We had the morning free to see more of the wall. So we got up early, it was a beautiful, sunny day, grabbed an overpriced coffee from one of the stalls (I know Dad, I had sachets but there was no kettle in the room), got a little distracted by four adorable fluffy puppies who were playing in the walk way, and instead of turning left like we had the day before, we turned right. We walked along as far as possible, over rebuilt areas of the wall and crumbling sections, where the only remains looked like small stones ground into the dirt, until we reached a barbed wire barrier with the signage ‘Military Access Only’. We walked back a few minutes and made the most of the sunshine sitting on the wall, taking in the view.

At 11:30am, we set off for Chengde. The city was the holiday destination of Royalty from Beijing. A clean river, with lively walkways and roads along side it, accompanied with sculptures both in and around the river runs though the centre of the city. Large shopping malls, soft cushioned, cosy cafes and flash cars fill the city. Mid afternoon we arrived, checked in to our hotel (which had a KTV in it!) and all jumped on the public bus for wooden Buddha statue. The temple and statue singularly were beautiful. Both so detailed with vibrant colour. However, the way the temple had been built around the statue made viewing the top of the statue really difficult, and taking photos of the statue even harder. As expected, we were ushered through a series of souvenirs shops and food stalls as we left.

Piling back on the bus, we went for lunch, and dined on the usual. I'll be happy if I never see tofu or smell stinky tofu again. 

The rest of the group headed back to the hotel but I needed to buy some replacements for my ruined, wet, absolutely stinky toms. We walked to the nearest shiny, shopping mall. Full of attendants pushing for a sell, cleaners sweeping, mopping and tidying constantly and onl a small number of potential customers. The process confused me. I picked my trainers which were fortunately in the Adidas half price sale- stuff like that never happens to me with my ‘champagne taste and lemonade budget’. Once I had picked the trainers, the attendant handed me an invoice. I walk to a pay station with my invoice. I pay at the pay station and get handed a receipt. I then take the receipt back to the attendant and can leave with my trainers. Trying to learn this process through sign language, big grins and nodding was baffling. The girls sat watching me, laughing as I walked across the shop floor looking completely bewildered. Nevertheless, I got new trainers, much to Annlee’s enjoyment because my toms had been stinking out our rooms. Sorry Annlee.

When back at the hotel we walked to our room, passed Victoria and Lynda's room. From their room we could hear Victoria singing her lungs out, in the shower to Bohemian Rhapsody. She went in hard. Annlee, Loes, Michelle and I were all rolling around the floor in tears. She was really good though!! 

Once the laughter had subsided, Annlee and I watched Harry Potter and went to sleep.