Day 5 started pretty early. Sleeper trains are not places that a lot of actual sleep happens on! – at least not for me!

The bunk was not particularly wide, or comfortable (although the provided doona and pillow were great) I spent a whole lot of the night tossing and turning, and re-medicated a couple of times! I’m pleased to say there was no vomit… although we did come close (the toilets are next level nasty!)

Once we got off the train, it was a 10min walk to get to our bus and then a ‘Starbucks’ stop for coffee (tea in my case!) before driving for about an hour or so to get to the warriors. The Terracotta Warriors are a massive collection of thousands of life-sized, unique clay sculptures created around 210 B.C.E. to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor. They were discovered accidentally in 1974 and have been uncovered and put back together ever since. Currently there are three pits that you can walk around, which show the warriors in various stages of repair. It is honestly amazing!! They all have different faces, and oddities with their uniforms, there are horses and chariots and all kinds of bronze tools and weapons. I found it quite overwhelming to think about all that history and how many people would have been involved in the construction. I’m so glad I got to do this!

From the warriors we walked through the town to get to a family home for a yummy lunch! The food has been pretty spectacular and very varied. Not all of it has been to my taste (the giant bowl of mushrooms was a hard no from me) but it has been fun pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying different things.

Finally at about 3.30 we got to our hotel, and the shower there has been a highlight! Hot and great water pressure was the best thing after more than 24 hours in the same clothes! A bit of a lie down and then back with the group for a dumpling dinner and then a walk back to the hotel along the bright streets. There is a lantern festival on at the moment so the Town wall was decorated with all kinds of colourful things.

Day 6 saw us have a bit of a sleep in – and boy was it needed! We got up and repacked our bags – we’re getting pretty good at it now, and then went hunting for Brekky. Not all of the meals are included in this trip, so it’s been a bit of an adventure to try a whole bunch of new things!

We checked out of our room and met the group at about 9am, to go on a walking tour of the city… primarily to the Muslim Quarter. I thought it was pretty funny that in every other country you go to China Town, but here it’s the Muslim quarter! It was fabulous!! Soo many things to look at, bright colours and different smells. Xi’an is a very vibrant city, and a completely different feel to Beijing.

We went to the Mosque in the quarter, and it was stunning. It was set up in 742AD by the Tang and has been added to by every dynasty since then. It covers an area of more than 13000 square meters and is split into 4 courtyards. The middle courtyard is home to the ‘introspection tower’ which as the tallest of the buildings serves as the minaret for calling Muslims to prayer. It is a truly lovely and tranquil spot in an otherwise bustling town.

From here we re-connected with group members who chose to do other things, and went for a ‘world famous’ lunch of Chinese sandwiches and Biang Biang Noodles…very tasty!!

The afternoon was ours to spend as we wanted, so J and I chose to find a day spa and have a massage … and it was sensational! A couple of hours of pampering and we felt a whole lot better about the next part of this journey…. 16 hours on another overnight train to Shanghai.

Day seven began with some forced rest! The train didn’t arrive in Shanghai until after lunch, and as much as the toilets on the train caused some issues (I can’t even begin to describe the nastiness), it was nice to just sit and watch the landscape go past. J and I chose to upgrade to a soft sleeper cabin, so 4 bunks instead of 6 and a slightly more comfortable mattress. China is a vast country, and I have found it fascinating to have seen and done all of the things that we have! I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this!

We got off the train at about 12.30 pm and had a quick half hour walk to our hotel! We were all very impressed with this one!!! Big, comfortable room and one of the fanciest toilets I have ever used! A quick scrub in the shower and then off to explore this city. Every place we have been to has felt completely different which I have found really lovely! Shanghai is a huge financial city and it definitely feels much more metropolitan and international than some of the other places we have been to.

We made our way by metro to the Yuyuan Garden area and had a fun afternoon exploring. There are all sorts of alleyways and markets, food stalls and heaps of jewellery in this area. We ate the Shanghai famous soup dumplings – with a straw to suck out the soup, enjoyed a lovely tea ceremony and did a whole lot of shopping! We reconnected with the group a couple of hours later and walked to the Bund area for a river cruise.

The cruise was spoiled by the nasty weather – it was probably the coldest I have felt this whole trip, it was miserable and rainy… We couldn’t sit up on the top deck of the boat because of the weather, and poor J fell down some stairs and twisted her ankle heading back down to the covered area, which meant we came back to the hotel rather than continuing to the roof top bars with the rest of the group.

Day eight started much better with clear skies and sunshine. I is bruised and sore, but fine to continue. We were up early again for Brekky in the hotel and then off to the train station – a Bullet train today just for something different. The Bullet train got up to 304km per hour and was very very comfortable. Plenty of leg room, and a great way to see a whole lot of the countryside going past. A three hour ride took us to a village called HungShan which sits in the Yellow Mountains.

We were picked up by a private shuttle and driven 45 minutes to our hotel.. it was a scary drive! The hotel was lovely with another posh toilet. We checked in and had a quick lunch before being taken on a walking tour of the town and getting instructions for our next big hike tomorrow. I am again questioning my life choices at this point. It will be an all day hike, starting with a cable car ride to the top of one mountain, walking for 10-12 km through other mountains and then taking another cable car down. One part of the hike (see photo) is called the 200 steps ladder and is a near vertical climb!!! To say I am nervous is an understatement!!!

We ended the day with a group dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, and a lot of conversation about our hike. An early bed time was essential for what will be an early start on day nine! … wish us luck!