9th. Timing is the bane of my life. Insect bite count: 4.

Woke up at 3am today, wide awake after sleeping at about 11pm. Stayed awake for a bit, and the sun rose. The sky was a nice shade of red and then there was a layer of smog.. so that I could hardly see any street lights on a nearby road. it disgusted me, really. I don't understand why the pollution here is so bad.. might be due to construction, there are two sites that are nearby. Just seems like everything keeps on growing here in Beijing, there are already quite a few changes despite the fact I was here only a year ago. The heat I am slowly getting used to.. as in I have to just deal with the fact I will be clammy all the time when I am outside, and that putting more than a minimal amount of make up on means I will definitely have a melty face.. :( Bad times.

Bought a cheapo nokia mobile to use and a brand spanking new DSLR camera! Battery is charging so I can't play with it but I really can't wait :D eeeeh. Means I can probably take some decent pics when I am out and about this next week or so :3 After shopping, we went to this random taoist temple/shrine thing in the middle of Beijing. A minor tourist attraction. There were lots of sculptures that were pretty scary looking, as well as the usual gods and things. Something vaguely cultured to ease my way into being a tourist.

A friend arrived in china today but she is going to Dalian tomorrow.. which I am going to on the 20th. Which incidentally is the day she returns to Beijing. My gosh, time hates me. I am intent on meeting up with SOMEONE this holiday at least. Gonna try get some meetup arranged on the 25th.
Booking train tickets here is such a nightmare omgggggg. I'm now staying in Chengdu only 2 days and then taking a train for a day and a bit back to Beijing. No trip to China is without a long train journey :P Makes UK trains seem so petty and little.

So tomorrow I shall be making my way to the airport once again in order to fly to Chengdu. I shall be couchsurfing tomorrow night, a first also. I was telling my grandparents and my uncle about couchsurfing and was pleasantly surprised when they did not hugely object to it, especially as it's all about staying with complete strangers x) It's nice knowing that they trust me enough to go out on my own and stuff this summer. Not sure about internet access when I am in Chengdu/touring, though most of the hotels I stay in should be okayyyy la. And I'm guessing people's houses have it.. :3

Shit, I got stung again. I doused myself in insect repellent. And they got me where I JUST missed. My foot. Fucking mosquitoes. That's 4 now. Savlon to the rescue!!