The Tour Organised Through China Odyssey

Hey all,

So I landed in Beijing first followed by two days of frantic sightseeing - Summer Palace (with a frozen lake), the Forbidden City, climbing the Great Wall, wandering past Tiananmen Square, the Ming Tomb and probably other stuff too including a little shopping, eating and bargaining. The only downside being that I was freezing cold! From Beijing, I caught a really nice overnight train to Xian. In Xian, I had a private guide and driver - very cosy! His name was Hoffman and was highly entertaining and great fun as we wandered Xian, ate loads of fantastic local food and of course, seeing the Terracotta Warriors. I had a really nice hotel and I enjoyed myself immensely.

From Xian, I landed here in Tibet with a cold that I think I picked up out of freezing Beijing and brewed up in Xian. So I've been feeling a little sick and man do I look it! The guide here is also awesome, really nice and the same age too!

Anyway, Tibet is amazingly beautiful and so humble. The people look so different and they seem to laugh more than other Chinese people. All I can see is that there is still a lot of poverty. The people here are so deeply religious it's been hard to see some of the monasteries and temples due to the crowds of Tibetan people who have travelled from the countryside to worship at the amazing temples. The weather in Lhasa has been beautiful and sunny - the warmest yet! It's cold at night but glorious in the day. I feel pretty ordinary but there's not a lot that I can do about it. It hit me worst on New Years Eve so I spent it in bed trying to sleep. But here in Tibet, they celebrate the new year by the lunar calendar which lands on Feb 17 this year.

Take care and Happy New Year!

Love Kath
PS: I have some small stories and photos and videos linked through yahoo photos and video, I want to share with you. The photos and videos are at:
CHINA Destinations
PHOTOS:
http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilnikita666/album?.dir=/34a3scd&.src=ph
&.tok=ph8raSGBdbshWCV
VIDEO:
http://au.video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=346ccf5788d8cf400c961a108
3e231eb.1960554

Special for TIBET
PHOTOS:
http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilnikita666/album?.dir=/222dscd&.src=ph
&.tok=phi5aSGBPEyevonh
VIDEO:
http://au.video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=346ccf5788d8cf400c961a
1083e231eb.1960694