Another long standing dream come true – to stand at the edge of the Gobi – the most
desolate place on earth. 

The second part of our overland trip in Mongolia took us north and then directly
south – the change in scenery could not have been more dramatic.

Nobody warned us of the wonderful surprise of this great country.

After out visit to Xi’an we made our way north via the Buddha’s finger bone relics at
Famen Si Temple, past Shoalin Si – birthplace of Kung Fu, Qufu – birthplace of
Confucius and stronghold of him descendants.

We arrived in Yangshuo, China after a cross border train trip from Vietnam. On the
train we met Lilian, owner of Lilian's cafe that catering for tourist in this
picturesque town. She cushioned our landing in a country where it is very difficult
to communicate if you don’t speak a bit of Mandarin.

As far as cities go, we enjoy Hanoi. It is a manageable city with enough to distract
one for several days. There is good food, water puppet shows, temples boutiques,
coffee shops etc. etc.

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