Katie Melua is a Liar

Day 23 - We reach Templeside at about 7.30 in the morning. They very kindly open the door (in their PJ's) and let us to our room.

After a few hours' sleep, we set off looking for the infamous Silk Market. Traffic is horrendous and they are laying a new road in the area near our hostel. If you, like me, still have this romantic image of Beijing full of bicycles, times have changed - there are definitely more cars and buses on the road than bicycles.

At the Silk Market, JD finally gets his Tag Heuer (latest model as sported by Brad Pitt ... ahem!) although I think I overpaid for that. Next I haggle for a pair of silk pajamas for 135 yuan (not a bad price, as I later find out in Singapore) and a fake Dolce & Gabbana handbag for 80 yuan (= a fiver!.. I think I'd warmed up by then!).

Then it's off to Quan Jude, Beijing's oldest and most famous Peking duck restaurant! We take the tube this time and there are signs in the underground telling us which exit leads to the restaurant. Set over 7 floors, they send you to a specific floor depending on the number of people in your party. We get sent to the top floor. A lady armed with a walkie talkie, gives us a computer printout with a number and we wait several minutes in the 'lobby' area with a few other groups of two's or three's.
Can you see her walkie talkie?

Seven floors of duck... certainly pays for the shop sign in the tube station
You get to your floor via a posh gold and black lift btw...

When summoned, we are led into the restaurant area and seated. I hang my jacket on the back of my chair and strangely the waitress whips out a seat cover which she pulls over both jacket and back of the chair like a sock. This time, JD orders a whole duck. It was good but not spectacular. A pot of tea costs 80 yuan (that's £5!) .. illegal really considering they sometimes don't even charge you for tea in Chinatown, UK. Oh, and you also get a postcard which tells you the number of your duck - apparently the one we ate was duck #172352 since 1864. As far as I can tell, there are no locals in this place, save for the odd chinese accompanying groups of gwailos. I'm sure the locals get their peking duck fix elsewhere but as we didn't hunt around, I can't recommend any to you.
All eyes on the duck

Days 24, 25 - We spend our days exploring and shopping for presents in Xidan (where the locals shop). I have developed a taste for pig organ soup noodles (liver, pig's blood and bits I cannot identify... sounds gross I know but it tastes really good).

We board our night flight to Sydney, Australia.