DAY 2 - 20-01-2009

Flight to Beijing, got the bus to Terminal 5 and hung out at the airport for a few hours. Terminal 5 is well posh there is a Harrods, a Gordon Ramsey resturant and a Tiffany's.

Saw Piers Morgan in WHSmiths.

The plane was a massive jumbo, the biggest one Ive ever been on in me life. There were 3 seats then 4 seats then another 3 seats, so thats 2 aisles. Screens in front of each seat and you could control what you watched. There were films, TV shows, music, loads of stuff to keep you occupied on a 9 hour flight.

Heathers screen didnt show any of that, only the live map that you could track the position of the plane in the sky - great eh so 9 hours of just watching an icon of a plane moving a tiny fraction every 2 and a half minutes.

We had her screen reset three or four times but same problem. We decided just to swap every so often.

I watched Ghost town with Ricky Gervais, about 20 mins before the end my screen packed in. Had that reset a couple of times but they couldnt fix it. The boss airhostess then came over all appologectic and said she was going to move us to BUSINESS CLASS, ha ha ha. We couldnt believe it.

We had to do it like an SAS monuever as an Indian chap was kicking up a stink cos he wanted to be moved so we had to put our bags below ankle level and pretty much leg it through all the plebs in normal class and through two other business compartments into ours.

It was absolutely mint. Lie down beds, bigger screens, better earphones and no one else in the whole compartment. One thing about business class is that they have moist bog roll instead of your regular kind. The wealthy must have more delicate and sensitive arses that the common man has.

Got to Beijing @ 10am their time and 2am ours proper shattered as we didnt sleep at all cos we were too excited about being in with the posh nobs.

Got a bus from the airport into town:

- Reminded me a bit of Greece or Turkey with all the unfinished concrete hanging about.
- There was a bad smell of smoke on the bus. Nee smoking ban here.
- There are lots of Chinese people in Beijing.

Found Hostel - CITY CENTRE YOUTH HOSTEL.

Canny nice room.

As we checked into our room the Chinese Rozzers raided the room next door armed with loud-halers. Never found out why????

The beds are rock hard, seriously like a plank of wood. But would have slept on a knife edge by then.