BEIJING TO ULAAN BAATAR Sorry it has taken so long to get to the blog but China has put restrictions on what you can and cannot do on the internet and the site was blocked....so now we are in the capital of Mongolia all possible(well theoretically). Beijing was fantastic and I am dying to go back. The people are so friendly and welcoming and easy to deal with. The big drawback of course is that the air pollution is horrendous as is the traffic. We visited the Forbidden City (the size of a small city which makes Buckingham Place look like a shack),Tianmen Square graced by Mao's portrait ...then on to Jingshan Park opposite in which hundreds and hundreds of Chinese were collected in small choral groups singing as loudly as possible and having a great old time...it was amazing! Considering the size of the population the police and army presence is very minimal and the place has a prosperous and cheerful air. Went with Jane and Sue to The Great Wall and did a lot of climbing..it is amazingly steep and high. Luckily Jane had read about a place about an hour and half's drive from the city which is not frequented by tourists (maybe this was because the sign said this part of the wall was no go too dangerous)..really it wasn't in that bad a state and the ladder we had to climb was steep but in good nick and hey we had it all to ourselves. Gorgeous old man selling red books and Mao badges at the base of the wall reminded me of my grandfather...then on to the Ming Tombs(those Mings liked to splash out with taxpayer's yuan just a little). Staying in the old Hutong district of Beijing and enjoying great food....off to the train station early in the morning for the 30 hours to Mongolia.....stay tuned... Kath and the comrades xoxo