Day two and Melissa luckily set an alarm for 8am so I could go to the embassy and apply for my visa for china! Getting up was pretty rough but mel jumped up and In the shower, or else I would have gone back to sleep! We got on the tube to the embassy sector. The street was really pretty. It had the Chinese version of the 'two towers' and it was surrounded by trees. All of the embassy buildings were in the same section which makes it easy for backpackers! Ten minutes and 600 yuan less, my visa was put through and I was told to collect it Friday. Sorted.

Next we went to the silk market because I really need a bag to carry about with me. Having a standard backpack just doesn't work when all you have with you is your purse and phone. We headed to the silk market and oh my god, the women were intense! They called you things like 'beautiful' just to get you inside. They also said things like 'Louis Vuitton bags for sale!!'. Louis Vuitton bag my ass! I managed to get a wee fake Kipling over the shoulder bag. Mel has taught me the trade of haggling. The lady was asking for a completely ridiculous price which I just laughed at. I may be 'foreign' but I'm not a retard. (Sometimes). I ended up getting the bag for 40 yuan which is the equivalent of 4 pounds. Nice.

After getting the bag we headed Back to near our hostel and went to the forbidden city. Oh my goodness! The place was insane. So many people everywhere! We queued to get in and paid the entrance fee. What's also interesting about china is that people contanstly want to take your photo because you a westerner. I had heard of this before but was certain it wouldn't happen to mel but alas, 'photo photo!'. The forbidden city was pretty cool. The buildings were beautiful but what we found was it was a lot of the same thing. Once you had seen one side of the city it was the exact same on the other side! On trip advisor, the forbidden city is one of the top on the attraction lists, but there is bound to be better attractions! What really made me sad about that place was the disabled beggars. They would sit outside the city and beg for money, which their pimps would then collect at the end of the day. Horrendous.

We then walked down a street and grabbed some food which was some soup dish. Pretty tasty! It was then tube time, to the Olympic building! I loved it. I thought it was awesome looking. I think after watching some of the London Olympics and Wimbledon with dad I got really excited about it. The whole architecture of it was lovely. After the ring we tubed it back to near the hostel and got a mcflurry to cool ourselves down. When we were back In the hostel mel booked her flight home. It was a funny moment seeing the emotion involved in that. She is happy that she still has two moths left but I think she's equally happy that she Knows she's going home in September and seeing the family again!

Kings joy hostel does deals every night and tonight was hot pot night (free might I add). When you are travelling on a budget these are the opportunities you have to take advantage of! We got stuck in with a couple of other guys in the hostel. All of them seem pretty unsociable to be honest, but mel assures me that doesn't happen very often. I think Beijing it just a weird place, cool but weird. We ended up having a couple of beers and Melissa and I talked about our lovely crazy family. It was nice reminiscing and being nostalgic and sharing memories. :) few drinks later followed by a bottle of water then bed time.