After beer and cards we all slept like babies and were rudely awoken by a rather scary chambermaid who appeared to be trying to break our door down at 9am! How uncivilised....
We went back to sleep and then had to rush to meet Mona at Starbucks for brunch..... Yes, Starbucks has become
the favourite breakfast haunt. It is halfway between Mona's hostel and our hotel, it does the best coffee in Beijing, where milky tea is the norm, it is warm and it has wifi and a western toilet.... Heaven!
We then jumped on the subway for a colourful journey. Bizarrely, it seems that an opportunity for a bit of advertising is never missed in communist China: as the tube trains hurtle through the tunnels, adverts are played on the walls on tv screens/ video walls.
We arrived at the Summer Palace; yet another Beijing wonder of intricately painted pagodas, temples and trees. After hours of walking, talking and taking photos we sat and watched the sun set over the enormous frozen lake with pagodas and distant mountains silhouetted against the horizon.
Then off to treat our Chinese friends to dinner... A whole crispy duck, sliced by a waiter at our table; plate after plate of amazing creations washed down with plenty of beers and all for less than 7 pounds a head! Susie had been worried that she might not enjoy the food, not being fond of Chinese food in the UK. However, she is pleased to report that Beijing food bears no resemblance whatsoever to the bland, sweet food often served up at home!!
A long-ish taxi ride back to the Goto modern hotel provided opportunity for a discussion about Pavlov's donkeys, amongst other topics....