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.

Beijing, China.
 
Nothing to report today, I spent all day in bed feeling terrible. It was time to start on the antibiotics as this cold is going on for far too long!

Beijing, China
 
This morning saw me speeding along on the bullet train again, back to Beijing. I had booked myself in a cheapo Ibis hotel for my last few days in China and I was keen to spend as much time sight seeing (and shopping) before blast off back home on Friday evening. First port of call was the famous 'silk market' for some serious shopping. Jesus christ, i have never experienced a market like it, talk about hard sell, they literally grab you and pull you into their stalls, it really was hard work. They start with totally 'piss taking' prices to see what your reaction will be and end up normally dropping to about 80% of their asking price. I bought way too much stuff, but the kids christmas presents are definitely sorted at a fraction of the price that I would have paid in the EU. While I was at it I bought myself and the good lady a present or 2 ( I had to or she would give me shit for what I had bought myself LOL). After a few hours of being accosted by stall holder dragging me into the crappy stalls and trying to sell me junk I had just had enough, it was time to get back to the hotel as I was still feeling really bad from this never ending cold.
 

Tianjin, China. Ceremony day!

The bedside phone woke me up at 7,30am this morning after another bad nights sleep. "Good morning Mr. Matt, your driver will collect you in one hour" said the voice. It was a mad rush to shower, shave and breakfast before my driver was at the hotel. I felt lousy as the driver arrived, I can't shake this cold off or stop sweating and blowing my nose. After an half an hour drive I arrive at Hansen site not knowing at all what to expect, but I soon realise that I am part of the foundation stone laying ceremony. I have a name plaque on the table of VIP's and I feel like a fish out of water. There is me casually dressed (as normal) amongst a sea of suits, ministers, CEO's and dignitaries and I'm feeling very self conscious! Anyway, to cut a long story short, I presented my 'green cheque', felt 100 percent out of place as I helped plant the first tree with a Chinese big wig and television camera's filming everything. Within a hour the speeches and congratulations were over and it was off to a banquet at a top hotel, I tried to get out of it but I was roped in without any chance of escape! It turned out that the banquet wasn't as bad as I expected and I managed to get out of there within an hour.
With the afternoon free I thought I may as well go back to see the temple of heavenly somethingness, it turned out to be the temple of closed closedness! There was nothing else for it to just do some wandering about Tianjin seeing as it was my last day there

Tianjin, China.
 
Today began fairly late, my cold is slowly getting the better of me and I didn't get very much sleep last night. I asked at reception where I could buy some luggage on wheels that were at Chinese prices, not the european prices I had seen in the department stores. A short taxi ride saw me at a 5 story market, luggage was found at a very reasonable price. I left the luggage with the stall holder while I had a wander around but saw nothing that caught my eye. Five story markets are really excellent for finding stuff you need, but really bad for finding stuff you've already bought! After an hour and a half of searching for my luggage stall I was pooped out. With my new cheapo luggage found it was back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest, coughing and sleep! At 5pm I was up and about again and off to the local temple of heavenly somethingness, except it was closed, damn, this is my last free day in Tianjin and I wanted to see it. A walk around the temple area revealed traditional chinese medicine shops, palmists, toaists and communists by the dozen. I saw some lovely jade but it all came with horrible prices so I gave that a miss.

Tianjin, China.

I was woken up in crisp clean white sheets by the gentle tapping of room service on my door,  bringing my pre ordered breakfast. After breakfast, a shower and more coffee, it was time to be on the move again and leave this place of luxury and bellboys.
I had an hour long taxi ride to Beijings south train station where the bullet train (300kph+) would blast me to my Hansen contact in Tianjin. The bullet train was fantastic, cheap (1st class to Tianjin for €7!), clean, modern and as punctual as a swiss clock, making the English intercity 125 trains look positivly ancient and defunct! As we reached speeds of up to 333kph (there was a sign informing the passengers of the speed) I tried to soak up some scenery, but the air quality is so bad here that there wasn't much to see due to the smog. Within 30 minutes I was in Tianjin station and struggling with my overloaded cheapo bag that I had bought from Mongolia. The shoulder strap snapped leaving me struggling with 25kgs of fake Adidas sports bag! (Note to self: buy something with wheels on!). My driver was waiting for me as expected at the station exit and he whisked me off in air conditioned comfort to my home for the next 3 days, a Holiday Inn.
I hadn't seen anything of China yet so it was time to explore, I had seen a market on the drive to the hotel and I was keen to go wandering around . It was alive with strange sounds, smells, vegetables and animals, waiting to be or being butchered! I resisted the temptation to buy strange foods as I was looking forward to eating in the hotel restaurant.
A wander into a department store finally beat my credit card into submission as I found what I had been looking for over the past few weeks, my wedding ring! I think the price was good and the quality of gold is far better than that of european gold. Its just a plain gold band, not like Liane's, she has something special, but that's a secret (sorry Liane, you'll have to wait and see!)
Back in the hotel my stomach told me it was dinner time, off to the hotel chinky to see what was on offer! I opted for soup of the day (always a mistake because its the previous days food), Peking duck (it was cold and not crispy) and duck rice (there was no rice with it!). I won't be eating there again, I left hungry and unsatisfied. I knew I should have played food roulette in the market (close your eyes, spin your finger and point at something, open eyes then enjoy or not!).
A late night walk revealed the underbelly of the city. Its hot and humid and all the 'street meat' stalls seem to come out at night, people sitting on low stools, almost at street level, eating all manner of strange foods. Bicycles with flashing signs ride around toting their wares, people escaping the heat of inside their houses or shops playing majong and other board games. But this city seems to be pretty much like any other at night, cafes, restaurants, drunks, prostitutes and taxi's dominate the darkness, but I felt no sense of danger and didn't mind wandering about.
Tomorrow's plan is to go looking for a market and find some luggage on wheels on to save my poor old back!

Beijing, China

Yesterday Hansen sprung into action at last, talk about leaving it till the last minute! They contacted Hansen China, who in turn contacted the right department of the Chinese government and reminded them that Hansen is investing €150 million in China. The ceremony for me ( to plant the first tree of 88 ) that would have in attendance Chinese dignitaries and officials would not look very good if the man who had travelled across the globe to officially hand  over the green cheque would not be there just because an embassy clerk would not issue me with a same day visa. Yesterday evening, two letters were mailed to me that I must print out and take to the Chinese embassy. I felt a lot more hopeful, but because I had no idea what the letters said, I wasn't going to believe anything till I saw it! At 9am I was at DHL and my original letter of invitation had finally arrived! Not that I really needed it now as I had a new one that had been issued from Beijing. I joined the huge line outside the embassy half an hour before opening time, it was raining and I was pretty soaked by the time I got in (2 1/2 hrs later). The same stoney faced clerk who had rejected me last time because my letter of invitation was a copy and not the original took my papers, flicked through them and was starting to find problems because one letter of invitation was from an agency and the other was from Beijing. I cut him off and told him to read the Chinese letter, he raises an eyebrow, begins to read, stops, looks hard at me, reads again and says come back at 4pm for your visa!!!!!
At 4pm exactly, I was the proud owner of a 60 dollar Chinese visa and on my way to the airport. A quick stop to take a picture of me by an airport statue of Genghis Khan and before I knew it I was skybound, destination China. Just under 2 hours later I was standing on hot and humid communist soil and in a taxi heading to my pre-booked hotel.  I had warned Hansen that I needed a night of luxury as my 2 weeks of UlaanBaatar had left me tired, jaded, dirty (my guesthouse had no hot water) and a damn sight poorer.  I needed a bath, a good meal and clean sheets (and room service would be nice!). They did me proud by putting me in a executive suite in a top hotel, never have I had such luxury in a hotel!

UlaanBaatar, Mongolia.

DHL let me down...... again! Unbelievable, they promise a service and they don't deliver on their promise,  I'm angry, stressed and frustrated all in one!
I went this morning to the British embassy and they called the Chinese embassy to try and arrange a 'special interview' for me, but they were also given the 'bog standard' response about turning up on Friday and receiving a visa on Monday! My next port of call was the Chinese embassy, but how to get in? I pressed the buzzer of the embassy and was greeted with "visa, come Friday" before I could say anything! It was time to stretch the truth to get in!  I'm not here for a visa was my response, my company is building a large factory in Tianjin and I was wanting a meeting with the Ambassador! Ah ha! That confused them, the intercom went quiet for a few minutes and then I was allowed in the gate. I was ushered into the guardroom where I was handed a telephone, "what do you want?" Asked a voice on the other end. My company is building a large factory in Tianjin and I was needing a meeting with the ambassador was my response. I was then told to give the phone back to the guard, they spoke for a minute or so and the guard scribbled down a number then handed me back the phone. Call this number after 3pm was the response I got and that was that. So I now had a number,  but I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it or what I should ask because I knew that the minute I mentioned a visa I would be in the 'come back on Friday' loop! It was time to pass this 'hot potato' back to my team sponsor, Hansen. I mailed them saying that I had exhausted every possible avenue that I could, I gave them the number I had been given and left it up to them. Its now out of my hands, my flight for Beijing  is for tomorrow night, I don't have a Chinese visa and the embassy doesn't issue one day visas, stress!
There was high drama this evening on the way to the internet café! Me and an older married couple (who are also staying in the same guesthouse as me) caught a pickpocket trying to steal the mans wifes' make-up bag (the thief thought it was her purse!). The woman felt the thief in her rucksack and swings for him, the husband then rugby tackles him to the floor and I jump on him with my knee in this neck pinning him down. After some scuffling, locals protesting for us to let him go and not hurt him (we weren't hurting him, but we weren't giving him a chance to break free from us either!) The police finally arrive at take him away. We have all had stuff stolen from us or been pick-pocketed in UB and were sick of being treated like stupid rich tourists who are here just to be robbed or ripped off.
Get me out of this horrible city!

UlaanBaatar, Mongolia.
Well DHL let me down, no letter of invitation as promised. Me and my team sponsor are really starting to panic now! The handover ceremony is on Monday and unless some miracle or some serious string pulling is going to happen tomorrow, the ceremony that is arranged for me to handover my green cheque will happen without me and the green cheque!
I'm so stressed about it, I have driven across a third of the globe to hand over this cheque and its all going 'pear shaped' at the last hurdle and everything is out of my hands! Tomorrow I am going to see if the British embassy can arrange for me to have a 'special' interview with the Chinese ambassador. My sponsor Hansen is also going to try and get Hansens in China to also call the Chinese embassy to try and get them to issue me with an immediate visa on Friday. I won't give up and will try everything reasonable to get into China on time but I am also a realist and who knows if I can pull it off?

UlaanBaatar..........still!!

Well I'm still stuck in this horrible city of alcoholics and pick pockets! UB is the absolute opposite of the whole of Mongolia and I can't wait to get out of here!
So what's happened since my last blog? Well, I've done lots of clothes shopping as I had donated everything to the CDPF charity.
I've had my pockets picked, losing a pile of dollars and I've been trying to get a Chinese visa so I can complete my journey by giving a 'green cheque' in Tianjin to offset my carbon footprint. The Chinese are being most unhelpful about issuing a visa even though I have a letter of invitation (and various other paperwork) . They are insisting on having the original letter even though its in China, I hope DHL keep their word and its here in the morning!!
I have managed to catch a lovely cold turning me into a pile of snot and I've wrecked my back, the pain down my legs is getting so bad that I may have to go to the hospital, but tomorrow I must be at the embassy to sort out my visa or I will miss my chinese deadline. God knows how I will manage to stand for hours at the embassy waiting to get in,  I guess its going to have to be another 'grit my teeth' day and go to the hospital after the embassy. Trying to explain my back problems to the hospital might be an interesting experience as well! Let's just hope it goes well as my usual pain relief just isn't working!
So I'm really hoping that the embassy is satisfied with all of my paperwork tomorrow, it will be my 3rd visit now and I just want to get the official side of my journey over and get home on my flight booked from the 13th September.
Last night I had dinner with a few other of the rally teams who were leaving today. The ambulance and taxi teams and we had a great night out. They were all teasing me that I had a blog following of middle aged housewifes (the mum's of the ralliers), sorry ladies but I'm already taken!
BTW.....hello to Matthews mum!
That's all for now, I will bog on my Chinese progress soon.