On arrival in Sydney we made straight to our hostel. The heat was staggering after Russia, Mongolia and China but it was great to see the sun shining. On arrival at our hostel all the staff were all talking about a guy who had to go to hospital because he punched a bus stop when he was drunk and broke some bones in his hands. They then went on to talk about the drunken antics of the previous evening. It was strange to be in a city in which most people were English or English speaking again. It also felt a bit like I was back at University.

Having dumped our bags we went straight to the hospital to get a new plaster for Karen’s arm. We really hit lucky because the hospital that we went to specialised in hands. The doctors and nurses were really kind to us all and the hospital itself was in a great location. The physio that was sorting Karen’s arm out put a fibre glass plaster on it - perks of the job - so that it was lightweight and she could swim with it on. All in all it was a much more pleasurable experience than Mongolia.

Being in sunnier climes we needed to ditch our winter wardrobe and get some summer clothes instead (and of course the sun cream for me). It was nice to wander aroudn Sydney’s shops but we felt that everything was ridiculously expensive after China. Of course it wasn’t but it was hard to adjust. With all our new kit on we packed off our thermals and ski jackets to NZ to pick up later. To be honest we had worn those thermals so much they probably could have got up and walked to Auckland!

In the evening we headed down to Sydney Harbour bridge (as did the rest of Sydney by the looks of things) and enjoyed a drink over looking the harbour. From all the travelling and hospital visits it was nice just to relax.

We had inadvertently timed our visit to Sydney with Mardi gras which is the biggest gay festival that takes place in Austalia. Rather than jump into the all in one cat suit Karen and I retreated to the Botanical gardens and spent most of the day there. It was a strange sensation to be able to sit outside in a t shirt and shorts without feeling cold or needing to move around. Karen was immediately soaking in the sun to build the tan, but when you have my skin type (white to red to white again) it is just nice to sit in the shade. The botanical gardens were beautiful and had some great views of the harbour from them. It was also interesting to see the wildlife of the parks - parrots, bats, spiders (massive spiders).

Taking full advantage of the fact that we are in a country that has some decent wine we had a few drinks in the evening and settled nicely into the swing of things.

On Sunday, when the MArdi gras hangover was kicking in for a lot of Sydney we took a bus to Bondi beach. It was awesome to be swimming in the sea and just to lie on the beach without a care in whe world. Bondi beach is full of surfer dudes and it was pretty busy - but it was just a warmer version of Whitley Bay really. Obviously I immediately blended in with the locals and didn’t stand out liek a sore thumb at all - any whiter and I would have been an albino.

We arrived back in Sydney and walked to teh local pub for a beer. From there we watched the most terrific thunder and lightning storm. It absolutely threw it down with rain and when time came to brave it outside it was as if we had been in a shower. It felt very refreshing though. The next few days were punctuated by spells of rain. It made little difference to us but I was expecting uninterrupted sunshine when we got to Australia.

We made arrangements to travel down to Melbourne on a bus route that allowed us to get on and off when we liked. We decided to spend about 2 and a half weeks to get to Melbourne and to stop off regularly - thus avoiding the long haul bus rides. With our MP3s fully charged it was time to hit the road again.

Our hostel was two minutes from the Bund and an excellent location for exploring the city. In all the guides that we have read and all the people we spoke to said that the place to visit in Shanghai was the Bund and so that is exactly what we did. Unfortunately, every other tourist in China had the same idea. The Bund is the river side street that was the centre of Shanghaio commerce in the 30s and 40s. On one side of the river there is a street of magnificent 30s buildings such as the Peace Hotel - where anybody who was anybody stayed in when they visited Shangai, and on the other side of the river is the modern commrecial buildings of Shanghai. Both buildings face each other and it is a neat metaphor for what Shangahi is like as city - old and new facing off each other (you could extend it to the whole of Shanghai).

I loved the 30s’ architecture of the bund and it was easy to imagine what the city would have been like in it’s 30’s peak. However, the Bund at night was spectacular simply for the views across the river to the modern skyscrapers and neon lit buildings. It looked all the world like something out of ‘Blade Runner’ and we were mesmerised by it. The neon light show continued as we headed into the shopping district of Shanghai. The Nanjing Road is where everybody goes to shop and by the time we had got to the end of the shopper’s paradise we had been offered fake anything you could name - as long as it was Rolex, North Face, Dolce & Gabanna… We did go to a market in Shanghai for a bit of retail therapy but it proved to be much harder work than Beijing. The difference in Shanghai was that the sellers were much more aggressive and actually followed you around the amrket. They literally would not let you out of their sight. It was all a bit too much for us and we left (although I bought a pair of Puma trainers for 7 quid - they have since fallen apart).

The highlight of Shanghai was the noodle bar at the end of our road. It only had about 8 tables, the restaurant was tiny, there was nothing to shout about in terms of decor and the stafff found it hilarious that we were eating Chinese food - with chopsticks, but it cost about 3 pound for both of us to eat like kings and the crab steamed dumplings were the nicest thing I have ever tasted. We kept going back as often as we could - just writing about it now makes me feel hungry!

The other nice thing about Shanghai - as with almost all of teh Chinese cities that we have visited was that thre were so many gardens to wander around. We went wild and paid to get in to a garden (it was recomended) and we were really glad that we did. It was in the centre of the city and it was one of the smallest gardens that we have visited but it was designed to block out the noise aroudn it and also to appear to be much larger than it did. It was stunning and well worth the entry fee.

And so our trip around China came to an end. Of course the ionly way to get to the airport was by train. Not any train though - the quickest train on the planet (imagine how excited Karen aka the train spotter was about that).

China was great and the real surprise so far on the trip. We had no idea what to expect and we really enjoyed it. There was so much to see and do and we would both love to return one day. The staring by the Chinese at us got a little waring, but as I explained to Karen life in the public eye is not easy and sometimes you just have to roll with it - just like Brad and Angelina.