Beijing Rishengchang Hotel

... for the three of us we would take the zip line.

There was never a more glorious zip-line ride. Sure in places like Costa Rica you can zip through the jungles, but after a 12 km hike through ancient ruins; zipping across a river from an ancient Chinese wall, snaking its way along the mountains is one of the most satisfying things I have committed to memory.

In the end, our friend found her kids and we made our way to the restaurant. I was so exhausted and ...

... Coming a close second to Tao Tao is Daniel's second favourite Tao, Tsing Tao, his favourite brand of Chinese beer, of which we consumed vast quantities during my ten days in Beijing. Let me simply say that I can see why he's decided to make China his home. The food is fantastic and fun, the beer is cheap and plentiful, his wife is adorable and keeps him firmly on his toes and best of all...he doesn't seem to do any work whatsoever! And I thought I had it good!

... find it...We are asking locals, they also dont know about any hostel...then we luckily meet a Chinese who happens to be a lawyer...so he was very decisive to help us and at the end, after maybe one hour and a half walking up and down the street, we've finally found it! Hostel is nice, it looks new, or maybe they renovated it for the Olympics. New rooms, new furniture, new bathrooms...well for people ...

... place to bag a bargin. We only bought some tiger balm and we had to fight to get any kind of good deal. Eventually walking away worked (although I was not playing a trick and had given up), but it also bought me an incredibly indignant stall keeper. Thankfully we have been hardened to this, so we left the market a little disappointed. Next came a walk around the Hutongs. We didn't want to pay for this priviledge and decided to meander along the streets until we came across something ...

... Cuban taekwondo athlete kicking the referee in the face! Did you read about that! No, we weren't there in person, we just saw the photos on the Internet. Just absolutely shocking to me. The athlete was mad at the ref for disqualifying him from the event, he argued with him then just kicked the ref right in the head! Wow. He and his coach are now banned for life from the Olympics. We did see US Women's softball in the gold medal championship game. I can't believe they lost! I ...

... parola ha raggiunto per me una nuova dimensione dopo aver visto Beijing; a qualsiasi ora e in qualsiasi giorno ci sono macchine ovunque, ed i semafori sono una specie di decorazione stradale: belli, ma nessuno sembra farci troppo caso. I cinesi poi guidano come dei pazzi: sorpassi a destra, sinistra e centro, frecce inesistenti e uso indiscriminato del clacson; i pedoni hanno vita durissima: attraversare la strada sulle striscie pedonale e' pura follia ...

... all take part in a mock television broadcast of the Olympic Games. Fake Games are provided by the means of video tapes from previous Olympic events. This makes me a great deal of money when I gamble with the dozens of uniformed Chinese Security Guards on the results of these contests. They are amazed that I always know the winner of each and every athletic endeavor, while they sadly turn over most of their 7 dollar a day paychecks. Just ...

... tour guide gets a cut if you buy things. And the trip to the Mongolian Dinosaur Museum which was promised in our brochure somehow never happened... After lunch, we spent from about 2:30 until 10:00pm driving back to Beijing. The bad thing about driving in China: you suddenly encounter huge piles of dirt blocking the highway. The good thing about driving in China: your bus driver pretty much just tries to off-road over the dirt and keep going. Now ...

... of my imaginaion. At the bookstore bought 2 copies of Tolstoy's epic War & Peace and are gonna read it simultaneously. I found a man who reads bloody TOLSTOY with me, OMG!!! *ahem* I need to stop this. But yes, the melancholy is starting to take me. So give me strength.... - Feli "I ate starfish in Beijing for lunch" Wong

... in history and culture, but I think it would have to be Xi'an. For those of you that knew me when I was but a young nipper of 10, you may remember that I failed my Cycling Proficiency test. This has been an embarrasing weight around my neck for 13 years, and I have not been on a bike since. However, in Xi'an a couple of the group persuaded me it would be a good idea to cycle around the city wall. I did it and it was such a thrill! I ...