The day dawned and was very cold as usual. Had brekkie in the hostel again and then headed out to Xidan shopping area, about 15 mins by taxi. Whilst on the subject, there is no way on earth that I would drive anything short of a Sherman tank on a road in Beijing. Cars, buses and assorted wheeled and non-wheeled traffic go in all directions at all times. Just sitting in the back of the taxi is enough to cause ulcers. The amazing thing is that we haven't seen one accident! I have taken some video and will post it at some point soon so you can get a little taste. The shopping at Xidan was a little less frenetic than yesterday but it was still tiring as the place was vast. Floor after floor stretching for miles. It was basically a department store but absolutely gigantic and with the addition of the ability to bargain, but not a lot. We came away with considerable booty and went to Maccas for a brief respite again. We don't feel guilty about that because we are certainly eating lots of local food otherwise. Returned home and had a little break and then dad went off and bought another belt while I uploaded photos. Then we decided to go out looking for a new wallet for Sue and found one about a 20 minute walk from the hostel. By this time it was peak hour and the streets were filled with people and the roads likewise. Took a few photos but it was getting quite dark so not sure how they will be. Have now just returned home and are having a beer (light) or two whilst waiting for our dinners. One of the staff just brought dad a ripe persimmon to eat from the tree outside and he thoroughly enjoyed it. You will have seen them in the pictures of the hostel. We will be really sad to leave here as it has been just fantastic. Lee-se has given us a note in Chinese that we can give to a taxi driver in the morning to get to our new hotel and the start of our tour.

Catch you later!