So we finally arrive in Beijing after what was categorically
the worst of our train journeys. The
Gobi desert . . . turns out that it’s
long, dusty and bugger all to see.
Combined with the fact that we were sharing a carriage which consisted
of 90% gap year travellers making us feel old; a couple of drunken, aggressive Mongolians and
someone who was apparently from the Chinese mafia meant that this was not the
most pleasant of times!!!
We fell into the arms of Fern’s cousin Isabelle who swiftly
transported us to her (and her husband Ewan’s) amazing flat on the 27th
floor with fantastic views of Beijing where we spent the next couple of hours
getting ourselves and our clothes clean.
Finally feeling like human beings we headed to the embassy
bar around the corner (one of the fringe benefits of staying with diplomats)
for a quick drink and to pick up another couple of people before meeting other
at a restaurant for dinner. We quickly
adopted a new protocol for ordering whilst in Beijing – leave an expert to
it! Seriously, we didn’t order a single
meal whilst we were in Beijing and it was a strategy that served us well . . .
