Episode 3

Our man in the Panama hat and socks-with-shorts combo continues his bizarre travelogue. But wait, Merton's looking down in the mouth. Too much travelling and a bad cold have soured his mood and China is starting to get him down. "You get sick of the s*** and spitting and the staring," he confides bitterly, recovering his sense of humour to add, "And that's just the crew." Merton rallies to deliver a programme of two halves: marvels in the first half - the sublime beauty of the Li river, the paddy fields of the "Dragon's Backbone", a scene where he is massaged by six people at once - but then a slide toward bathos for the second half as he visits Guangzhou (or Canton, as was) and mingles with less-than-scintillating expats. But as a quirky glimpse of a nation full of wonders, this continues to be an enjoyable eye-opener.