Slow boat to China…..

When it comes to the man made wonders of the world, I thought they would be things I would only ever get to see on Blue Peter. I always watched the presenters and dreamed of one day getting to visit some of those wonderful places. I could never really see myself being able to travel, at least not on the money I was earning from my newspaper round.

When the Terracotta warriors were discovered by a farmer in his field in China back in 1974, I wanted to see them with my own eyes. I was only 3 at the time and I managed to do this in 2010. Standing in front of them you can see each Warrior is individual with their expression and facial features. Our guide really bought the whole experience to life and made us all realise it’s a miracle they exist as they are over 2000 years old. I didn’t realise until I was there that the army also had terracotta horses and carriages which were still intact too, amazing. The next project for china now, is how can they preserve them for another 2000 years. They do have some of the collection protected underground still.

I have been so fortunate and lucky enough to also stand on the Great Wall of China, of course not all of it in a day, but one of the touristy parts with thousands of other people. I managed to haggle with a street vendor, on the great wall and purchase his Beijing Olympics woolly hat, as it was so cold there at the time I visited. The wall and the surrounding scenery were amazing and the sheer scale of the structure is truly incredible. That was one of the few occasions I have been speechless. I would recommend taking a walk away from the other people as far as you can in the free time you are given to get the best photographs. This was quite strenuous but really worth the effort.

More recently china has been working on the three gorges dam project and I was able to have a three night cruise on the Yangtze river before they flooded the area in 2012. They rehoused multiple villages and towns to new high rise apartments in brand new towns and it was great to see the contrasts between old and new. The Dam produces the most electricity of any hydroelectric dam in the world. I just don’t know if it was worth the cost and upheaval to all those families where their old homes are now all under water.

If you are interested in a trip to visit China or the Far East I would be happy to help with the planning of your once in a lifetime voyage of discovery. My number to call is 0333 300 2480