Nanjing

After the cruise along the Yangtze, we overnighted in Shanghai and caught a train the following morning to Nanjing. This place is a bit (actually a lot) off the beaten trail, and the only real reason we were visting it was to visit an English friend of ours (Pete), who was teaching English at a Police College there.

Having spent several months in dorms and budget hotels, Pete had booked us in to a budget apartment, which gave us the opportunity to feel as if we were in a home (albeit only for a week). As Nanjing has so little to do, we spent the time lazing in our apartment watching DVDs that we had bought for a $1 each and avoiding the seemingly constant rain.

We did venture out in the evenings, going for dinner to a Korean restaurant with Pete. Unfortunately, none of us could read the Chinese characters, so Pete had to call his Chinese girlfriend who was ill in bed and ask for help. We decided to leave the ordering up to her, and fortunately didn't end up with stewed dog, newts eyes or whatever. We also hit an expat pub to watch the FA Cup Final - it was good to see none of the England squad get injured in that match for a change...