Three days in China is NOT enough. That is what we are taking away from here, along with some spectacular memories and stunning pictures.
The hostel we stayed in was far and away the best I have seen, including some hotels I've stayed in around the world. The place operates more like a full-blown hotel, right down to the key-card entry system. Breakfast is nothing to shout about, but that's not why we're here.
On our first full day we went to the flea market and had an experience of the Chinese population. It was hard to believe anyone could make sense of what was going on with all the bodies around them. After a quick lunch of Chinese (what else?!) we went for a swift exploration of the Forbidden City. The sheer scale of the place was hard to grasp from the map provided, and we didn't manage to see even half of it. We were distracted from time to time by the mad ramblings of the Crazy Turk and his very patient wife (Raf and 'Cisca who kept us sane on the train from UB). That evening we tried to relax in preparation for the day to come.\
The next day we were up at the crack of dawn to throw breakfast down our necks before being driven to a remote area 2 1/2 hours outside of Beijing to walk a secret section of the Great Wall. With some sections so destroyed we had to climb down and walk beside the wall it was certainly off the beaten track, and the first sighting we had of other people was just as we were starting our 30 minute descent through rock-strewn valleys. To say we earnt our lunch would be an understatement.
That evening we met up with Raf, 'Cicsa, Kent and Dawn (another couple we met on the train and who kept us sane from Raf's constant muttering) and had a rather good feed in a shopping mall of all places.
We are shortly going to board the train to Hong Kong and the next stage of our travels, but China will have a special place in our memories, and we have vowed to return and see all the things we missed with our whistle-stop tour.
Edit:
Well, our train was not as we'd expected, as we got to the station anday early! We managed to get a room in the same hostel, but not our original one. That evening Lydia came down with a cold she had caught from Raf, so I left her to rest and headed out for a drink. I hot-footed it through the hutongs aroudn the Forbidden City, and found myself coming out IN the Forbidden city!
The next day we made it to the train (again!) and it was possibly the most comfortable trip so far, with piped music an' everything!!
