After saying goodbye to Seoul on Sunday morning it was soon time hop over the Yellow Sea and say hello to Beijing early afternoon. With some excitement my plane descended through the thick smog and the city emerged to once again reveal its mystical intrigue… I was lucky enough to be met by some old friends at the airport who helped me find my hotel (not far from Xizhimen subway station) and familiarise me with the local busses which are near impossible to use as the route signs are only written in Chinese. After this it was high time for dinner so we headed for a rather stylish Sichuan restaurant in a local department store. My last encounter with Sichuan food was mind blowing…