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Today we woke up a about ten forty five am to the crisp sun creeping through the curtains, we had slept soundly and felt a lot more refreshed, despite the small amount of hours. It was weird waking up and suddenly being in China... In a strange way the journey from the airport last night and driving down the motorway towards the hotel had felt almost like going home. It was weird, as arriving to the coldness of China had almost felt like we were returning home from our holiday, especially as the motorway, cars and manner of driving wasn't all that different from the UK (apart from them being a left hand drive).
On waking I opened the curtains and outside the crisp winter sun was shining in a clear sky that looked like it had snow waiting to fall. The street below was lively and everyone was up and about. We slept well with the bed being very comfy and the room cosy. We had a cup of green tea and I jumped into the shower and savoured the warmth as outside it was approaching minus fifteen degrees... The coldest day in recent history in Beijing. After we had showered we decided to head out and explore... On leaving the hotel the cold just smacks you in the face... It is Baltic and chills right to your bones. The street we are on us fairly busy with a few shops and restaurants but very open and clean. We crossed the road and headed down a small alleyway towards the Main Street, down the alley was numerous doorways to shops and loads of bikes propped up... It's quite cool as on the handle bars there are these big glove type things that are attached so that when your riding you hands stay warm. Once we hit the Main Street a few local tenders tried to get us to come into their restaurants but we politely declined... I was looking through to the next street where a big red H and a big red M where beautifully displayed on a shop front.... Clearly we had to take a look. We headed in H&M and I bought a big Woolley hat for thirty yuan (three pounds) as already my ears were stinging from the cold. I also enjoyed the therapeutic effect of being back in one of my favourite shops... It was really nice.
We headed back out and wandered down the historic Qianmen Dajie which was formally known as Zhengyagnmen Dajie until as late as the fifties. It has recently been restored to resemble a Qing dynasty shopping street and is now full of shops such as Zara and H&M as well as plenty of restaurants. There is also a tram that takes you up and down the street towards the famous front gate for twenty yuan. We saw a post office further down the street so decided to head back to the hotel and grab the bits we wanted to send home as goodness knows when we will get another chance.
We arrived back to the warmth of the hotel with its big welcoming Christmas tree glittering and realised that China had been a good choice to spend Christmas, as it was both cold, Christmassy and clearly acknowledged here. We headed up to the room and sorted the bag of stuff out ready for posting then thought we would grab a warm cup of tea before venturing back out... We headed up to the sixth floor to the snack bar and were presently surprised, for on the top floor was a beautifully cosy hub where you would chill and meet fellow travellers. It had windows around all three walls and had a bar, as well as a pool table and fuss ball table. There were several big comfy sofas and a large Christmas tree to one side. We grabbed a stool at one of the tables overlooking the busy street below and instantly relaxed... All the anxiety of coming to China evaporated.
We checked out the menu and found it to be quite pricey... It was cheaper to drink beer then to have a cup of tea. We settled on a coke and shared a twelve inch pizza... And Steven also had a Cajun chicken sandwich. While we were waiting for our food we got chatting to a couple who had come in and sat near us... I guessed they were on our tour. They were an Australian couple our age and called Glen and Blair... They seemed really nice and we chatted for ages about random stuff ...although mostly spiders, they seemed well travelled and easy to get on with so that was nice. Once we had eaten we said our goodbyes and headed back out into the cold... But not before I had put on a pair of thick tights under my trousers.
We headed back towards Qianmen Dajie and to the post office where after we had overcome language barriers and impatient Chinese people we finally posted our package. It cost about sixteen pounds and would take approximately three months by boat to reach Norfolk... Hopefully. We then gave our thanks to the young assistant and headed back on to the street. We headed south towards the main road in the search of a pharmacy to buy some deodorant and eventually found a huge indoor market that sold everything. We wandered up and down and had a good browse before eventually finding some in a smellies shop, however this was only after some very funny impressions to a local girl.... She looked at be blankly as I attempted the gesture of spraying under my arms so I did the whiffy hand signal and the light came on! She showed me the selection and an older... More aggressive women said they were fifteen each (about one pound fifty). I thought this was a bit steep but we needed some so went to give the women thirty yuan. She then replied no no no!! It's fifty... At this point I said goodbye, what followed was extortionate prices and me walking several times until I handed over thirty yuan like initially agreed. We then left and headed home.
We arrived back to the room and had a cup of tea and I fell asleep for about twenty mins before we had to head down stairs for the welcome meeting. In reception Glen and Blair were already waiting as was our guide Tommy. We got chatting to him and it transpired that there was only six people on the tour... The Aussies, us and a couple from Chile who were residing in Oz called Karen and Jorge. When the Chileans arrived we all said hello and then headed out for a group dinner.
The restaurant wasn't far ...about five mins and was very authentic Chinese. We sat at a table in the corner that had a large lazy Susan in the middle. At each place setting there was chopsticks and a vacuum packed dinner set... how very hygienic lol. Tommy said he would order us a selection of local delicacies for us to try... With this we got nervous as he read off a list to the waiter as we couldn't see any prices or anything. We ordered a beer which on enquiring only cost eighty pence and was delicious and awaited our food... Tommy had ordered a Peking duck, with pancakes, spring onion and hoisin sauce, broccoli, chilli string beans, sweet and sour pork, spring rolls and egg fried rice. It didn't take long for it to all be placed in front of us and it looked delicious.
We tucked in and the food tasted just as good as I looked... During the meal we were told the plan for tomorrow and a bit more about Chinese culture. Tommy seemed really nice and very friendly, he told us what to expect and about some of the optional activities. On trying to pick up one of the slippery pork pieces my chopsticks caught one of the beers and set it wobbling... As Blair automatically went to save it we clashed and a bowl of rice flew on the floor behind us.... We couldn't stop giggling and the ice was broken ...as well as the china... Thankfully no beer was spilt and the only casualty was a smallish broken bowl. After we had finished eating we paid the bill and were surprised to be told it would only be fifty yuan each (five pounds).
We then headed back into the cold and down the road to a local super market to buy some food for the morning. We were heading to the Great Wall at seven am so would need some breakfast to take with us. I can do without breakfast so Steven bought himself some cookies and a bottle of water... We then headed back to our cosy room. Steven then headed up to the bar to try and FaceTime the UK while I had a spruce up and settled down for the night, before long he was back... It had been unsuccessful so we curled up for an early night.
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