Wo Ai Beijing

Sunday 15 July

Getting another decent few hours of sleep I woke up and slowly packed my gear - getting ready to leave the gorgeous courtyard house was not easy. Jumped in a cab with Mogan and made our way south, past Qianmen, to an old beat hutong area housing a 100% bona fide Beijing duck place called Li Qun. Dashing through the warm rain as our cab dropped us off and meeting up with Xiao Ling, we ran into the welcoming, cosy place with a log fire roaring.

Perused the menu, thought carefully, then proceeded to order 2 ducks and 2 plates of veges. This was accompanied by a few quarts of Tsingtao, and finally Mogan and I felt fully relaxed, with nowhere to go other than right here, in the duck heaven of Beijing. Orgasmic duck, we ate and ate until we could eat no more, then kept going. After lunch the sun came out and we wandered around the area - these hutongs won't be here much longer and given their run-down conditions (compared to the ones north of Chang An Jie) you could almost see why. Saw some killer veges for sale on the street then jumped in a cab and took the ring road up to Dali Restuarant in Gulou. A nice area with a good summer vibe, the restaurant was showcasing our artwork and beer, and felt almost like a country cafe in the far north of NZ. Headed back to the hotel to put some finishing touches to the PR and packing, said goodbye to Tanya, and made our way out to the airport.

If coming into Beijing airport is a breeze, getting out is a drama and a half. Luckily we were very relaxed and psyched for our upcoming mission - Mogan going through security and having to make his tellytubby and donkey dance on the X-ray machine was the most fun I've ever had clearing customs! Had a light dinner and a beer in the airport while waiting for our flight, then boarded a Mongolian Airlines flight to Ulaanbaatar! A smooth two hour flight got us there and by 11pm we were landing in this dark, low-rise city nestled in a river valley, further north than I've ever been.

Initial impressions were of a rough and ready country where the people on the plane looked rugged and leathery, the baggage carousel was chaotic and violent, and the road into town was cracked and bumpy. Driving to our hotel I looked out the window to get an idea of the place and it didn't look like stepping outside at 1am on Sunday night would be the best idea, so we didn't. Checked into our brand spanking new rooms (mine smelt of noxious paint), left the windows open to get a cool breeze and heard the dogs barking, then headed to the hotel bar for a nightcap of a Golden Gobi lager - yum! Going to bed I heard yelling in the streets and succumbed to a decent sleep gratefully.