Hello for the first time!

This is a quick blog as we've only got a few spare minutes before we need to go and catch a train to Harbin for a fantastic Ice Festival.

But to give a run down of the last couple of days' highlights: Navigating all public transport - planes, trains, metro, buses, taxi; Seeing the Temple of Heaven yesterday (wonderfully grand and colourful buildings); dancing in Beihai Park earlier today, and the walk to the top of the island there with a small temple; ice toboggan racing on Beihai Lake (including cracking ice sound!); dumplings for breakfast; being served a chrysanthemum tea in a beer glass because of language difficulties ordering both a tea and a beer; wandering down various little hutongs (their name for tiny lanes) and poking our noses in the shops; seeing yesterday's lowering of the flag on Tiananmen Square; being photographed by the Chinese (sometimes covertly, sometimes asked for it!).

...So not much to speak of then. We've stayed the past couple of nights in a comfortable and warm hostel, met a few people but just been wandering the city on our own. Will be back in a few days and have earmarked the things to do then. Temperature I think has been around -10 degrees or so and has hit us both a bit. But tonight we're on the sleeper train to Harbin in the North, where there is an ice sculpture festival going on at the moment. There it could be about -25 degrees during the daytime so we've bought a few extra bits to cope, agh!

Anyway, that's all for now. Will write something else and add some photos when possible.

Love to you all,

Dave and Isey

P.S. The photo above is not one of ours but is at least of the Forbidden City, which we saw from outside properly today for the first time.