Heather Fell, Olympic modern pentathlete silver medalist, writes about her life 'on and off' the track.

I'VE survived my fourth trip to China and you would have thought I'd be prepared by now but certain sights and smells never cease to amaze me.

I certainly didn't take sufficient nutrition. To give you a flavour, one supper consisted of the following options; 'fish sweet tomato bread', 'soup baby food' and 'splendid four greenstuffs' - the translations didn't really help!

The difference between Asian and Western culture certainly doesn't end at the dinner table. I've spent a week feeling like a giant; other than my fellow competitors and the event officials I haven't seen anyone of non-Chinese origin. As pretty as the window displays were I didn't attempt clothes shopping in the high street, knowing that even their largest items were unlikely to fit. I did venture into the city to discover a recommended street of tailors. It wasn't quite Saville Rowe but after much exaggerated improvised sign language I found a shop that was able to make two dresses in just four days. I was rather apprehensive as to what I might be collecting on my return, as the tailor's English was equal to my Chinese (zero!). I was pleasantly surprised and with a little tweaking once home I think I have two wedding outfits sorted for this summer.

For me it's lucky the Chinese horses are more comparable in size with British ones than the people are. Unusually there were prizes awarded at this World Cup, with the third placed girl (a German) receiving a pair of riding boots, probably a suitable size for a 12-year-old European girl.

My teammates and I couldn't resist making the most of the strong pound. For a tenth of the price we'd pay at home we had the most intricate of designs painted onto our nails and experienced a 'traditional' massage. It was all good value as we have more nail to paint and body to massage than their regular customer!