Lanting International Youth Hostel Beijing

... works 3 days a week and can move work days around very easily. He works in England- maybe some top secret kind of government job? To travel that much he has to be filthy rich…

We got out of the vans and ran straight for the toilets. Half were "normal" and half were squat toilets, but there was a kind of liquid puddle covering the whole floor I had to convince myself was just water. But- they did have hot water and soap ...

... opportunity. We noticed that even on the edge of Northern Beijing the weather was getting very cold. But we were quickly back on the heated bus and headed 80 kilometers further into the mountains toward the Great Wall. We can see thru the sweating windows that the weather is getting even colder and the wind is blowing **********ward north this small band of adventurers rode toward the Great Wall. As we entered the foothills we can see glimpses of the wall as it rides the ...

... good. Lucky me I got to eat Len's leaks which were quite nice and all his green and red peppers in the sweet and sour sauce. Len went to the room to clean up and relax and I did the blog. We then relaxed in bed and watched the movie Flushed Away, it was funny, light, entertaining, made us laugh and forget today. Just what we needed. We are in a fairly new and modern hotel, fancy shower, ceilings about 10 feet high, large flat screen tv, soft or hard pillows, fluffy duvet and ...

... of the biggest differences I noticed about the theater audience in China, vs the theater experience in the US is that people do not dress up. We could go in the clothes we had worn all day. When I had asked Yufei about this she had said that historically the people that went to the Opera were very poor and so "dressing up" to go to the opera never really caught on because they could not afford it. Well, it's off to bed for me. Last day in China is tomorrow!

... weaned out to make way for Wal-marts and super malls. People with cars are naturally more inclined to do their shopping at the same place instead of making several stops on a busy street. They are also willing to travel farther for this convenience.

Marketing Perspective:
Today we learned that China has actually established a campaign to eliminate illiteracy in the countryside. With programs like this in place ...

... Tackle Beijing Fishing Guide Trout fishing in greater beijing is realistic and fun , fishing in the river among mountains and floating down and enjoy the landscape and see the wild great wall . Cost: in US$ per person per ...

... on the roads drive like lunatics - there doesn't appear to be any rules of the road. I didn't think that Sarah would make it as far as the tourist information centre in the back seat. Anyhow, we found our way via the much safer underground to a youth hostel in the middle of the City. Nothing ever sleeps here but we still managed to fall asleep mid afternoon after a walk and a KFC (shocking I know). We're blaming jet ...

... limited English and Chinese. Certain phone numbers cost more because they have lucky numbers. I was confused by the difference and Jasmine kept saying it was because they were better numbers. Better service? No, numbers better. Better how? Yea, conversations like ...

... witnessed the usual ordeal of getting new arrivals and their luggage from sea level to the 54th floor lobby. Feeling the impending onset of urban altitude sickness, I got quickly acquainted with room 7311 (Yes...that's on the 73rd floor) and moved to begin the not so gentle descent into the lobby of the Jin Mao tower. Ten minutes after leaving the nosebleeds, I finally reached the front of the taxi queue and headed under the river to the Shanghai side. With a good ...

... he united China and forced out the colonialist. It is always interesting to hear history from a different perspective. We ate diner at a famous Beijing duck restaurant that was over 165 years old and was patronized by presidents, kings and prime ministers. The FDA would never have approved the duck meal, because after the duck is killed and dressed it is left to air dry for 24 hours without refrigeration then it is cooked and cut into 165 pieces, which we ate with a ...