Beijing

This was probably a very posh hotel once. Now it has the feel of a place that was deserted by a bankrupt owner and left to get dusty until it was reopened as a hostel a few years later.

That's not negative - it means that you get some of the grandest hostel accommodation it's possible to have without it costing a significant amount.

Don't confuse grand with perfect though. The bathroom will be marble, but it's bound to boast at least one decent size crack...

The staff are exceptionally friendly and offer some excellent cheap trips to various activities.

The location is very close to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City too.

The Great Wall wasn't so called because it was average. Heck no, it's amazing.

I booked my trip there at the YHA hostel in Beijing. I forget the exact price, but it was extremely cheap.

We set off at 7.30am, heading for Simatai. The section of the wall there hasn't been restored like other sections. That means it can be extremely difficult to walk as it's effectively crumbling - however, it does mean that you are away from most other tourists, traders and get that feeling of 'authenticity'.

Beijing in January is cold, but at the wall it was even colder. I was concerned that I might freeze, but there are people selling hats, gloves and coats at the base if there's anything you need as well as some good places to eat. These services exist for tourists, but it seems they haven't thought to raise the prices to tourist rates.

The only thing to look out for are the girls who attach themselves to each group of tourists and walk with them like tour guides. They are informative and even helpful when you're struggling up the steeper sections, but they aren't doing it for the tip at the end. They actually want you to buy the 120RMB books and postcards they produce when your walk is over.

You may wish to purchase the merchandise, but if you choose not to, they get quite annoyed, even physically grabbing you as you walk away. This happenhed to me and I saw it happen to another couple.

It's not the biggest deal you'll encounter in China, but best be aware that it's coming up if they start talking to you.

Beijing Amusement Park is possibly the least amusing park in the world - I loved it!

I know it's easy and cheap to laugh at other cultures, but if you apply Western standards to this Chinese attraction you'll walk away having giggled yourself silly and, more seriously, thinking a bit more of notions of entertainment in Communist China.

The rides are all within a barb wire topped perimeter fence - not exactly Disney.

Upon entry you're given a ticket which is stamped when you've been on the four "best" rides to stop you lining up again.

Perhaps the best of these is the "Crazy Disco Ride" (not suitable for people with weak hearts and alcoholics, apparently). After you're strapped into a rollercoaster car you go through a set of double doors into a single room showing a western nighclub filled with plastic models of bored drinkers and loud music. Ten seconds later you pass through a second set of doors and it's done. Certainly was crazy disco...

The Haunted House saw us all sitting round a table in the dark listening to clanking chains waiting for something to happen - waiting, that is, right up until the moment where the lights came up again... I looked at the Chinese kids, they looked at me and it was obvious we were all thinking "Is that it?". The laugh we all let out was more fun than the Haunted House itself.

I'm not trying to put the place down, but as a cultural experience that you may not have thought of, it's certainly worth an afternoon of your time.