8th September 2009 - 13th September 2009:

We arrived in Beijing on Tuesday 8th September and to be honest for the first couple of days we found it quite tough as it has been a big culture shock on so many levels. We finally realised just how big an adventure we were undertaking and the home comforts we were giving up, including seeing our friends & family.

It was also difficult to grasp the cultural changes in China - the people here have very different views on personal space and are consistently staring and pointing at you as we stand out quite a lot from almost everyone else.

For our first of couple days we "adjusted" to the time difference i.e. slept for the best part of 48 hours, awaking briefly to visit Tian'manen Square to watch an extravagant performance of more than 50 soldiers marching across a six lane highway just to lower their flag - we are certain it was very symbolic but possibly a waste of government army resources!!!

On Wednesday (as we had slept in until 3.30pm and had no time left for anything else) we decided to head down to Silk Street Market, although not before Liza accidentally sprayed her hair with Jungle Fever instead of dry shampoo - not recommended albeit no mosquito bites on the head since!!!

At the market our bargaining skills were put to the test but we did manage to buy a 'Tag' watch, some 'Rayban' sunglasses and a few gifts for family. The stall girls were all very funny ("give me your best price lady") and although we found it hard at first by the end we were quite into it and haggling over 10RMB, which works out at around 95p!!

We went to the Forbidden City on Thursday morning which was just absolutely huge - it was almost a mile wide. We walked through what seemed like an endless number of gardens and buildings used by the various emperors in China and all of the temples were amazingly detailed and painted in bright full colours.

In the evening we intended to go to the Beijing Acrobatics Show but the cab driver decided to drop us at Da Dong Duck Restaurant, which was absolutely fantastic but not our intended destination. After the meal Liza had her first experience of an eastern style toilet (see the photo album and you will understand)…. and subsequently ran straight out - not before taking a quick picture of course - and instead decided to wait until we got home!!!

We did eventually manage to get to the Acrobatics the following night (Friday) but not surprisingly decided to go via the subway rather than risking another taxi ride. The show was unbelievable and would not have been out of place in the West End. At one stage there were 12 girls on ONE bicycle - it must be seen to be believed!

Also on Friday we went to see the Grand Summer Palace. This is where the Emperors and their families would stay during the summer months. This was another vast space with many buildings / palaces / temples and a beautiful lake. When we left we decided to get our first rickshaw ride back to the station and felt really sorry for the poor b***** having to cycle with the weight of us two in the back and in boiling sunshine but it was good craic!

Saturday has got to be our best day yet….. we climbed the Great Wall of China. There are no words to describe the view and the feeling of looking out across the mountains at this stunning relic. It took us over three hours to walk a 10km stretch of the wall which went from Jinshanling to Samatai. It was an extremely gruelling and physical trek with some of the walkways having stone steps that were sometimes each over a foot high and some very steep climbs that made us not want to look down at certain points. We ended the trek off by crossing an old wooden bridge and then going down a zipwire across a large canyon to the finish where we got a well deserved beer- it is an experience neither of us will ever forget or probably ever repeat!! LOL

Our last day in Beijing was a quick 'run' around the Olympic Stadium - The Bird's Nest - and the Aquatics Centre - The Water Cube - which were both extremely impressive. We then headed back to our hostel to collect our bags and grab a taxi to Beijing Train Station, next stop Xi'an.