Cui Ming Zhuang Hotel Beijing

... s a restaurant at level 1 on the outside of the building, and it is a, (OMG!!) a restaurant called "New Zealand Restaurant". Lol!!!! My friends and I were so excited, but haha, funny enough that the first main on the menu is called "Australian Steak", lol!!!!! But they even have BLAT sandwich!! That's quite Kiwi right??

A waitress came towards us and started introducing the menu to us, then we asked her why is there ...

... all costs, and then turn around bike back and start asking for directions…

I had only one side detour to speak of, and quickly righted myself. In a supernatural case (survival mode), my navigation skills came together rather nicely, and all my guestimations proved correct… within an hour and seventeen minutes I found myself at the airport. (well within viewing distance of the airport, which was good enough for me)

I soon learned logic and road rules ...

... so 3 of us decided to take a walk. We walked to a grocery store. It was fun seeing the locals reaction to us as we walked around. The people here always look at you and smile. They are very friendly. I truly think they enjoy having tourist come to their country. In China they so many people they have lots of people who pick up the trash all the time. There are guards or police who sit in the subway stations all night. Here in Beijing feels very safe.

... as far as sightseeing was in question. Even the sun was nearing the edge of the horizon, and although the Summer Palace was still full of people who showed no signs of leaving yet, the shadows lengthened considerably. We headed towards where we had come in through, towards the East Palace Gate. But not everything went that smoothly. All at once, we bumped into a bunch of policemen and soldiers, and quite unexpectedly, everything came to a standstill. It didn't look like there had been ...

... initially I think it was one of his highlights too. After this we had another wonderful lunch (getting pretty good with the chop sticks by now) and then we went to the Sanxingdui museum. Very new and once again pretty mind blowing. Unfortunately one of the buildings was closed for repairs after the earthquake but they had moved most of the important items into the other building. Not an exhibition I had heard of before, but some of the items, namely the golden mask and the golden sceptre ...

... 000 troops in Iraq) * 100,000 ordinary and paramilitary police * 60,000 civilian volunteers -- mostly aging members of the Communist-era Neighbourhood Committees - who will be their eyes and ears around the city for the Games * Surface-to-air missile outside the Bird's Nest and Water Cube * Security checks simply to enter the new Beijing Capital Airport in addition to checks inside the airport * Bomb-sniffing dogs and baggage inspectors on the subways * A computer system ...

... train to Xi'an for the next leg of our journey. Beijing is an amazing city, full of old-age Chinese charm mixed with the modern might & excitement of economic development. We'd both recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone as there is so much to do, & we could have easily spent weeks there if time had allowed. Alas it was not to be, so Xi'an & the Terracotta Army await us. Until then, hope you are all keeping well... Much love, Em & Al x

... so we sat down, ordered our food and prepared ourselves for what may arrive. When it did arrive we were very pleasantly surprised, with the waitress (who spoke no English at all), showing us how to mix the rice with the dish in our clay pot. The meal was excellent and we left feeling not only full but very chuffed with being able to order, pay and eat our meal whilst only communicating through a series of nods and hand signals! We met up with our tour group on the ...

... heb ze aan Xin Li laten zien en die vond ze wel goed. Ook heb ik voor het programma voor Chengdu nog even contact opgenomen met Steven, de lokale agent aldaar om wat te vragen en hij vond het ook wel een leuk programma. Woensdagochtend met de bus naar het werk. Ik heb al eens verteld dat het verkeer hier heel druk is, vooral in de ochtenduren. Ook deze ochtend was het geen uitzondering, waarschijnlijk waren we met de fiets sneller op het werk, maar aangezien we 's avonds afgesproken ...

... is outstanding. After lunch I continue east towards Poland. I'm riding with the Baltic Sea to my left towards Poland. I thought I could cross into Poland at the town of Swinoujscie (SP) but it is not to be. Here the border guards turn me away as this is a restricted zone. But this is on a peninsula so I have to backtrack about 100-200 kms to the next southward border crossing. Lucky for me as it turns out because along the way there is a sign for a Froh Market which I ...