Ok so we started out a bit lazy today only getting out the hostel at 1 pm after trying to organize what we want to see and do in Beijing. We have booked an additional 3 nights at the hostel and organized a tour to the great wall 2m.

Hopped on the subway and proceeded to Llama temple. Lots of people there, but it is a working temple so there were also people lighting incense (minimum 3 sticks to honour budha according to the signs). There a 22m high deity sculpted from a single sandelwood tree (it’s in the Guiness Book of Records). Possibly it would have been put to better use printing a few thousand copies of ‘On the Origin of Species’ ?

After that we tried to find the confucious temple but got a bit turned around and then realized it would be closed before we got there. Decide to have an ice lolly instead. Noticed some ice lolly packaging with picture of peas on a one with corn on it. Wish we had taken a foto or tried one to see if it did really taste like frozen peas.

Back on the subway next stop the night market. We were expecting a dodgy alley but instead found it on a wide modern street and all the vendors looked pretty sanitized. I’m wondering if it has been cleaned up for the tourists. Apart from the usual kebabs and fish there were live scorpions, centipedes, sheep penis and the like all for sale on kebabs. I can’t believe anyone ever actually tries any of that stuff.

We had time to kill before dinner so we figured we would try to find the restaurant early and just find a spot to sit down and wait outside. We walked the entire length of the 2km long street without finding the restaurant we were supposed to be meeting at. At the end of the street were run down shops and restarants that you certainly did not need a reservation for. We tried asking a local shop keeper and even a taxi driver for help but to no avail. So we walked all the way back up the street before eventually finding it at the top of a very fancy department store. (Cartier etc)

Dadong restaurant is a seriously larny place and we were feeling way under dressed in our shorts and strops. Zipping on the rest of our pants didn’t help much either, knackered from our long walk we were shown to our huge table. Our new friends arrived shortly thereafter and we ordered 2 roast ducks.

Thankfully this time we could actually have a conversation together though the kids were seated far away at the other side of the huge table. The duck was very good. First time
having Peking duck. The guys carve them up with great precision at your table (a senior chef watches the as another carves just to make sure it’s done right) and a lady introduces you to how to eat it. Delicious but could have done with a few more ducks. Sim was battling with his chopsticks. Think he will start having to carrying his spork around with him in future.

When the bill came we were gobsmacked by the price and upon querying it further it turned out that the water we had been drinking was more expensive than the food. Seriousy, the water cost 47 RMB for a little 350ml bottle (about £4.7, but normally 10p for 500ml at any street corner) and we had had 10 of them (to give an idea that is the value of 20 KFC Zinger meals here with chips and coke in WATER !! And compared to street food, KFC is expensive). We couldn’t believe it – would have been far cheaper to have wine. Andrea and I are convinced it is a scam for tourists.

Unfortunatley I seem to have caught another bout of flu/cold so was feeling pretty awful on the way back. So it was straight to bed for me. We are going to have to try stock up on cold and flue stuff but the pharmacies here don’t have any thing we recognize. The is a huge herbal/garbage medicine market here. We could not find any rennies so we are hoping the stuff we did find at the chemist will do the trick.

– Posted from my iPhone