Odyssey Overland 2011 London to Australia: Short drives, smooth roads and lots of noodles

Oh hey hi again or oh hey nihow as they say here. So what news the Calypsoites? Well quite a lot to report actually, and talking about reports, I should perhaps start by reporting in to Mum, Dad and family as well as a few pals, especially Lyn, Jo and Duncan. Mum, Dad, hi and hoping to come meet up with you guys in HK, just see what happens at the end of the trip. Lyn, Jo, Dunc et al, fear not have been up to my old antics a few times on this trip, latest was at the Great Wall... not a photo I feel will pass the Kirsten censor... but will send it through anyway (CJ was quite right, the photo didn’t pass, but happy to send it on!). Right, so where were we, oh yes Dunhuang.

A warm welcome from the Dunhuang hotel

We awoke to some illness of one of the Calypsoites. Our local guide and now fluent hospital visitor, George, yet again sprung into action and as a result two of our number decided a flight to a decent hotel and good medical facilities were the best move and so we are looking forward to seeing them again in Xi’an in a few days. This was then followed by a robbery which meant that George stayed behind whilst we travelled on to Jiayuguan and the last Imperial fort and section of the Great Wall. Arriving slightly late we set up camp and had a great evening at the Wall....see photos attached. Now they say bad things come in threes and so it proved to be, illness and robbery were then joined by a visit by the police. As we came back to camp we were met by a rather flustered George and the police. Despite the fact that the Great Wall is a massive tourist destination the police were not really sure whether or not we could camp there. The upshot was we packed up and after a little bit of haggling ended up in a 4 star hotel for $10 pp...not too shabby if you ask me. The planets then realigned and we awoke to a good breakfast, news that the stolen goods had been recovered and we were about to visit a brand new and very good museum on the Great Wall. This was followed by a short drive to Zhanye which further lightened our moods.

George, our local guide, goes bushcamping...

What goes up must come down

The end of the Great Wall, Jiayuguan

Some of the Odyssey girls at the wall

Strike a pose

The ladies on tour

Guess which one is Irish...

Sunset tranquility

Mum and son share a drink

Jim and Ben slide down the wall

Admiring the view

The massive reclining Budda, 34 metres long was visited, a few bevies were sunk, hot pots eaten and we, as Marco Polo had done before, enjoyed the hospitality of Zhanye. Things only got better then with a late departure the next day and an early arrival in Wuwei, another rather funky Chinese town where we are staying yet again in a brilliant hotel at a mere $10 each....I LOVE CHINA! They guys are out looking around, there is rumour of a foot massage later and a visit to the cigar and wine bar, sounds good to me.....and then yet another late departure tomorrow, OH YES.

Right will try and get this out there with some photos and will in all likely hood report next from Xi’an where we have a full itinerary, guys off to Beijing, warriors to be visited, guys to be reunited with, and a very tasty breakfast to be had at the Bell Tower hotel. Real sausages and bacon....I love life. Ok, trust you are all safe and well where ever you may be and I will leave you with my very best wishes and should it be possible in this beautiful world of ours, and why should it not, I would wish you all happiness and speak again soon, CJ.