Greetings!

We have been in Beijing for almost 4 days now so it's seems about time for an update on our travels. Between sightseeing and arranging transport and hotels for later in the trip we have been kept pretty busy. Every body said we would be in for a major culture shock once we hit China but by some incredible stroke of luck we have arrived at the most western friendly time since the dawn of time. I guess some people might see that as effecting the authenticity of the trip but I figure I don't have a leg to stand on, on that score as I had my lunch in McDonalds today. Although as I said to John that Mc D's was full of normal beijing'ers so it may have been the least touristy bit of our trip so far.

Today's lunch was just us trying to escape Chinese food for one meal time. I like chinese as much as the next person but having had, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Duck in every sauce and wrapping imaginable in the past four days we kinda fancied a change. Also to dispell a common myth, all the talk of the chinese food you get in Dublin being nothing like the real stuff is codswallop, tastes pretty much the same (good but the same).

Our hostel (we are actually staying in the hotel bit of it) is right in the middle of a little neighbourhood about a 10 minute walk from Tianenmen Square. It's quite nice been amongst the locals rather than in a chain hotel just overlooking a ring road. By day the streets are filled pedestrians and cyclists (I think Katie Melua may have underestimated the bicycle count) and then by night the streets are filled with badminton and mahjong players.

We arranged a tour on wednesday to go to the Ming Tombs (a 20 sqKm site where 13 chinese emperors are buried, it's no simple headstone for these lads they get an afterlife palace each), the main part of the tour though was to the Great Wall. We had tried to do the authentic backpacker thing of going to the less touristy and commercialised spot but unfortunately that tour was cancelled at the last minute (ironically probably because not enough people wanted to go). So instead we were brought to the Badaling area which is tourist central. There was only one other backpacker joining us and it turned out she was a girl from Wexford called Catherine who was returning home after a year in Oz.

Until Wednesday my mental picture of the Great Wall was of a gentle undulating paveway (something akin to the Yellow Brick Road). Boy was I wrong, its like the worlds largest staircase or at least the bit we got to. In 30 degree heat it is a force to be reckoned with. We all climbed for about 20 minutes before John decided he had had enough and that he would wait around and take in the views while myself and Catherine reached the summit of the Badaling section. Looking ahead it was like a vertical wall of steps reaching into the heavens but i was determined to reach the top because god knows when ill be back around these parts again. After a lot of panting and quick water stops we eventually reached the top and were greeted with a glorious view of the surrounding valleys with the wall stretching off into the horizon. We counted over 700 steps to the top, no ordinary steps mind you, many were at least a foot or more high. By the time we reached the bottom I was well and truly shattered but it was also the best experience of the trip so far.

Last night we went to visit a Kung Fu show supposedly performed by Shaolin Monks who practice in the seculsion of a monastery for 10 years before coming to Beijing to perform (for foreigners). Whether or not that's true they really put on a great show and there is definitely a very high level of skill involved. Prior to the show we had dinner at a Peking Duck restaurant, another must on any Beijing itinerary. I think the place we went to was sort of the Chinese equivalent of bringing a tourist in Dublin to Teach Na Ceibe in Temple Bar for some "authentic" Dublin nightlife. While the duck was quite nice we just never really felt at ease in the restaurant which kinda spolied the whole thing.

Today we visited the Forbidden City which is absolutely huge in scale. It is a walled in palace in the centre o Beijing which reaches more than 1km from its South and North gates. All the space between is filled with courtyards and temples with impossibly chinese names such as the Temple of Mental Cutulivation. I think i may rename the rooms at home. The sitting room will become The Hall of Eternal Supreme Harmony. Catchy!

We still have a couple of more days left here before we take the overnight sleeper train to Xi'an on sunday night. There is still plenty left to do like the Temple o Heaven, The Summer Palace, Behai Park and visit the pandas at the zoo. So I better be off...

Over and Out,

Jules