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 ...

The most beautiful sunny day under clear blue skies walking around a city filled with amazing sights and sounds. We started off wondering down what we have named 'Disney street', a series of shops in a theatrical setting; there is even a wooden tram!! The street is laid out with stalls and red lanterns for New Year. The lanterns bob and bounce, dancing in the icy Mongolian wind. I feel somewhat ashamed to admit that we again succumbed to western breakfast tast...

After a day of trains, planes (but no automobiles) we finally arrived in sub-zero Beijing. Unfortunately, the Guangtong Modern Hotel proved a wee bit elusive... taxi drivers, random hoteliers, locals and even the Police claimed to have no idea where it was. Eventually after a couple of hours of wandering in the bitter cold we located it!! And it was generally worth the walk... clean and comfortable for a tenner a night each! One note of caution though... Just had...

Angie lost (!) and we had a 60p breakfast from KFC.... A bowl of cabbage and rice soup and a deep fried dumpling..... interesting and, as we were about to find out, essential fuel to brave the temperatures outside. The coffee however was like dishwater.... Tianenmen Square had an expectant air.... People milling around in the freezing wind, talking, selling, practising their English. Angie wasn't that impressed with the freezing plain, whereas Susie was moved an...