Great journey up to Beijing, never has 24 hours stuck in a train been so much fun. Started with a cat-fight between two mother and daughter combos over a seating mix up. The funny thing was they spoke Mandarin until it got really heated between the daughters then they slipped into English - "F*** your mother, a******!" to be precise. Nice to know we've given this country something. This was followed by chats with an American student, a Hong Kong-Australian family, and a former Mongolian soldier. With beer and food plentiful a good time was had by all.
When I first arrived in Beijing I was a little stuck. My own fault, I had not written down an address and phone no for the hotel, and no-one seemed to know it. Very few people speak English, particularly taxi drivers, but I managed to find an internet cafe, worked out a route and found it myself.
I've stayed in some great hotels, supposedly among the finest in Asia, but this is something else. The Opposite House has just opened. It is 6-star, of Japanese design, and ultra modern. Plus the mini-bar is free, wahey! Sadly the Chinese authorities had the last laugh and when my visa came back, with no warning, they had limited my stay to just eight days. Hopefully my travel agents can bring my flight to Japan forward, and I will spend longer there. But it's a shame, cause I think I really like China. My plan is to cram in the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Xian and its Terracotta Army. I'll miss Shanghai though. And I will add pics soon promise, sorry.
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