Villatel Travel Inn (Yougu Shentan Natural Scene Zone) Beijing

... to.

** I will have to watch the video and add some details. It was difficult to write because it was very crowded, you are not allowed to enter many of the buildings, it was raining and people kept hitting us with their umbrellas!

We walked back to the hotel at 1:15. If Ultimate pick up is going to take place, we are not going to be there as it is still raining. My hands and feet are prune-like and cold and I would like to dry out...

We tried to find the ...

... forskellige slags dumplings. Begge indeholder en slags kød/grøntsagsfyld, men deres dej og facon er meget forskellig. Det er et lille bitte sted, og hvis ikke Eva kendte det, ville jeg aldrig være faldet over det. Billigt er det også: menukortet har priser fra 1 til 6 Yuan og er naturligvis kun på kinesisk uden billeder, men den næstnederste ret i venstre hjørne er noget grøntsagshalløj, så den holder vi os til. Vi spiste os mætte for sammenlagt 19 Yuan. Jeg tog direkte ...

... the whole story of their life in Beijing, or the ins-and-out of what busineses they run (i.e. how they stay popular while still making money of the tourists. My favorite part was definitely the large Ouigher population in the city. At least every other day I'd sit and watch the Olympics at a Xinjiang resteraunt I found while wandering down some old alleyways and eat the best food in China. Barbecued bread dumplings, "Big plate chicken ...

... pass or any other items in my room? How come they allowed Leatherman multitools, with 7 inch blades through security but made me go back to my room with my 2 inch Swiss Army Knife? Has the Swiss Army fought any wars with said knife? I miss all of you and wish I could spend time with you here. Even if you didn't have to dig through the used toilet paper in the bin next to me so that you could wipe.

... a mysterious allergic reaction. It's making me sneeze a lot, with hives and swollen eyes to match. Attractive! I'm pretty sure it's the down in the comforter so maybe I'll sleep on a rock tonight. I'm off to... suckers! No one will know until next entry!!! With love, Matt PS- Today for the earthquake victims they set off the national alarms and all boats and cars were required to blast their horns. It was truly haunting. PPS- Happy birthday Simon!!!

... Hooray for cheap goods!) Change. Replacement. Dizzying. Blink-and-it's-gone. Blink again and something else is there. A cramming of 200 years of modernisation into 20 years...and now into 4 months in time for the Olympics. It is most obvious in the cityscapes. When I first arrived my view was of a half-built new office skyscraper opposite and a red poor/small-ish/old/****-in-comparision- to-all-other-CBD-skyscrapers block of flats. Now I glance out of my ...

... bus in the designated lanes, which looked sort of like the ones at a theme park for a roller coaster. Our bus pulled up, but no one in front of us moved. We scooted around them but the bus began pulling away before we could get on it. I caught the side of it and tried pounding on the glass (NY style) to get him to stop, but he didn't. I was so upset that I began re-enacting the scene and threw my arms up for dramatic effect. As I did so, a man behind me ...

So, this entry is designed to begin to answer any "What's China like?" questions that may be out there. The first thing you notice when you get to China is that there are a lot of Chinese people here. A lot. Anywhere you go, anything you do, anytime of day, there's always a crowd. You especially notice all the old people loitering about during the day. They also like to throw up characters everywhere ...

... Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. There are 9,999 rooms. It is believed in Ancient Chinese that the God of Heaven has 10,000 rooms, therefore the Emperor who is the son of the God of Heaven has 9,999 rooms. The wall has a gate on each side. Opposite the Tiananmen Gate, to the north is the Gate of Devine Might ...

... 400 kms away. So we agree to leave at 7:00 AM sharp the next morning. The guide/traslator has a name, but unless it's written down in front of me I can't remember it, so I call him Tim. Tim tells me he has somewhere to go tonight ad he'll meet me at 7:00 AM sharp the next morning. I'm now skeptical I'l ever see him again, but I'm leavig tomorrow at 7:00 with or without Tim. Surprise, Tim is knocking on my door at 7:00 AM sharp. We're off for Altay.