HOUHAI

I get back to the hotel, and decide to have a shower, change and go out for the evening. However I've noticed a strange knocking sound that seems constant and will certainly disturb my sleep unless I wear earplugs. I decide to live with it until I find that the shower doesn't work. I go downstairs and the reception girls (who speak English well enough to allow adequate communication) let me change my room to a much more quiet one which I prefer and which seems better all round!

Unfortunately in Chinese hotels there is some minor problem in every room, in this one the bedside lamp didn't work properly but I managed to fix it myself. After a succesful shower and change I go out for the evening, acutely aware that I;m by myself in a place where few people may speak my language. The district is alive with bars at night , but there are also many touts who come up to me saying "Hello sir, you want ladybar?" I just ignore them or pretend to be on my phone. The area looks magical  at night. I can hardly do it justice. Many of the bars have Karaoke blasting out of them as well!

The first bar I found becomes my favourite haunt, cheap and full of character, and the girl behind the bar speaks English. I draw pictures of some of the customers and this leads to some lively conversation: here is a lady whose picture I drew (she bought me a beer!) and I cured her hiccups too!

Here's the hutong outside my room:

In the WC of the  bar I find that there are some problems occasionally with the sewage network in Beijing: