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After last nights shenanigans and the wall trek I knew it would be a lie in day. Especially considering our 15 hour train ride to xian Was today! The snoring man and the coughing girl in our dorm eventually woke us up! Typical! I jumped in the shower and had the best shower of my life. It was also the first time I've washed my hair since I left which is pretty disgusting haha. I looked at the clock and realised it was 12.40, which was fantastic especially as checkout was 40 minutes ago! According to the rules that means you are charged an extra night but to be honest the lie in was worth it. Mel and I packed up all our stuff and looked at the photos from the previous night. They were hilarious. There is a photo of Mel and some toothless Chinese man from the club which she had no recollection of. You couldn't write this stuff. After we packed up we headed down to reception to face the charges :S I handed the lady my receipt and she Didnt say anything but handed me 100 yuan. For a second I was mildly confused wondering how I had wrangled this. She said it was my deposit back. I'm pretty certain when I booked the hostel I paid only a 3 pound deposit, but she insisted it was my money so I kept it. I can't believe I actually made a profit on kings joy, considering we stayed a day late and missed the checkout time! Result!
Lunch time was interesting. Everyone has repeatedly told me I have to have duck in Beijing as its 'the dish'. Even the thought of it made me want to projectile vomit. I wouldn't consider myself to be a massive meat fan, chicken and the occasional pork chop is the height of it, (and of course uncle lees rank burgers) but alas we headed for some duck. We found a little place in one of the side streets and placed our order. It took some time so we sipped on our waters. The people sitting behind us had these massive green insects in with them, so I had a little look them, felt worse about the entire situation then laughed at how ridiculous it all was! Giant insects just sitting beside a plate of duck! The 'food' was finally brought out and they served it with lettuce and onion and pancakes. It wasn't too bad,fairly tasty, Mel loves the stuff but I wouldn't say I was a duck enthusiast. Give me an omelette any day! You'd think the insect would be the worst part of lunch but no, the man to the left of me kept hocking up and gobbing on the floor?!? Why is this acceptable in china? I don't get it? I tell you what if that was me back in my lockkeepers inn days I certainly wouldn't be cleaning spit off the floor.
After lunch we headed back to kings joy to watch tv until it was train time. We met our Aussie mates and they said they didn't get home to 4am, and I could tell by their eyes! Haha. We lounged around on the Comfy sofas and added eachother on Facebook incase I head to the Melbourne region. Andrews friend owns a bar and they are constantly employing backpackers! Good to know . 5.30 came and we said goodbye to the lads and headed to the supermarket to get train supplies. I got water, crisps and biscuits (first since leaving), and Mel got some Chinese mikado sticks. Yum! Carrying around all your belongings is so tough. Especially in 30 degree head. My shoulders were aching within minutes and the sweat was lashing off us, I definitely don't have the strength for my backpack! We got the tube and ended up at the military museum where we had to then walk 20 minutes to the station. Wrecked! I treated myself to a mcflurry to cool me down. We then headed to our terminal and oh my god I have never seen so many people in my life! I had always heard of how insane Beijing station was but I thought people were exaggerating. There was literally thousands of people all over the place. For example, there were FIVE trains to go to xian, all at the same time! What struck me is that people actually pay for a standing ticket. Now that is just madness. Standing for 15 hours does not sound appealing, not that my hard seat is much better. We boarded the train and immediately knew this was going to be an experience! Time to crack open my book 'the beach' that Chris got me and get a few hours in!
What I also find interesting is how you make friendships when traveling. We knew Andrew and Llewelyn for less than a day and already they seem part of my little journey, and I will think about them when people ask me how Beijing was! I like that about travelling. I also kept saying 'Llewelyn' in a southern accent like no country for old men but it was totally lost on everyone.
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Debra's irate father! Can't believe you didn't mention my Sunday dinners. Disowned!