What sane woman walks away from a life of luxury and takes to the road at the age of sixty? Intrepid senior adventurer Gillybean did just that. She set off to explore South America.

Except it didn't quite work out that way. After accidentally booking a flight East instead of West, Gillybean found herself teaching English at a nursery school in Southern China.

Within a couple of weeks she had acquired a hot young flatmate, an international circle of friends and discovered the best sushi bar in town.

Deep fried cockroaches, dancing the cha-cha under the stars and backpacking up the Li River were the mildest of her experiences.

Throw in some miscommunication and a few bizarre cultural customs and you have the recipe for an exciting, and often hilarious, journey to China.