So what's it been like living in Beijing, even if it has only been for a few days? Weird and wonderful. It surprised us both just how modern a lot of Beijing actually is and how much of a western feel it has as well. There are brand new shopping malls all over the place (and lots more being built - a feature of Beijing is just how many new buildings are going up in preparation for the Olympics with construction workers going at it night and day), containing all the sort of stores you'd find in most malls and arcades in the UK; French Connection, Morgan, Sony, Lacoste, Mango, Nike, Levi's and if you want refreshment and fast food, there are Starbucks and KFC's everywhere.

Of course there are also Chinese shops and eateries, including their own take on fast food (delicious I might add) but everything does have a very western feel. The people in the malls are incredibly fashionable and all look too cool for school (certainly they look cooler than I do, but a heavily bearded, filthy vagrant has a certain style that I lack) and they all go there to hang out, eat and catch the latest movie. However, people hardly ever buy anything in these excellent new stores. The reason? Well, there is a huge import tax on foreign goods, which means that these stylish stores are more for the locals to browse in than actually purchase any goods in. These are just being set up for the hordes of gullible westerners arriving next year!

It's quite amusing watching all this from our point of view, even more so when going into a restaurant. Hannah and I went into one and watched as a procession of locals came in after us, got served and began eating, all before we had been served ourselves. Then, just as our faces were changing expressions - from bemusement to annoyance - a waitress came meekly shuffling over to take our order. It was then that we realised why they had taken so long to come over to us; they were frightened of the language barrier and each waitress was trying their best to get someone else to serve us! I suppose it didn't help when I tried to order in very broken Mandarin and the poor girl understood precisely nothing. We then had to resort to crude pointing and gesturing (probably coming across as insane European primates) to get what we wanted.

The supermarkets even seem the same. Like Europe, everything is ordered in aisles, clearly signed and labelled with the prices. Sure there are a few slight differences such as bags of rice the size of whole paddy fields and parents letting their young children urinate into a bag in the corner (apparently this is entirely normal!) but generally it looks no different from ours. Then you get to the fish section and you realise you really are in a different culture. Huge pools of water litter the floor, each containing a variety of fresh fish, crabs, lobsters, eels, shrimp and anything else that lives in water and can be safely eaten by humans. The stench is staggering and foul smelling water begins to spread out on the floor, making walking through this section fraught with danger at the prospect of falling face first into a puddle containing an assortment of mutilated fish entrails. You finally navigate your way safely through that and stagger gratefully into the comfort of the meat and poultry counter. The first thing to greet you? A simply huge pile of chicken feet, arranged in what the Chinese must think is a very attractive way, enticing the customer to pick up this tasty snack food and take it home as a treat for the kids.

Outside the malls and supermarkets are large, concrete open spaces. In the evenings people congregate on these and partake in a variety of different activities; skateboarding, hanging out, eyeing up members of the opposite sex and, naturally enough, line dancing. They bring their portable stereos along with them, stick on a compilation of the most abysmal European influenced dance/pop music, organise themselves into a series of lines and begin dancing. If you're really lucky you'll see a few of them in a pair of cowboy boots and matching hat. Surreal yes but I find it comforting that, while the Beijing-ers are as modern as any western city dwellers, they mix in their own culture and styles, meaning that you do actually get a great feel of what it's like to be living in modern China.

Our apartment - temporary accommodation until we find a more permanent residence elsewhere - is very nice indeed. Every appliance is brand spanking new and extremely modern. We have two plasma TV's - one in the living room and one in the bedroom - with cable channels but only a few of them are in English (CNN, BBC Worldwide, ESPN and some truly dreadful movie channels that screen TV movies all day every day). We have a broadband connection, the latest lifestyle stereo system including sub-woofer (shame we didn't bring any CD's with us) and a high quality power shower in the bathroom. The bathroom itself is just off the bedroom with an adjoining door to the kitchen. However, the separator between the bedroom and the bathroom is not a wall but a massive, clear window. This means that anyone even vaguely near the bedroom has a clear view of anyone in the bathroom, no matter what it is they are up to. It's really quite lucky that I have no shame.

One final note. For those of you requesting them, don't worry, photos will follow soon. Remember to watch this space...