Beijing: Friday September 9, 2011:

I have a day to myself so I shared a taxi to Tiananmen Square by another excellent driver.

The square was better than the first visit because the green sheeting has been taken down.

I chatted to an Israeli couple with French accents and got my picture taken a few times.

Spitting in the street is quite common and I was always hearing people bringing up their phlegm. This could be due to the smog of course.

I got chatting to another tourist from Southern China as I wandered my way back to the hotel. Apparently James Bond is very popular with him and he wants to work in Turkmenistan.

I eventually made it back to the hotel but I don’t exactly know how because the map they supplied was rubbish.

Dinner was between 6.30pm and 10pm and we paid the hotel bill, left our suitcases outside the room door from 10.30pm for pick up and enjoyed a quiet night in because we have an early start tomorrow.