I luv yu fo fweee

After putting our hatred of trains behind us, we departed for Beijing. This was a two day train ride through the Gobi Desert. It was still minus thirty degrees outside but there was no snow on the ground which was quite strange. (Side note from Hanna: The planes in the sky looked like they were headed upwards instead of horizontally). Typically, the Chinese have built train tracks smaller than any other place on earth, which meant that the wheels on the train had to be changed to fit the new tracks. In order to save us passengers from any inconvenience, we were lifted straight up into the air in our carriage whilst they changed the wheels underneath us. This took forever... which of course meant scoffing another tube of pringles.

The Gobi Desert

Lifting the train

Anyway... finally arrived in Beijing and rejoiced over the heat wave... meaning five degrees above freezing. We rejoiced even more when we got to the hotel and found out it was amazing. Luxury accommodation- our own double room, with our own shower and toilet! It was clean- the sheets weren't hairy, the towels weren't stained, and there was no condom behind the headboard. (We failed to mention that this happened in Ulanbaatar). We both discovered that the hotel restaurant served western food, which meant our favourite meal was on the menu- spaghetti bolognese... could things get any better?

We went to a Night Market and were told several times "I love you for freeeee!" by the vendors, whilst they were trying to sell us scorpion, snake and beetles.


We went for dinner at a Peking Duck restaurant, and then decided to go for a quiet drink with friends which ended up being a manic night of bar crawling through the streets of Beijing.

All toilets look like this in Beijing

The night began....

Pierrot and Hanna

Simon, Andie and Fred

Will and Henry

And the night goes on....

We got back to the hotel at 04.30 in the morning ready for an early morning wake up call at 8AM!! As you may have guessed we overslept and were woken up by our guide frantically wondering where we were. After a cold shower, slap in the face and some painkillers we were up and running, ready for a day of intense sightseeing.