City Wall and Muslim Quarter

Looked around the old city today, which is contained within a massive ancient city wall. The wall is substantial and you can, if you want, walk all the way around it. We didn't; we just walked a few hundred metres but it was enough to understand the sheer scale of the construction. Then onto the Muslim Quarter and its mosque. The mosque is accessed via an undercover market and there was a similarity to markets we have seen in Istanbul. The mosque itself is not like any we have seen on our travels - it was more like a Chinese temple, with open air courtyards containing stone arches, trees and shrubs. Upon exit, we found ourselves in an open air market, with dozens of food stalls selling both hot and cold snacks. We were not tempted, but the lambs feet looked interesting. Instead, we had lunch at a new food courtyard outlet, set up as a co-operative by some farmers. The choice was extensive, but we settled on some spicy noodles which were really tasty and a freshly squeezed orange juice - all for £3.50!

Then off for a foot massage that our brilliant guide, Sally, uses. We were glad she had faith in the place, as we would never had gone in on our own; firstly, it looked liked a disused office unit and secondly we were shown into a room which said 'VIP' but it was very basic. However, we both had a fantastic massage, that focused on our feet, but also included the back and arms. Certainly helped destress us for the visit to the airport and our flight to Lijiang.