China Day 18

Another late post! We've been getting back very late from our excursions for the last couple of days partly due to the Chinese Government! The government has decreed that China now operates on only one time zone which is crazy- we went to breakfast at 8.30 this morning and it was pitch black. The locals here have reacted by enacting their own unofficial time arrangements which results in everything happening a couple of hours behind the official times so we don't leave for our trips until about 10, getting home at around 8 or 9 and not finishing dinner until about 10! Thus the non-publishing of posts.

Yesterday was made worse because we did over 7 hours of travel - but it was worth it. We headed west on the "Chine-Pakistan Peace Highway" - a 1500km highway built by China to facilitate trade to the west , completed in 20 years although they could only work 5 months of the year due to the extreme height (5000 metres) and winter snow - about1500 workers lost their lives due to altitude sickness. It is an incredible journey through the mountain pass through which the silk road traders entered and left China. The mountain scenery is extraordinarily beautiful and dramatic and we visited two beautiful lakes, one man made and the other natural. Mum had a ride on a yak which was fun and we ate lunch in a (very cold) yurt. Huge hydroelectric power plant.

We reached a height of 3900 metres which made walking too far a bit hard and it was FREEZING cold! Great experience and fabulous scenery though. Should have photos on Facebook in a day or so.

Another warning - probably no post again tonight as the schedule is a bit demanding - we catch a plane at 7.30 for a5 hour flight to Chengdu, then we have to be up early for a train to Chongqing leaving at 8.30 am! This is all to get us to the start of our cruise on the Yangtze so more fun coming up!