China

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We boarded the train from Mongolia and we were on our way to China. Going through the Gobi Desert was amazing. The first views of China were breath taking as well.

Arriving in Bejing meant the end of the first tour which was sad as I had made some good friends but I was looking forward to seeing Bejing for a few days before the next tour started.

Bejing is very westernised. A lot of the tour group were very happy that there were lots of McDonalds there! I tried to stay away from the fast food establishments as I was wanting to try more of the traditional food - dumplings, rice and noodles.

This was fine at first trying all the Chinese dishes but the strange thing over here in China is that they don't have much variety in their diet compared to us. I enjoyed eating all of these foods but Chinese people actually have the same food for breakfast, lunch and tea. I started to crave muesli for breakfast after a week!

There are over twenty million people living in Bejing so as you can imagine it is rather hectic. The tour guide informed us that because it is so populated there have been certain rules put in place to keep things running as smoothly as possible. (The implementation of only driving your car on certain days of the week to reduce pollution levels was one of these which stuck in my head).

Also, in China because the country is so populated you are only allowed to have one child. If you want to have a second child then you have to pay a substantial amount of money to the government.

Some of the social networking sites that we have in the Uk have been banned over here as well.

The top highlight was visiting the Great Wall. It took quite a while and it was quite tiring but the view were amazing. We took a toboggan down it which was fun!

I have experienced my first culture shock. It is acceptable for Chinese people to spit anywhere they like. In England we would find this rude and offensive but over here everyone does it to clear their throats!

I've enjoyed my time in Bejing and I have felt quite the celebrity here as some Chinese people are obsessed with seeing British people. They feel the need to have their photo taken with you! Some of the tour group started to get a little annoyed after a while but I have to say I enjoyed my five minutes of fame!

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