I love China! It's a great country and Beijing is a wonderful city, I'm really enjoying it so far. I got a "good vibe" as soon as I got off the train and everyone is really friendly. Beijing is meant to be polluted but after Ulan Bator the air seems really clean. It's also a very clean and tidy city. I have two Chinese men reading over my shoulder - it's a good job I said I like China! They must like me as they're trying to give me cigarettes.

Everyone I've met has been really nice though. The taxi drivers especially are really funny and enthusiastically speak English if they can, and try and teach us how to pronounce the street names. Laura and I practised our limited Mandarin phrases with our taxi driver yesterday, lots of reciting and pointing going on.

I went to Silk Street with Laura yesterday, which is where you get all the cheap knock offs. Laura and I both listened to general advice and didn't take jeans with us. But after a month of wearing waterproof trousers three sizes too big for me I was needing some normal clothes. I feel quite disappointed in myself as I know it's a vanity thing and I'm trying not to bother with my appearance at all. Though I did look very scruffy in my other clothes. I also accumulate dirt as my jacket is flithy, I have no idea how I did that. It's all the outdoor activities! Anyway, I got a pair of "Diesel" jeans for 7 pounds which is quite good. My natural indescisiveness does me well in haggling as I just stand there going "Oh, um, I'm not sure" and they keep lowering the price!

Oh and last night we found a place called the Bookworm Cafe which is a bit of a library type thing for ex-pats. I got very excited as there were lots of old English books there. I come all the way to China and the thing that excites me most is Shakespeare! We're still with Pat who we met on the train to Ulan Bator and went to the ger camp with. It seems to be the case you really do make friends as you go along and it's good to share the experience with someone. It's funny as you can form really close bonds with people in such a short space of time, we must know almost everything about each other and we only met a week ago!

The only thing I would say about China that I don't like is the spitting. The men walk along the street hacking up and then gob out on the street. It's not very pleasant.

Today I wandered down a few "Hutongs" which are the little winding alleyways with shops and cafes down them. You kind of feel as though you're in the real city here are it's just full of the locals going about their daily lives. I've almost gotten run over by several bikes already. I went to the Forbidden City today as well which was interesting but overrun with tourists. Doing the Great Wall tomorrow.

Anyway, I had better go as I have lots of Chinese people staring at me which I assume means they'd like me to leave....

Merry Christmas all if I don't do another blog before then!