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.)