Day 4 - Dumplings, Naps and Beer

Day 4 - 27th June

The day was clearer than it had been yesterday but the pollution almost made it pointless. Still, I'm not complaining, I'm in Beijing, living life to the full.

So Will and I headed out for breakfast, stopping to get dumplings (of course). We bumped into Alice and Oregon again who were off out for the day and trying to get to Qianmen station. We walked with them, to get some 'fresh air' and to walk off some of the beer and shame from the previous evening. We commented on the number of men walking around with their shirts rolled up. I thought it had something to do with wealth, showing that if you ate well, you were wealthy. before navigating the side square. Another theory was that they were hot. I went with the latter in the end. We also commented on the spitting, which is a big cultural difference from the West. Each to their own, I suppose.

We headed back via the impressive Qianmen Street complete with cable cars, restaurants and an array of fashion shops. In the midst was the Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, which is famous for Peking Duck, a favourite dish in Beijing and must be tried at any vendor across the city.

After the walk, we went for a half hour nap which turned into a four hour nap from 1pm until 5pm. It was weird because I never nap and that's probably why I dreamt about Gary Oldman as my dad painting over patches of wall in my cellar with blue paint. It was crazy, just like me!

Again, we gravitated back to our favourite bar, played cards and drank beer. It was an awesome place, with a blend of foreigners and locals. The bar staff, Jack and Richard were great, letting us sign the tables and bar to add to the thousands of signatures already in place.

On this occasion, we sat and talked the world over with 'Loughborough' aka Anya and Hannah who were staying in the 365 Inn where the bar was situated. They joined in with mine and Will's strange debates, had their ear drums damaged by my rendition of 1000 miles by Vanessa Carlton, Terry Crews style and listened to me and Will bicker like brothers. We also met Marcus from Sweden, Sean from America and Halil from Turkey, as well as hanging out with e usual guys. What a group!

After a long night, we headed for our hostel with a bag of dumplings in hand. Happy days!