Thank you for visiting Terry's diary/fundraising page. I'm Terry's wife and update this page 2 -3 times a day from his texts. This is the second trek Terry has done for Farleigh Hospice and you can read his first at www.justgiving.com/terrywilson  Beijing time is 7 hours ahead of the UK.

March, 2008. The major political problems in Tibet caused the trek to be changed to Inner Mongolia on the same dates. This page will remain 'terryintibet' as we have started to use the web page. This is a huge country about 3 times the size of Spain, inside the northern boundary of China, some 1,700 miles long. There is very little arable farming, its mainly sheep, cattle, goats & horses. Tourism is very limited and it remains largely untouched by Western culture.

Each day's trek is 20km+ taking at least 7 hours over a varied and mainly difficult terrain. Accomodation will be very basic while trekking - tents! Terry is a very fit person and physically this trek will not be too difficult for him. The hardest thing will be no showers after walking all day! Water will be provided for hand/face washing and 2 loo tents round holes in the ground. Days should be 23 - 25c and nights 5 -8c.

11th June. Great news. The 9 trekkers have so far raised a fantastic £22,000 for Farleigh after all expenses. Well done all of you, and keep it going!

Terry's texts -                                                                                                                              22nd June, Sunday. After several delays we arrived in Beijing via Amsterdam, tired and jet-lagged. It took 25 hours from home to our hotel. Among our group of 9 is a doctor, a dentist and a pharmacist so we should be safe.

Monday. The hotel is good and a huge Chinese lunch was most welcome. This afternoon an acrobat show, very good but several of us had some long blinks! The weather is a very warm & humid 30c with some sun and light showers. Beijing is clean, the opposite to Delhi, but always in smog. 10pm - Early night for early start.

Tuesday. Good breakfast in the hotel, most of us went to see the Summer Palace and on the way back saw the Olympic village. After lunch a 1 hour flight to the 'Blue City', Hohhot. Beijing airport is vast and the plane sat in a 90min queue to take off. Overnight in a fairly central hotel in the big modern city. We  were met for a welcome ceremony by a musician, dancer and 'rocket fuel' - a local spirit. 11pm, final sleep in a real bed, 6.45am start.

Wednesday. Left Hohhot for short transfer up to Bakouzi in the Blue Mountains and the start of the trek. Terrain is quite steep hills & valleys among pines up to 2000m. Its very hot (low 30's) but cloudy, and very hard going but its nice to be walking at last. Lunch was hot chinese brought up from the town. Its quite rugged and dusty and a lady from the other group is already struggling. 5pm - 90 min bus ride to camp, we are very hot and sweaty and in need of a good shower but its 5 days until we have one! Ian has lost some of his luggage and has only one pair of shorts, they will be a bit lively by next week. There are 3 local guides and no yaks, vehicles came with baggage, and another chinese takeaway, to the camp site. We are right next to the Great Wall, its fascinating. The 2man tents are tiny with no room for our bags, but its a great crowd so we will survive. Still very warm and the girls went skinny dipping in the river, so its our turn in the morning. There is no water at all for washing, and - no loos! 8.45pm, its dark so going to bed, all exhausted.

Thursday. Raining all night so they put plastic over the tents, woke at 4am in a wet greenhouse. We all had bedbaths with wet wipes, oh for a shower! Breakfast was great, egg & bacon toasties, chinese style. Barry's Marmite is popular, particularly with the Chinese. We trek along the wall today. 4pm - The wall is really steep and narrow and so high, some walked below. We are in the middle of no-where, the scenery is lovely. 20km in 7 hours, and much easier than yesterday. This feels like real Mongolia, lots of farmland & peasants who are happy to see us. They are fascinated by white people and delighted if we say 'ni hao' (hello). Its hot and sunny now, the rain long gone. The next camp is beside the Yellow River, 90 mins transfer away. 6pm. Al fresco strip wash with 1/2 bowl of cold water - height of luxury! Loads of insect spray, there are millions of massive mozzies. The tiny tents get soaked in the frequent thunderstorms and us and all the contents are soaked. Sleep is difficult, but at least the food is good.

Friday. 4.45am up to see the sunrise over the Yellow River. Its so-named by the colour of the silt washed down its 3,398 mile length.1 hour walk to cross the river by ferry. We have been split into 2 groups, Mahesh, Ann, Ian & Liz did a 2 hr walk, we did nearly 5 hrs into the Gobi Desert at 37c. Imagine a slice of the Sahara, and thats it, very tough walking through 4" deep sand all morning. After lunch back by the river for a further 4 hours making over 22km today, and a new camp, again by the river. The place is swarming with mozzies, not much left of us to bite. (Surprised they touch you dirty, smelly lot ! - J.) This trek is extremely tough, no loo, shower or enough water, but my beard is doing well. Having a bit of sense of humour failure now, it really is a 'challenge', we are all exhausted. Barry and I want to phone Raffles Hotel in Beijing and tell them to send a helicopter for us, it would be worth every penny. We have sprayed 100% Deet all over and hope to sleep for once.

Saturday. 6am start.  (They walk across the grasslands of the Erdos Plateau, the best cashmere in the world is produced here. Thankfully they are away from that dreadful river. J.) The Dr gave most of us anti-histamine for bites. Viv and I have the most but she wins, she has 20 on her bum. The rain woke us at 5am, its already 26c. 2pm - lunch. Its 35c and sunny & an easier walk today but the sand got into our boots yesterday so we have sore feet. Yesterday was the lowest point but we're all more cheerful today. Our group are all fit and the correct weight so we can cope. Sadly a lady from the other group is not, we walk 30 mins and wait 30mins for her to catch up, making each trek take much longer. 7.20pm  - 2 hour transfer to camp. Fuel is short and many garages have run out and we are running low. Many big trucks and trains of coal, with lots of power stations. Its  mainly peasants in the country but in towns huge identical rows of apartment blocks are being built. The Chinese are moving here in their millions. The roads are in bad condition and we pass miles of nothing much in the countryside, no herds, just a few goats & cattle. Arrived 8pm to camp in a cattle field. A briefing about our visit to the Ghengis Khan Mausoleum and they spoke about Attila the Hun. Someone said, "he was in Star Wars" - priceless!

Sunday. We have finished the trek with much celebration! An extra 3km as our guide got lost making 15km in 6 hours, Ann is struggling with the heat. The mausoleum was interesting but all we could think of was a shower and rest. 3 hour coach (diesel at last) to traditional Gher Camp with real beds and real water. The camp is a bit rough but we had a super dinner and presentation. For some reason I am 'the journalist' ! A party of camel trekkers also here.The party went on until midnight, it was very special.

Monday. Up at 6am. The rice wine was the final straw, a few headaches about. We visited the Meidaizhao Lamasary (vast palace/temple combination) on way to Hohhot. Its one of the most important temples in the country and has an amazing 500yr old pagoda. Traditional Mongolian lunch, like fondu diy stew with beef, lamb, fish, veg & noodles, very nice but a good wine was needed. Counting the hours now until I am home (61), missing my family terribly. 1 hour flight to Beijing was delayed by huge electric storm and torrential rain, arrived at the hotel 4 hrs late.

Tuesday. Free time in Beijing with tours to see the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Sq  and round Houtong in a rickshaw. Its very hot, smoggy & steamy now and I'm all sightseed out, going shopping next. (36 hrs) Beijing is a weird place, it has no soul or atmosphere and the people are like zombies, all state brainwashed. We're all out for a meal to celebrate tonight, with a few beers. Fantastic evening, bed at 1am, need to be up at 6.30, ugh. Our flight leaves at 11.50am on Wednesday arriving , we hope, at Farleigh about 8pm UK time. All our flights have run late so far, without exception.

Wednesday. We are all home safe and sound. Many, many thanks to everyone for the wonderful support and interest in the trek. On behalf of Farleigh sincere thanks to everyone who has sponsored myself and fellow trekkers. (Don't think they will want Chinese take-away for a while. . . . ! J.)

July 25th. The total raised for the group is just over £29,000 and there is still donations being received.

This is not an easy way to raise money for Farleigh, but the sense of personal and group achievement makes it very worthwhile. Terry's Himalaya trek was tremendous and the group of 50 made over £140,000 for Farleigh. Terry's company sponsored his actual cost of the trek, so every penny you donate will go to Farleigh Hospice.

Please dig deep and sponsor Terry online through this site, it's simple, fast and totally secure and also the most efficient way to sponsor. Farleigh Hospice will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. If you are a 40% taxpayer, you can also claim 18% Gift Aid back on your self assessment form. e.g  A £130 donation will actually cost you £100 but the gross value to Farleigh is £166.67.

Many thanks for your support.       Terry (and Judith)