Part Two: Rivers and Seas

A cruise down the Yangze' sounds quite luxurious doesn't it? A trip down river to see the beautiful landscape before the controversial 3 Gorges Dam floods it all out. However, the reality was a little different although still a great experience. We may have made a slight mistake in opting for the Chinese tourist boat rather than one full of Westerners. Surely that would be a more genuine way of seeing a bit of China about to become history? I guess it was, but a boat of 250 Chinese tourists was an experience we probably wouldn't repeat!

Also on board were a great couple from Cornwall - really interesting folk who'd spent a year in South America and 6 months in India with their kids (before they grew up)... and a couple of brothers from Norway - nice genuine lads. So the 6 of us put up a united front and mucked in with the Chinese tourists trying to ignore the retching and spitting, pushing and shoving. We even joined in the nightly Karaoke ritual after a beer or two. It's quite comical to look back on, particularly the boat itself. Each morning a loud Chinese voice would bawl out of our air con system at 5am, 4am and 3am respectively! There was no switch to get rid of it and it started to feel like a Chinese prison camp, but after half an hour of pointing and acting out 'speaker' scenarios I managed to find someone to switch it off. The early wake ups were pointless too, it seems the Chinese need to wake up about 3 hours before we actually were due anywhere. Despite the early alarm calls, the total lack of English and the filthy Yangze river it was actually an interesting trip. We cruised through stunning scenery one minute and big industrial towns the next. The 3 little gorges and 3 big gorges had some breathtaking moments - all to disappear in 2009. They are predicting the project to be a disaster with the Yangze becoming one big waste dump as the river flow slows down when it's all flooded. What we saw of the dam was impressive though, and we dropped an incredible 70m down river through vast imposing locks. We arrived in Yichang 3 days later feeling battered and bruised and in need of some TLC.

Next stop was Guilin - a brief couple of days in a beautiful city and another river cruise! 4 hours up the Li River, very different to the Yangze. Stunning rural scenery - farms, workers, water buffalo, quaint villages all lining its banks. What's more, there was finally a little English spoken and Mum and I spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting to a student whose parents were local farmers. It gave us a view of the new generation of China which was very interesting.

After our whistle-stop tour of China we decided we needed a little luxury starting with a fantastic vodka cocktail at the top of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and moving onto a very luxurious couple of days at the Shangri-La in Bangkok. Bliss...

So finally I get to Thailand after years of avoiding it due to my prejudice about noise, hassle and backpackers! I'd pictured streets full of constant hassle but China seemed to be the place for that more than Thailand. There we got endless shouts from stalls and shops of, "just looking.. looking.. looking", and here we just get the odd "madam" but with no aggression or pestering so Bangkok seemed much more civilised than I'd imagined. I enjoyed my brief few days in Bangkok topped with a tour of the canal streets there with rickety houses on stilts and the hustle and bustle of life within them. After that, a sleeper train up to Chiang Mai - a rackety, rolling ride which left us feeling quite dizzy when we arrived. Lovely scenery though and Chiang Mai is a great place to spend some time. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the river - very homely with gorgeous gardens and delicious breakfast! Chiang Mai is full of goodies - silk, silver, cotton, teak, umbrellas, massages, food, massages, food, massages... a good introduction to Thailand, its life and people. A day of Thai cooking was the icing on the cake (or should I say the lemongrass in the stir fry?) - so be prepared for some Thai curries, stir fries and salads when I return!

After the goodies of Chiang Mai it was time to leave the rivers behind and head for the sea. Mum had wanted to return to Koh Samui after some 12 or 13 years, however since then it has become a bit of a tourist hell. After initial disappointment and spoilt daughter foot stamping we found a really nice place to stay on a quiet end of the beach and we actually had a lovely relaxing week swimming, reading and eating. It all went too quickly and after 5 weeks coping with me it was time for Mum to head home and for me to move on. So a sad goodbye and then I moved on... to the next island, not exactly far compared to Mum's trip to London!

I've given in to the back packer life for a few days. Staying on Thong Nai Pan Yai on Koh Phangan - it's a beautiful setting. As I write I'm swinging in my hammock outside my cosy bungalow overlooking the sea. Somehow I managed to get one of the best spots on the beach and I'm taking full advantage of it at 5 quid a night! It's a wonderful tranquil beach by day and party place by night. There really is no choice here but to join the madness of it all. After a fairly quiet 6 months my body has had to deal with the odd 4.30 and 6.30am mornings as I wander back from the bar, along the beach, to the bungalow.

The partying was fun but it's once again time to move on. Today I head to Sri Lanka where I will be volunteering for 6 weeks in a village called Seenigama, running a youth activity programme. The village was completely devastated by the tsunami and the charity is doing some fantastic work to rebuild the village both physically and in spirit. (Check out 'www.unconditionalcompassion.com' for more info on it). I'll be in touch from there...