Day 2 (Yesterday) and its a 6:00 am start for the tour of the Great Wall, not that I slept, as the person in the room next to me had the loudest snoring I've ever heard (and I was still a little jetlagged, which didn't help). There are several sections of the wall that have been restored, and the nearest (and most well known) is Badaling. However it gets inundated with tourists (thousands a day), so I picked a section that was some distance from Beijing. Jinshanling/Simatai is around 3 hours drive (no-traffic), and it was really worth it. I only saw 60 or so tourists the whole time I was there. From the drop pff point at Jinshanling you can walk just over 10 km to Simatai, all along the Great Wall. The going was steep, but I think all those years living up a hill have paid off. Really amazing vistas (although it was misty the day I was there - I still haven't seen the sun yet!) and a few interesting birds and insects made it a great day out - breakfast and lunch were included for a total price of about 24 pounds. The 4 hour journey (lots of traffic) back into Beijing was a bit draining though. After A quick shower I went out with a couple of guys from the hostel (Jordy - Canadian guy and Sophia - Aussie girl) for some noodles. We had a wander round the Forbidden city walls and had a good chat, and then when we got back, we had a few drinks with some American guys and stayed up to to watch the football. Unfortuantely I fell asleep for most of it, as I was shattered, jetlagged and sleep deprived. A really good day all round though!

Today had a bit of a late start (seeing as the football didn't start until 2:45 in the morning here), so I just went for a wander round Beihai (a park to the north of here) and the hutongs North of it (narrow streets with semi-communal housing). No pictures I'm afraid, as my camera's battery was flat. It was an intersting walk, although a lot of the hutongs were a bit touristy - not the real deal, thats for sure. And I got way overcharged for some fried rice and a chrysanthemum tea (6 pounds - it should have cost about 1.50!) Still not sure where to go next, but maybe Xi'an or Shanghai on Wednesday or Thursday - I'll think about it tonight!