Despite the jetlag and the hypnotic qualities of the Chinese soap opera, we braved the cold weather and went to Nanluouxian (try saying that when you’re drunk). It literally translates into alley and is scattered with shops and a quaint coffee shop which topped up our depleated caffeine levels.

This lead us to the drum tower which was impressive but not as impressive as the loons on the frozen river. We were not convinced that the ice was that thick but this didn’t deter anyone, just as the risk of maiming doesn’t deter people from letting off double hard fire works in crowded streets. It is very popular to let them off in the day so you can’t see them only hear them, frankly we need to work on our Guy Fawkes night.

We went to Da Dong for dinner where apparently the duck is legendary, it is incredibly lean and from the queue very popular. It was very good and all was going well until the end when they bought over some additional dishes; duck soup, fried duck skin and a complementary dessert. Paul tried the soup which evidently answered our questions as to what happened to all the duck fat they drained. This was quite traumatic and has resulted in flashblacks.

Our first day was fun and we paid homage to that old chinese proverb “Get Involved”.