Beijing: Friday, September 2, 2011:

Another sleepless night aboard the aircraft but the entertainment on the plane was enjoyable – I watched a couple of films and a few comedies.

We made it to Beijing in one piece but we did see someone with a really bad case of air sickness.

After getting through passport control – yes my photo looks nothing like I do now – we met up with the Travel Department representative and the rest of the group which is made up of 37 people mainly from Ireland and Scotland.

There was a bus trip to the Temple of Heaven on the way to the hotel. It is a very spiritual and iconic place. Older people gather to play cards, Chinese chess, to sing or knit. It is an impressive symbol of the city.

We were told that we should not drink the tap water and we must buy bottled water.

Also there are lots of fake bank notes around – particularly from street traders.

We got booked into the five-star hotel okay. However our room had cracked tiles in the bathroom and the décor was very 1980s.

Karen decided to stay at the hotel but I went at the Rainbow Hotel with the group. It was very nice and the food was good but some people said it was like the Chinese takeaway back home. There was a variety of dishes brought to the table and I even managed to cope with with chopsticks.