An early start, which I think will become the norm, packing an overnight bag before setting off to the Great Wall for our first hike. It's a 3 hour drive to today's start point, a drive primarily through the smog shrouded farmland, with vague hints of hillside lurking just on the edge of what's visible. We picked up a guide for the first day of our hike, as we had to skirt around a military area. This part of the hike was around 20 towers, mainly over unkempt w...

Arrived in Beijing at 2am on Sunday, which meant there was very little traffic around. Having been travelling for over 36 hours, and having managed only 3 hours napping during that, the first thing I put my mind to was a good hard sleep. A hard sleep, because there's less than a cm of give in the mattress, though that didn't make it in any way uncomfortable. Awake, and refreshed by 11am, I took a 20 minute walk to Tiannamen Square to settle myself in the city, t...