Kung Fu at Wu Wei Monastery, Dali, China.

"Ah-Me-To-Fo! Ah-Me-To-Fo!" The gong goes at 5am and the chanting of the monks begins the day up in the hills at Wu Wei Monastery.

As the sun rises at 7am we're up and jogging, returning only once we've found a suitably large stone to balance on our heads. A hearty spicy noodle breakfast is wolfed down and by 9am we are stretching our creaking limbs to breaking point.

Only then do we commence Kung Fu. The palm-punch combinations build in speed and complexity through the morning and end with our rather feeble attempts at spinning round-house kicks. It is all non-contact, we should stress!

After the exertions, our stomachs are rumbling well before the lunch gong at 12 noon. A polite scramble ensues over a delicious vegetarian feast, sometimes joined by the local community who bring food offerings for the monks.

It's now free-time and we sneak off to doze in the sunshine and compare our aches and pains. At 4pm we drag ourselves back to fling our bodies around in the afternoon session. Our 12 year old monk teacher is still going strong but by 6pm we are flagging.

Dinner is followed by candle-lit chat to the backdrop of evening prayers. By 9pm we are ready to brave the mice and crash into our spartan beds.

For two weeks over Christmas 2009, this was our life.

(Unfortunately photography of the monks was not allowed.)

Kung Fu Masterclass (video clip)

Lumfe shows us how it's done...

Kung Fu Beginners' Class (video clip)

A week of training and we attempt our Kung Fu Christmas message.

Fishing with Cormorants, Dali, China.

Fishing with cormorants is an ancient and revered skill in China and we jumped at the chance to give it a go. Well, Phil did.

It's an eleven-strong team of the wife rowing, the husband showing off and the nine birds diving, catching and squabbling for chunky fish. With resounding success.

Phil had a blast. Sam enjoyed lunch.

Shaxi, Yunnan, China.

The small town of Shaxi has long been prosperous from the ancient trade between Tibet and China, primarily in tea and horses. Many of the original buildings remain, un-gentrified and utterly charming. Also surviving intact is the 1000 year old Shibao Si. A complex of caves and grottoes adorned with intricate carvings of Buddhist imagery created by the Bai people. As if this genuine cultural find wasn't enough to dazzle, a troupe of rare golden hair monkeys was on hand to entertain us as we explored the nooks and crannies of one of our favourite places in China.

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China

Tiger Leaping Gorge is an iconic hike for backpackers in South-West China. Being contrary, we did it back to front and with full packs. We took our time but proved fit enough to navigate the perilous ledges carved into the cliffs. The scenery is as severe as it is impressive. The Yangtze river cuts into the land to form a dramatic rift, with peaks rising 2000 metres above the rapids.

A Naxi Wedding, Lijiang, Yunnan, China

Our time in the tourist mecca of Lijiang was dominated by the irrepressible Mama Naxi. The Naxi people are a proud ethnic minority known for their traditionally matriarchal society, and the dynamic mama runs a legendary hostel. She invited all her guests to her son's wedding.

The happy couple greeted us with gifts of sweets for the ladies and cigarettes for the gentlemen, all served on beds of lettuce.

The whole community was invited so we ate quickly at one of several sittings. Over-sized stork costumes, an apparently stoned dongba priest and a dead hog in a ribbon quietly rotting in the corner - it was all a peculiar affair.

Afterwards there was plenty of time for guests to relax over smoky games of Chinese chess and mahjong.

Tibetan Deqin Region, Yunnan Province, China

Our zip through China brought us to Yunnan province. After urbanised Han China we were keen to explore the rural backwaters tucked between Tibet, Burma and Vietnam. Quick stops in Kunming and Dali, before making our way to... Shangri-La!

Modern Shangri-La may be a smart tourism rebranding but we enjoyed the rough and ready charm of its Tibetan population and characterful expats. Firmly establishing the town as our base camp, we then headed up into the holy Meili mountain range in the Himalayas.

We hiked along the dirty Mekong River and over its wobbly bridges to rest in rustic Tibetan homestays as we explored remote valleys, photographed endless prayer flags and - improbably - sampled Jesuit missionary wine.

As close as a westerner can get to the real Tibet without paperwork, cash or chaperone, we spent time by the border trying to gain insight into the relationship between the Tibetans and the Chinese. The government-installed statues of monks embracing communist soldiers could easily be dismissed as propaganda...

But images of Chairman Mao and the Dalai Lama alongside each other on the family Buddhist shrine...? The magnificent mountain views were simpler to comprehend and admire.

We trekked yet further into the high mountain village of Yubong, nestled between stunning 6500 metre peaks. A place where donkeys were briskly carrying in basic food supplies in preparation for the winter ahead.

Astonishingly beautiful, we stayed for four days exploring and soaking up the views of Yubong - our very own Shangri-La.

Yubong: The real Shangri-La? (video clip)

A hard 6 hour hike was rewarded on arrival at the mythically beautiful setting of Yubong.

Earthy Toilet (video clip)

In the Meili mountains, the scenery was fabulous but conditions basic.

Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

We have loved the parks in China, particularly here in Chengdu, where everyone goes and everything happens: from tango lessons to tai chi to tea-house rituals. During the Cultural Revolution these famous park tea-houses were banned but thankfully they are back and more popular than ever.

We sat and soaked up the atmosphere, listening to the click of mahjong tiles, the rustling of newspapers and the munching of sunflower seeds. All with endless green tea re-fills.

Chengdu completely won us over with its laidback charm - but it was the city's most famous citizens that really made us smile.

Terracotta Warriors, Xi'an, China

Ever since he saw them on 'Blue Peter' years ago, Phil has wanted to witness the Terracotta Army. Less of a history nerd, Sam was simply impressed by the 6,000 warriors guarding the tomb of the first Emperor of China. Emperor Xin died over 2,000 years ago.

Each life-size clay individual has been crafted with distinct features and the overall effect is one of a real army marching directly from the past. Their ranks are made up of generals, soldiers, horses, standard-bearers and, our favourite, the archers.

Shanghai, China

An impressive high-speed train whisked us from Beijing's space-age station and into thriving Shanghai. Stepping around the endless construction for Expo 2010, we enjoyed the vibrancy of both the low-life and the high-life.

In the gritty hutongs we tried to guess "Restaurant or Pet Shop?" as we perused, with disbelief, the frogs, goldfish, crickets, budgies and terrapins lined up for sale.

And at the top of the Grand Hyatt Hotel we sipped cocktails in the world's highest bar. Bling.

Pet Shop Boys (video clip)

Restaurant or Pet Shop? Fortunately, the proprietors seem to know their trade.

The Great Wall of China

That we've travelled to Asia by train feels a little unreal, but there could be no doubting where we were on seeing a sight as iconic as The Great Wall.

We walked through the mist from Jinshangling to Simatai, with endless steps giving our train-weary legs a good workout.

Beijing, China

We expected to zip through China in a couple of weeks but two months later and here we still are in this enormous, unfathomable and beguiling country. Our trepidations first fell away when we gazed upon the heavenly gates of The Forbidden City.

Earthier pleasures of Beijing were to be had haggling in the Silk Market, exploring the wonderful 'hutongs' (the tiny side streets of this high rise city) and bantering with the locals.

Chinese Kebabs (video clip)

The delights of Beijing's 'Snack Alley'.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The name alone lends it an improbably exotic frontier feel and Ulaanbaatar is undoubtedly a wild place. It was our base when not out in the sticks so we got to know the tiny city well - especially the cafes serving cake rather than mutton.

The Bogd Khan's Winter Palace and other hidden gems made it well worth braving the cold, the street rogues and the gaping holes in the pavement.

Kazakh Eagle Hunters' Festival

Whilst flicking through a freebie magazine, our attention was caught by some smallprint on the listings page: "Golden Eagle Festival, 3-5 October". Our imaginations ran wild and it became our mission to get to this festival wherever it was taking place.

Hunting with golden eagles is a fading tradition. The Kazakhs use the eagles to capture large ground squirrels and foxes for food and pest control. The festival is revitalising this ancient skill and youngsters are now proudly taking up the art.

The hunters come down from the mountains to compete in this prestigious event.

They perform a variety of tasks to test not only ability but the strength of the bond between hunter and eagle.

The criteria was not always immediately obvious to us but the judging was taken very seriously. "Om! Om! Om!" - a regular chant from the crowd calling for top marks of 10 out of 10.

The category for 'presentation' seemed particularly political, though we felt this guy had a certain look...

The eagles are kept hooded until the moment of attack. Once un-masked, the stars of the show are allowed to shine.

The climax of the two days was not for the squeamish. Three eagles were given the honour of seizing a wolf. Not quite so dignified given that the pup was bound and muzzled. It may have been a demonstration of the eagles' power, but this felt like gratuitous blood-sport to us.

All in all, the combination of eagles, hunters and horses set in the dramatic Gobi Altai landscape was the most thrilling spectacle.

Kazakh Eagle Festival (video clip)

In the thick of it at the opening ceremony of the Kazakh Eagle Festival...

Bayan-Olgii, Western Mongolia

The far west corner of Mongolia nestles between Russia and China with Kazakhstan not far away. Within an hour of landing we had been adopted by one of the local Kazakh population: Khanat. We were whisked into his family home and he merrily made all arrangements for our time in his province.

Khanat himself drove us the 7 hours to Tavn Bogd National Park for the start of our extraordinary adventures.

The park is home to the highest point in Mongolia, Mount Khuiten. With a gaggle of non-serious scientists, we hitched a cramped lift (12 in a jeep!) as far as the snow line and then hiked up to the glacier.

A little too reliant on GPS, it was after dark when the casual chemists and micro-biologists sauntered down from these inhospitable slopes (one of the last refuges of the snow leopard).

Our base camp was the home of the park ranger. His family ger was in the Kazakh style - large and brightly decorated with wall hangings and carpets made by his wife. We ate and rested as best we could in this crowded space before getting into the saddle once more.

A week of trekking took us into as beautiful and remote a landscape as we are ever likely to experience. Land of the Kazakh nomads.

We found their hospitality unquestioning if mixed with a distinct wariness of our peculiar ways. Our camera was always popular - another ger, another family photo-shoot!

The intensity of the interractions, coupled with our struggling guts, sent us into our own little tent for a couple of nights. We recuperated by the mirror-like 'Restoration Lake'.

Whilst picnicking by the lake, we were approached by a lone rider. This formidable figure turned the tables on us... Now, we were the hosts. Fortunately, he was happy to slurp cup after cup of our brand of 'chay': rosehip infusion. No worse, it seems, than salted milky tea with a lump of butter.

There was no let up in incredible encounters, even on the road back to town where our way was barred by a herd of inquisitive wild camels.

More curiosity was to follow, as we stopped off to meet kids at a rural school. In exchange for lunch and a jar of pickled gherkins, we were volunteered into giving an impromptu English lesson. "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes..."

And now, in Kazakh! "Bass, eeyuck, chzay, eye-ack, chzay, eye-ack...."

It may have been exhausting at times but our two weeks in Western Mongolia were truly unforgettable. We must say 'Rahmet!' to the many people we met, especially Khanat.