Day 5, Beijing - with the Vikings - Oct 24

Our stay in the Double Happiness hotel was delightful (even though the power was off when we arrived and the temperature was a brisk 46° in the room).  Thankfully, the power was back on within a couple of hours and we were able to be comfortable again.

Yesterday, we ate at a Buddhist restaurant and had a great vegan meal. Best pumpkin soup ever! Afterwards, we had time to wander around the hutong hotel is located within - very residential location. Really enjoyed that.

Today, we moved to the Kerry Hotel to join up with Bob and Brenda on the Viking River cruise tour.  This hotel is certainly geared toward Westerners. We both preferred the quirky, yet comfortable, Chinese Traditional hotel we first stayed in.

We had a great time at the Panjiayuan Flea Market today.  It's a lot like the Tucson Gem and Mineral show – except that it runs every single weekend. Large and amazing!

Tomorrow we will tour the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

The air pollution has been pretty bad.