![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.kerry.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Nov-28-2010-Beijing-007.jpg\" "\\"Nov")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe\u00a0 blood collection bus did pretty good business during the weekend but had no one outside it on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
A corridor area for recreation on one of the main streets in the area.\u00a0 I was miserable because I’d slept poorly on Friday night.\u00a0 A quilt, a doubled woollen blanket and an inadequately operating air conditioner hadn’t been enough to keep me warm the previous night.\u00a0 However, each day there was at least one person lying on the narrow wooden benches, covered with bedding and trying to sleep or ignore the world.\u00a0 Saturday shone with a beautiful blue sky but the wind was vicious and it really was very cold.\u00a0 The rest of the weekend was warmer and I got an additional quilt and column heater plus I turned an\u00a0empty water bottle into a bed warmer as I had an electric kettle.<\/p>\n This is a more traditional\u00a0street running parallel to the renovated tourist streets of Qianmen nad Dashalan.\u00a0 It and the ones running from it\u00a0were thronged with people and stalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n A steaming cauldron of something.\u00a0 It and a few others I’ve seen look too much like they are composed from whatever happens to be available and some of it is unpalatable to a western sensibility.\u00a0 It didn’t inspire me to partake.\u00a0 I had some kebabs from the chef opposite.<\/p>\n This ornate frontage was sandwiched between a place advertising billiards and foot massages and a fast food restaurant.\u00a0 One night there were many people standing outside the restaurant quietly singing.\u00a0 There was nothing to indicate the reason.<\/p>\n A display of the feathered shuttlecocks used in the popular game jianzi.\u00a0 The small son of the owner saw me taking photos and immediately ran inside, gathered some hats from stock and started playing peek a boo.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n