11 September

Beijing, China.
 
I felt so guilty for spending the whole day in bed, I was up early ready to hit the tourist trail no matter how crap I felt, its not like I'm going to come to China every week and its now or never. So I was out of the hotel and on the subway by 8am
heading towards the Forbidden City. It would be better if it was called the Forbidden theme park! Its just one big massive tourist attraction heaving with Chinese and westerners alike. Prices for everything were inflated through the roof and the security presence is a bit over the top, but hey, that's communism for you! After hours of walking around, I gave up with the place, its all much of the same to be honest. I cant deny that's its very beautiful, ornate and the scale of everything is mind blowing, but still, its all much of the same. I'm not complaining mind, I really wanted to see it, and now I have! After the massive trudge around the Forbidden city it was time to visit Tianamin Square (I've probably spelt that wrong), home of oppression and freedom being squashed by tanks! Apparently its the largest square in the world, I couldn't say, but its bloody big, that much I can say! All of the obligatory photos were taken and it was time to hit another highlight as it was getting late and i was getting hungry, the night food market for funky stuff on a stick! Tonight I have eaten the following........Scorpions on a stick (twice and I have the pics to prove it!!!), mealy grubs on a stick, starfish on a stick, seahorse on a stick, squid on a stick and all kinds of other disgusting stuff that tasted surprising good!! If I was feeling rough today, god knows how I'm going to feel tomorrow after all of the insect and strange seafood snacks, but to hell with it, I leave tomorrow night and I was determined to sample all that Beijing had to offer.
I just hope I haven't sampled too much and made myself as sick as a dog.
That's it folks, my journey (and blog) officially comes to end tomorrow, I hope you've enjoyed the highs and lows of my journey. I have certainly enjoyed myself and have given myself the adventure of a lifetime that I was craving after, but to be honest I'm tired and ready to go home to my loved ones.
 
Goodbye everyone.