Datong and the epic train journey

So we've had two nights in Datong and only managed to see one of the main attractions, the Yungang Grottoes, the second we never got to see was the hanging monasteries which unfortunately was the one thing I really wanted to see.

We had some bad luck navigating around town, firstly we took the long way from the station to the hotel through streets I swear where no one had seen a white person before. Secondly we decided to see the grottoes first as we thought they were furthest away and actually it may have been other way round. We also tried in vain for most of the first days morning to get to the grottoes by bus following the guide in the hotel which turns out to be complete rubbish, ending up getting a taxi to the caves and it only being 10 mins drive.

Datong itself is a shit hole, lots of poverty and no tourists, we saw only 1 other couple the entire time. People spitting, going to the toilet in the street and generally not being helpfully, only interested in staring and taking photos of us. It felt like the place was only half built, I've never seen so many half finished buildings and blocks of flats, backed by slums and sesspits. Interesting but it was unnerving and sometimes a little scary. Its incredibly barren, all we've seen en route to and from Datong are bare fields full of dust, little or no vegetation and green to be found.

The grottoes were impressive, 40 caves dating back nearly 2000 years with magnificent Buddha carvings, the biggest was 17m high! It was also belting hot, both of us getting a bit burnt walking around them.

The hotel we had was really nice, we ate at the restaurant both nights, it was cheapish, convenient and meant we didn't have to leave the nice hotel too late. The downside is no one in the hotel spoke English so we resorted to pointing, hand signals etc. Also no wireless but wired internet, completely useless to us.

I'm writing this @ 10:30pm on my bunk bed on our 16+ hour train journey to X'ian. Comparing this to the normal seats we had on the way to Datong makes it look like a 5 star hotel. Our beds our okay albeit a bit thin and my feet stick off the end. We've had lunch and its not packed to the brim, albeit a tad smokey. Izzi is asleep and the fat man above has been cracking and eating nuts/seeds for as long as I can remember. We arrive at 9am the next day then need to take a bus to the hotel, yet another bus! Hopefully the hotel has other travellers and WiFi, praise the lord. Ill update when I know more...