Beijing update

09/06/10
Back online again! Surprisingly we managed to get onto the blog here in China!!! Pictures that follow are a continuation of the last posting- journey from south to north of Thailand!

In the meantime- here we are in Beijing and all is well. We picked up our Russian transit visas today!!!!! YAY!!!!! That was no easy task, let me tell you! Hours of deliberation, research and running around... both in Laos and China! But finally passports are in-hand and we are booked on the Trans-Siberian this coming Saturday at 23.00! Naturally we are only allowed to stay for 9 days due to all the sculduggery we would have got involved with whilst in Russia...paranoid Russians! Anyways, we have just enough time to get in to Moscow and out again the following day, into Kiev, Ukraine! We are slowly moving towards civilisation as we know it yet again!
Yippee Europe here we come!!!

Until then we will continue to enjoy the slow life here in Beijing which really is a pretty cool town to be spending time in. We're staying at Lasse's, whom we got to know on the Trans-Mongolian on our way out and who now lives here, we're eating steamed dumplings with chilli sauce..mmm...and sleeping in and sitting in cafes watching the world go by. You might think that surely we would have had enough of that after a year of travelling, but with such little time left we are really trying to enjoy ever minute to the max!

That's it for now. Love to all xxx

Various, Beijing

Nighttime view of Beijing from Lasse and Mathias' 20th floor apartment. Thanks again you guys for letting us stay with you in Beijing!!!

Communal toilets still exist in Beijing's hutongs- none of the houses have their own installed. The toilets of course are merely holes in the floor with no doors. If you're lucky you can walk in on your neighbour taking a dump!!!

One of the many bike workshops on the street corners where you can get your bike fixed at no charge.

Another one of our absolute favourite snacks of Beijing- dumplings with lime garlic and chilli dip!!! Mmmmmmmmmm..... 50 pence (5-6 kroner!) for a bowl of 10!!!

Chris strolling through the 'hutongs' of Beijing- original structures with real character in the districts of Beijing, consisting of narrow lanes and alleyways.

Various, Beijing

Went swimming in Lake Qinghai, in the middle of Beijing. Received a lot of attention from the retired locals who meet by the lake daily for a chat and a swim! Not a bad way to spend your retirement!

Yet another seemingly pointless guard protecting a train made of flowers!

The local cat population gladly accepted the duck left-overs

Silje soldiered on with this duck-in-a-bag, Chris couldn't face it!

Snakes on a sticks, not 'Snakes on a plane'!

Various, Beijing

A grasshopper, caterpillar and seahorse soup! Yummy in my tummy!!

Here the beginning of a tea fetish starts!

Not what Lasse expected to see when he opened the curtains on a Monday morning!

Daytime view from the 20th floor of Mathias and Lasse's apartment, Wudakou, Beijing!

Health and safety non-existent in China!

Beijing food n' drink

A well-earned rest after a long day and night- at Lasse and Mathias'.

Night food market in Beijing, where we found lots of interesting snacks!

There's nothing quite like a scorpion and starfish sandwich!

One of our absolute favourites- grilled squid on a stick!!!

At the end of our Club 13 night- being escorted home by Lasse and Mathias!

Great Wall and the night following

13 Club! Chinese Live Rock Venue- letting loose after a heavy day of wall climbing!

Random (stoned!) cat

Suspension bridge to the right of the wall, where lack of maintenance made the wall impossible to cross.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

Tower number 8. The walk included 36 towers- some of which you can see in the distance!

Told you it was gonna get tough!

An expensive but one of the more memorable beers Chris has drunk, and there's been a few!! With Danish Christopher- who incidentally has his own online sword business!!!!

Beijing and the Great Wall

The beginning of our 10km hike along the Great Wall. Little did we know it was about to get a whole lot tougher!!!

Approaching the Great Wall (with Mathias, Lasse, Danish Christopher, Norwegian Stine and Chinese-American Jessica; Beijing university friends of Lasse and Mathias)

Pre-Great Wall Breakfast: Egg and bacon sarnie Beijing style- 20 pence! If we'd known what lay ahead, we would have had 6 of them!

Maintenance man in Mathias and Lasse's flat looking rather perplexed at Mathias trying to explain the problem with the leaking toilet, using a Mandarin phrasebook, and with goggles on his head!

Early evening Lake Qinghai

Exploring Beijing

Herro!

Our favourite Beijing pick-and-mix! Not like Woolies (R.I.P)... eller Narvesen for den del! A meal for two (with squid, tofu, noodles, greens, mushrooms etc) cost 80 pence a head (8-10 kroner)!!!

Good old Westerners- certainly know how to make fools out of themselves. You can imagine this picture taking pride and place on the mantel piece! Losers!!

The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

Busy as a bee selling ice creams!

Chris thinks this is the best candidate so far for the new Millwall mascot!

Inside the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

Entrance gate- Forbidden City

View of Beijing with the Forbidden City in the foreground