This blog is out of sequence. It is that way because it was difficult to write. We arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday we went to Harbin. This blog is about Tuesday and that night. On the following day we went to the Ice Festival and that has already been blogged.

Gwen’s luggage was lost when we arrived at Beijing. The room that we were given in our hotel in Harbin was pretty bad. The mattresses were boards – not like boards – were boards. We had severe jet lag with the sudden 13 hour time change. We were tired and no one at our hotel understood even one word of English. Frankly it seemed hopeless.

However all was not lost. One of the guests phoned a gentleman who spoke English and he came and helped us. Once again the old adage proved true. What you need is there when you need it. After some discussion and translation we had a better room and were happy in that regard. We also had instructions on how to get to the Ice Festival. We were OK but...

We didn’t know how we were going to get along. We were fools to try this on our own, especially at our age. If we had a towel we would have thrown it in, but we didn’t. So all we could do was lay there on our board, clinging to each other. That night was the night of despair.

Then suddenly what we needed was there. It turned out that what we needed was us. The ancient psyche asserted itself and the coma of North America fell away. The cloud of fear was lifted and we became what we are once again. We are travellers, not tourists. The old skills were suddenly there, risen from the depths of our mind.

When you came right down do it there was nothing in the lost luggage that we couldn’t get by without. There are many ways to get around the language barrier and we knew lots of them.

The next day was different. We now knew exactly what we were doing and how to do it. We were a full team. The knowledge that we had used to explore the villages and roam the outposts of this world was back. We now walk with confidence and assurance. We can communicate with the hotel staff and other and do so easily.

The ice festival was a study in joy. It is one of the most unbelievable sights of this world and we wandered around with thousands and thousands of people without a trace of difficulty. We even we into the food shack and ordered coffee for Gwen and tea for me without the slightest problem. Finding our way back to the hotel – no problem!

We are back. We are what we are. We are travellers once again and the real journey is about to begin.