The taxi drivers saw us coming a mile away! Four of us were staying at the Far East hostel so decided to share a taxi. We naively agreed to an outrageous amount, in comparison to reality in Bejing, but at least we were quickly taken to the right place where hot showers awaited!!!
The hostel is located in a hutong, an old traditional suburb of Beijing, low one storey wooden buildings where life in conducted on the narrow streets and courtyards. It's really nice to be able to particpate in it all, buying your food from the local stall holders, seeing people prearing their meals, playing with their children and pets. There's an intersection just down the road were, at a few wooden tables on the road, you can get the nicest spicey eggplant I've ever had. Hard to force myself to go further afield and try other places!!!! The food is just brilliant here. No idea what the menus say unless you chance upon a place with an English menu, but pointing at things that other people have works quite well. Snacks and sweets are another new field that I am just beginning to explore!!!

Have paced out the sightseeing. The size of Beijing is pretty intimidating and to walk plces takes ages but is always interesting! Made the mistake of going to some markets on Subday, my first day, and somehow came away with quite a few things. Everything is so pretty and interesting and cheap!
Made a trip out to the Summer Palace, there's a whole other story on how we got there and back, wandered around the gardens and temples. Yesterday climbed the Great Wall of China!!! Took a bus from the hostel to a section of the wall not as popular (not as restored) as the part where most of the Chinese and rich westerners go. Took ages to get there but then we had the wall to ourselves and hiked along it for about 3 hours, taking in the views (unfortunately hampered by the ever present haze that has lowered itself over northern China) and quiet, th surrounding jagged mountains covered in low green scrub. How on earth they got all the stone and brick up there to build the wall and the towers is an incredible feat, in any era. It was hard walking, almost vertical scrambling at times but so worth it!
Today I traipsed around the Forbidden City, now flooded with tourists. It was made ever so much more interesting by an audio tour by Roger Moore, his dry wit cutting through the history and data. Beautiful and elegant and incredibly extensive it's still kind of difficult to imagine the importance it once had. Need to watch the Last Emperor again!!!
Two more days in Beijng then heading south to Pingyao.