Met 3 girls this morning from Canada - Jill, Anne and Laura. Turns out they're going to the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square as well so ended up tagging along with them for the day! The weather was a bit milder today for a change, although still pretty cold. PHOTOS Whilst at the Forbidden City we ended up getting dragged into a room where some Chinese girls had an art display and it wasn't until we were in there that it dawned on me that it might have be...

Day started with a trip to the market to buy some warm clothes. It opened at 10 and I headed straight to the jeans section where I managed to barter a pair down from 500 yuan (£50) to 120 yuan (£12) - still definitely got ripped off but I'm awful at haggling cos I just feel embarrassed and awkward. Then went to another stall where I got a 'Colombia' jacket for around the equivalent of £15, thinking about it now I probably also got ripped off on that too but it...

Ok so my travels begin! Only kicked in once I had said goodbye to mum, joysie and Emily at the check-in gate... Although I was sad I realised i was grinning to myself like a weirdo as it actually dawned on me that I was going around the world on my own, and with not much of clue as to what I was doing! Caught the (delayed) Manchester flight to London Heathrow, which was again delayed by short while. We were then cheered up by being made to walk STRAIGHT THROUGH...