The China Dolls Charity Trek

Photos can now bee seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/ToniaParris/TheGreatWallOfChinaCharityChallengeOctober2007

 

There are 459 and these are just Tonia's!

Well I have no pictures of toilet remarkably.

Tonia has handed me a camera with 477 picures on it.

I have uploaded a few and I'm sure you will be seeing many more from Lisa, Dawn and Maxine.

 

In the next few days keep your eyes peeled on this site. Many photographs of all the toilets that Lisa has enjoyed aswell as the cockroaches that Dawn has killed will appear here. Oh and maybe a few of the Great Wall of China.

China Airlines flight touched down at Heathrow at 1800hrs on Sunday evening. Met by myself, three "Dolls" (Tonia is staying on for a two day sight seeing trip to Xian) came through security looking remarkably bright and as though they hadn't just endured a long flight. Telling me that they had met some fantastic people Lisa and Maxine disapeared off to the toilet rather than just squatting in the arrivals hall. I'm sure we will all exerience the tales to come of what has been a fantastic adventure.

 

Welome home girls and WELL DONE.

 

Thanks to everyone who has read this blog over the last week or so. I hope it gave you an insight into what Maxine, Dawn, Lisa and Tonia have been going through. And most of all I hope you enjoyed it.

 

Signing off now.

 

Mike  

Todays news from China is that the team have now completed the Great Wall Challenge including the 1000 step heavenly stairway.

 

The following comes from Tonia:

 

Last night was a nice hotel, an upgrade on the hostels we were in previously. Nice shower, clean bed linen, and a sanitized toilet (a strip of paper said so). Bliss.

Dinner in the hotel restaurant was lovely, but it really showed how people's tastes can differ. The group of 23 was split over 2 tables, Dawn and I on one and Max and Lisa on the other. At our table all but one dish was demolished (way too hot to be classed as food, but it was made with chicken feet). Dawn and I thought it was nice to experience Chinese food not made for Western tastes.

 

There were sweet potato fritters, a pancake with chopped herbs and vegetables (consistency of pesto, but not so distinctive, baked aubergines (gorgeous), chicken parts (inc feet) in a BBQ sauce, boiled rice, slow cooked pork belly (v nice), some chapatti like thing with spring onions in (v nice), little ribs braised with beans (large and unknown, texture like broad beans but size of button mushrooms), a
cabbage, mushroom + pork dish (love the mushrooms, not like anything I have had before), a lamb, potato + garlic hot pot (v popular with the lads), another chicken feet and other knobbly inedible parts with green beans (ish) in a killer chilli sauce (not food) served with little corn meal cakes (heavy, but solved my chilli crisis) and a dish that looked like noodles, but was bean sprouts and some finely sliced root vegetable tossed with chillis - very tasty. Oh yeah, and free beer.

 

We found at the end of the meal that less than half of their food had been eaten, none of them enjoyed it and I think only the beer was well received. Half of our group thought it was a great authentic Chinese meal, and the other were deeply disappointed and unhappy.

After dinner we retired to the indoor bar, a retro 70's room with karaoke. Elviswould have felt right at home. There was however for the first time a bar available, so there spirits available in addition to the Great Wall Wine and Great Wall Beer. It turned out though that spirits were only sold by the bottle (excitement dimmed). After much discussion a bottle of vodka was purchased, with cans of coke and sprite for mixers.

The first hour was quiet conversation, listening to 3-4 chinese people doing karaoke numbers, when a sheet was passed around with English song titles.

 

Nobody seemed particularly bothered, then Que Sara Sara started playing. Well, it all started then. Laurence started singing, word perfect without even facing the screen, and no mike was required. Lisa was then going to have a go at the next song, but being on the merry side she struggled to keep up with the words, and was typically just starting a line as it was disappearing off the screen. Chris joined in on the other mic, on time but not always in tune. The local Chinese seemed entranced/stunned with our group, and were happy to witness the show.

Within the dimly lit retro lounge there was a fish pond - island thing, that looked like it was painted in. As I nearly found out it was genuine when I pinwheeled on the edge. Later Max wasn't as lucky, and fully stepped into the pond. No fish or Max's were injured (photo to follow).

 

This from Lisa:

 

From a p....d participant's point of view. Rooms were bloody fabulous compared to previous lodges even if we had to carry all luggage up 3 flights of stairs in the rain - after the most gruelling day of all! Honestly we seriously thought about sleeping on the bus rather than do yet more steps. However some of the girls reckoned that finally having a hot shower was better than (edited to keep PG rating). We were so hungry and eagerly rushed to dinner. All was well until Sarah (good Yorkshire lass like us) looked down at her fork only to find her dinner trying to shake hands with her - chicken foot and chilli - yum! I was so hungry that eventually I weakened and thought I' d give the feet a go - but try as I might I just couldn't get my teeth through - that old bird had knuckles of steel. It was later I found out that feet are just for flavour not to eat - great.

 

Dawn and Tonia actually enjoyed dinner which is very worrying. From dinner to bar, vodka etc and the rest is history - except of course I couldn't resist Chinese karaoke with Chris who was supposed to be having a romantic 1st anniversary with his lovely wife Claire until the vodka got in the way - and I've just discovered that Dawn (who still behaves impeccably even after dubious quantities of vodka) has  captured it all on film (on the gorgeous Irish Julie's phone) - hey thanks Dawn. Tonia behaved admirably and is still holding out till tonight for a drink so that just leaves Max. Well there's no way to soften this one Mark - she fell leg first into the rather decorative fish pond in the bar. Wish Dawn had got that one on film. Just in case I forget Max almost had her initiation on the Wall today but dried up when it came to it.

 

Colleen, Loraine, Rosie, Myself and our other sqat buddies are getting seriously worried about what we're going to do when we go home as we're becoming quite exhibitionist where bodily functions are concerned. Going to pass you back to Tonia in a month but just to name and shame those fellow trekkers who haven't yet had a mention as they now all want our web address to read the blog - better be nice here! Bernie and hubby Laurie are lovely and Laurie is a hoot - the only other one to o karaoke last night and also caught on film. Lisa is lovely - much nicer than this Lisa (I'm known as the gobby one) Matt is just lovely - looks like a young Bruce Willis, Jonny is so funny and uncoordinated - you can't look at him when we do group stretch.