Beijing - land of beeping cars...
... and where they don't care if the little man is green - if they are turning right they just go! Oh - and the street selling is terrible - they hassle you something awful...
Did the Great Wall today - which was... great ;) don't know what i was expecting, but didn't think that you'd have to climb LOADS of steps... good little work out - but was brilliant to see - amazing how long it is and hardly anyone was there (winter and all)... It is on top of all these mountains - so when you do reach the top you do still have to go up and down steps (all worth it tho!) And apparently it isn't true that you can see the Wall from the moon/satellite as it is pretty much the same colour as the landscape, it all blends in... also it would've all been left to disintegrate if it was for tourism - it is cos of us that it is being restored!
and daredevil me caught the luge/tabogon back down - very fun - even had it going at full speed some of the way :)
Last night we had our group meeting and then went to dinner - had Peking duck, this delicious spicy green curd, yummy eggplants and all this other stuff wouldn't usually attempt to try, was great (and cheap!) - chinese food is definitely better in China - eat oodles and still feel ok...
The group is pretty good...
Angela - the tour leader is Russian - and is very nice
Pauline (Roma) and Justin (Gympie) - are a great couple - very friendly and easy-going, not too smoochy or anything - they are on their way back to Australia - doing Africa etc on the way
John - a Sydney engineer who is going back to uni next year to be a surgeon - he's well... unique :)
Celia - finished uni 2 years ago and worked in Myer, Melbourne the past year... going to UK for a working holiday - was her b'day yesterday 22yo
And then Wendy - 32yo Canadian, going to Poland after this for a couple of weeks, then back to work - freelance photographer - sharing a room with her at the moment
Did the Silk markets tonight - not good... ended up getting a goose down jacket - $30 - was worried i wasn't going to warm enough - and now pretty much all of us have the same jacket - Celia and I both have it brown :) and figured we can give it away at the end of the trip for that price - worth it to be toasty in Mongolia
Also got a 'cashmere' fleece-type jacket - was really nice, and a butterfly hairclip and a little souvineer thing :)... very fun to bargain - you offer them usually about 1/3 of their original asking price!
Off to Tinnamen sqaure tomorrow and maybe the summer palace... and then the next day an early start for the train - can't wait for that - will be on it overnight and then in a hotel on Mongolia - negative 30!! (why i needed the jacket)...
learnt some chinese supersitions - if your baby has a double crown - that means they are going to be mischievious (not good for you Sue)... and you shouldn't point at the moon cos you might get yur ears chopped off ?! And when sweeping in your house, you should always take the dust out the back (not the front door) :)
anyway cheerio for now :)