Monday 25th aug A blue sky day in Beijing Another hotel breakfast where the huge assortment of food out on tables has me ending up at the table with the most bizarre selection of food, Russian bread, processed cheese, drinking yogurt and coffee are today's choices. Today is special - we are going to the icon of China - the Great Wall. Its a two hour bus ride to the mountain range and on the way we hear some statistics, the guides always talk in such hug...

Sunday 24th august Walking in History -Both ancient and Modern. Blogging at a window overlooking Beijing. Its a pinch-me moment - the "i cant believe I am here and now" moment. Infrastructure is incredible - the buildings are taking my by breath away in their audacity to defy gravity Apartments are built in their dozens, reaching up to the skies and out to the horizons. There is a road which is long enough, wide enough to land any plane in the world, if I ever...

We tumbled off the train and our group met together sharing our stories of a "night on the train" before following the crowd to the exit and the waiting tour guide of Beijing, Ming, (Mind you we are rather obvious in this place, being the only westerners seen so it wasn't too much trouble to spot us.) Our group split for breakfast some preferring the safe taste of McDonald's but four of us ate some delicious street food, warm tofu with savoury pieces and a rol...

Today is a slow start day. The day you wake up at 9am and both panic that the day is half wasted and glad that your body could catch up, Breakfast again - starting the day with a drinking yogurt (maybe possibly that was what it was) and a delicious fresh noodle soup. Judy turned up again and took us to Islam st. I could have spent days there. Streets and allies filled with everything in the world, coal fires roaring under huge pots of broth, noodle makers squ...

We dragged our exhausted bodies up the next morning and tackled our "spoilt-for-choice" hotel breakfast. Chirpy little Judy loaded us all up into a minivan and off we set - it's my bucket list time "The terracotta warriors" First we were slipped into a factory to learn how to do something obscure with the warriors, but after a few brief words about clay we were rapidly slid into large rooms full of tourist rubbish with a merry "chop chop shop shop" Being Au...