Ottono more

Ok so we didnt make it to Ottos. Turns out it was shut for a refurb so we had to settle for a local restaurant where they specialised in BBQ anything, including frogs, scorpions, snakes and locusts. We stuck to chicken and shrimp and had a Aussie med student tag along as he was alone for the night. Had a great time getting to know each other with a good dinner and back to our little cafe bar haunt for Ho Cho and an Irish coffee. Owner gave Dani and I teddy bears for Christmas so we must have spent a decent amount of money there during our time in Beijing!

Back at the hostel, Father Christmas had been removed but we are not sure if it was sabotage or deliberate.... Who can say.

Up early and off to the airport for our two hour flight to Xi'an which is smogsville. Dad if you are reading this it is totally an episode of Megastructures meets how it's made meets growth on an indescribably massive and fast scale. The flight was good. Food choice was fermented egg and beef noodles and the in flight entertainment was Shaun the sheep. Well happy with that.

Not sure what there is to do here other than the Terracotta Army, but it turns out 10 million people live here so there must be shops. Rumour has it there is an ancient Muslim quarter with a bell tower, mosque and unique market so we will try and find that this afternoon. Turns out airport taxi drivers are *bleeps* the world over so we've opted for buses and trains as a matter of principle. We'll not be ripped off by anyone even if it is only for the sake of £3! Haha spot the odd one out!