So much to catch up on! I've had a few problems uploading photos on the internet here so I'm going to wait until I get to Hong Kong where it's a bit more reliable!
So Beijing. It's a busy city and I never saw blue sky once. I haven't felt clean in any of the cities because of the pollution but in Beijing the air is also very dry. I had a little wander round the area near the hostel before my tour started but the Chinese stare at you all the time (wherever you go) and I found it very intimidating even though it was only meant that way. The guys I'm touring with are very nice. A couple of people from Leicester, one from Ashford(!), a couple from Norway, a New Zealander, an Australian, and three other English people.
The first thing we did (Monday 19th) was walk the great wall from Jin Shan Ling to Simatai - the non-tourist route. It was an experience doing it in snow! The path wasn't smooth and some parts were very steep. It was kind of cool though, not many people can say they've walked the great wall in snow but it did mean we missed out on some of the great views. After about 5 hours trekking a group of us got a flying fox from the last tower on our route across a lake which was exciting.
Tuesday 20th we got a tour round the forbidden city, after walking across Tianamen Square, which was very interesting. Took a lot of photos there! After lunch we got a rickshaw ride around the hutongs (translates as narrow passages) just north of the forbidden city which was very pretty. Had a few near misses with our rickshaws but I'm getting used to their chaotic way of driving! They don't really do lanes, they love using their horn, but I haven't seen any crashes - which does amaze me! Crossing the road you just have to be look at the opposite side and walk, if you hesitate they'll just keep driving. The green light for pedestrians is only considered a suggestion. In the evening we went to a Kung Fu show which was great. There was some ballet and acrobatics in it too as it told a story of a young boy who becomes a great warrior and finds enlightenment after struggling with temptation.
Wednesday 21st some of us went to the Temple of Heaven in the south of the city and saw some people doing tai chi in the park surrounding it. We then went to the Pearl Market where you constantly got people trying to buy stuff, unstandable really but they were so pushy I didn't really want to look at anything. Obviously though with 5 floors I managed to buy a couple of things! We then had a mission to get across to the Summer Palace partly by subway then taxi, with our limited chinese! It was woth it though. I had a really nice afternoon wandering about, I also went up the hill to the Tower of the Fragance of Buddha - I love the names! The views were fantastic although my photos haven't come out as well because of the pollution haze!
