperors, concubines, and eunuchs who called it home was fascinating. The story of the emperor’s final days was particularly interesting. When the dynasty fell, the emperor was reportedly given just 24 hours to pack up and get out before fleeing to Japan. Meanwhile, the palace eunuchs made a hasty exit of their own, leaving behind a curious collection of jars filled with their… most prized possession, carefully pickled in rice wine.

The emperor himself, just a teenager at the time, fled to Japan before attempting to reclaim his throne. His bid for power ultimately failed, leading to his capture and return to China, where he underwent reeducation and was eventually assigned to work as a gardener. Years later, he finally returned to the Forbidden City, though this time he had to stand in line and buy a ticket like everyone else. Talk about a change in circumstances.

The palace is another massive complex, boasting 9,999 and a half rooms. The half room was an intentional choice so as not to upstage the Jade God, whose legendary celestial palace was said to have 10,000 rooms. To avoid potential assassins, the emperor slept in a different room every single night, meaning he could go over 27 years without ever sleeping in the same bed twice! Today, about 30% of the complex is open to visitors, with rooms displaying various historical artifacts, including some seriously impressive jade carvings.

Again we ended up in a photoshoot, this time with some girls in traditional clothing.

After the Forbidden City, we had worked up a proper appetite, so we decided to opt in for an optional home-cooked meal in one of the local Hutong dwellings. This meant squishing onto some very packed local buses, with Adam nearly getting squeezed to death between a bus door and a ticket machine.

The Hutong area was entirely different from the modern parts of the rest of the city. Hutongs are traditional narrow streets made up of lots of siheyuan, which are houses built around a courtyard, back to back. They still have families living in them and tend to have shared kitchens between different households and only public toilets. I actually opted to use one at one point, getting my first taste of a squat toilet and thankfully managing not to wee on any clothing, which was a lot more difficult than you would think.



The owner of the house, Madam Wu, showed us around where she lived and cooked a very nice meal for us consisting of many meat and vegetable dishes, dumplings, meatballs, and a very tasty egg and tomato dish. By this point we were flagging since it had been a long day, and now full of food, we headed back to the hotel for a nap.

In the evening, we headed out to grab some water and snacks, including an intriguing sausage that caught Adam’s eye. It turned out to be a slightly sweet, spiced, spam-style pork affair. We also decided to try our luck again with the vendor who sold us the morning wraps. Pointing at something mystery-shaped, we ordered and hoped for the best. It ended up being a fairly plain, crispy pasty-bread hybrid, but it was still fun to try. Plus, for thirty pence, you can hardly complain about the cost of a tasty gamble.

Tomorrow we will be going to see the great wall and I should probably be going to bed now I’ve finished writing this as it’s another early start!

Tell you all about it soon, love Alice x

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Beijing, China

Our 10-hour flight to Beijing was a bit of an endurance test, we were very crammed in with not much personal space. I managed to doze on and off, but poor Adam didn’t sleep for a single minute. On the bright side, the airline fed us surprisingly well, we were treated to some genuinely tasty beef noodles followed by Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and Adam managed to binge a impressive chunk of the in-flight movie catalog. As we began our descent, the screens switched to an instructional stretch video designed to boost in-flight circulation. The arm stretches were a pleasant for my aching muscles, though I remain skeptical about the part where stroking my back was supposed to restore my spleen health. To be fair, sitting wedged in economy meant I couldn’t actually reach most of my back anyway… otherwise, I’m sure I’d have a absolute tip-top spleen right now.

Once on the ground, we hopped into a taxi toward central Beijing. We spent the first leg cruising down a massive seven-lane highway that felt slick, modern, and entirely nondescript. But then our driver swerved into a narrow side alley that felt much more historic and Chinese. The alley was barely wider than a single car, yet somehow it was bustling with two-way traffic as we squeezed within inches of passing mopeds and pedestrians. Eventually, we pulled up to our home base, which boasts the short, sweet, and understated name: ‘Happy Dragon Imperial Garden Courtyard Beijing Forbidden City Newly Renovated Fluent English Speaking Hotel’. What it lacked in brevity, it more than made up for in sheer charm! It turned out to be a gorgeous little oasis complete with a serene central garden and a koi pond.

After dropping our bags and showering, Adam’s 10-hour sleep deprivation finally caught up with him, and he completely crashed out at 5:00 PM. Thanks to my plane naps, I managed to hang on a bit longer. When hunger struck, I didn’t have to venture far past the hotel’s round courtyard door before my nose led me straight into a local restaurant. To my relief, they had an English menu, and I ordered a steaming, delicious bowl of beef noodle soup.

Then came the moment of truth, making my very first payment with Alipay. Since China runs almost entirely on payment apps, with cash and physical cards being practically mythical outside of major hotels, tapping “Pay” was a little nerve-wracking, it would be a difficult trip if it didn’t work. Luckily, the green checkmark flashed, my payment went through, and I headed back to the room full, triumphant, and ready to crash out myself around 9:00 PM.

After a thoroughly jet-lagged and restless night for both of us, we surfaced around 9:00 AM and headed down to breakfast. The spread was huge, and we immediately set to work trying all the local dishes and fruits. My favorite was a pillowy, pork-filled steamed bread dumpling.

Fueled up, we were raring to head out and explore right after breakfast, but tech trouble had other plans. We discovered we’d downloaded the wrong version of DiDi (China’s answer to Uber), you need a special version of the app for China and we’d downloaded the generic one used in the rest of Asia. As it turns out, trying to set this up and link a non-Chinese phone number *after* you’ve already entered the country is a special kind of administrative puzzle. After a few hours of frantic phone-faffing, we gave up and decided to walk, although the hotel kindly have us a free took took style lift to the main road. Before we began the 45min walk to our next hotel with our rucksacks on our backs, poor Adam is getting the full backpacker experience after all! At least we got to see a bit of Beijing on the way.

We arrived slightly sweaty to our next hotel, where we took a moment to rest and consult the map, only to realize of just how mind-bogglingly huge Beijing actually is. With taxis not an option and most of the major attractions requiring several hours of walking to reach, we decided to explore Jingshan Park right on our doorstep instead. After paying the grand total of 45p entrance fee for the both of us, we spent a lovely, relaxed afternoon meandering through the lush gardens and poking around all the beautiful ancient buildings.

At one point there was a big crowd gathering around something taking pictures and after seeing all the beautiful surroundings we wondered what had caused such a fuss, but after fighting our way to the front, we found it was just a ordinary, although very cute, ginger cat.

After our walk we headed back to the hotel for our welcome meeting for the tour and met the other travellers, half from the UK and half from Australia and all retired apart from us and one other guy. So far they all seem lovely, so hopefully it should be a fun 18 days.

Our guide, Michael, took the whole group out for a welcome feast at a Peking duck restaurant, because when in Rome, right? The duck and every single dish he ordered were absolutely banging, though to be fair, we’ve yet to encounter a single bite in this city that isn’t bursting with flavor.

The duck, however, was the undisputed star of the show: beautifully crispy skin, amazingly tender meat, and to top it off, after carving away every possible slice, they deep-fried the remaining meat and bones into a whole new level of deliciousness. I love duck pancakes normally but these were the best of the best and we got to try the local tips too, such as dipping the crispy skin in sugar and having a sweet jelly at the end.



We practically had to waddle all the way back to the hotel, completely stuffed. Honestly, it’s a very good thing this tour involves a ton of walking, otherwise they might have to roll us onto the plane home!

But the real fun starts with the tour tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about it soon,

Love, Alice x