Lois and I went for breakfast at the dumpling place again as they were soooo good! Then we went for a coffee at SPR Coffee, which I needed as I couldn't sleep last night due to the jack hammer that was in my room, being Lois. We went to meet the group back at the hotel, for our visit to Tianmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was very cold today so we were all wrapped up in many layers. Our local guide Kevin told us about these two places. We spent quite a bi...

As it was now Monday I had to go to the Mongolian Embassy to get my visa. Knowing where it was I got into a cab and directed the driver where to go. I lined up, handed over my form and told them that it was urgent. She told me I could pick it up in a couple of days, but first I'd have to go over to the Bank of China to pay the fee. She showed me on a map where it was so off I went to go find it. After looking around for a bit I eventually found the back and we...

This morning I went to SPR Coffee for breakfast and also to use the free WIFI but I couldn't get it to work and whilst sitting there I met a Canadian girl who was on her way back home as her Mum had just died. In talking to her I was quite surprised by how well she was handling this news. She had been working in China teaching English and seemed to really love doing it. She spoke of the kids as though they were her own and the friends she had made had become he...

As it was a Saturday I and the Mongolian Embassy wasn't open I decided to head over to the silk market to buy some more winter clothes for my trip through Mongolian and Russia. I walked down the main street towards the market and decided to stop in at Starbucks to get some breakfast and a well needed caffeine fix. Arriving at the Silk Market I wondered through the different stalls trying to find what I needed. I found a couple of stalls, which sold fake Northf...

With and early flight to catch I was up at 5.30am to pack my bags. I then checked out of the hotel and caught a cab to the train station to get my train to Narita. After about 1-2 hours on the train I finally arrived at the airport. After going through all the usual stuff you go through when at an airport I made my way to the terminal via train and waited to board my plane. We had a stop over in Shanghai first for 2 hours before boarding another flight to Beij...