Fraser Residence Cbd East Bejing Beijing

... We're just around minus degrees now, although tomorrow will be slightly warmer apparently. If it gets a lot colder my Danish wintercoat wont be sufficient, sadly enough. So it's just a matter of time before I cave in and buy a massive down coat going down to my knees..! <br>

... area represents the old style of homes in Beijing. Had a bike driven rickshaw ride around the area and saw a group of local senior citizens doing a fan dance. A sight to behold. Next it was up 69 steps in the drum tower to see 1 real and 24 replica drums that were used many years ago. Got an hours rest at the hotel before a dinner at, what else, a Chinese restaurant. Met the remaining three ...

... do so tomorrow.<br><br>Today was my first full day here, so after being transported to my original hostel, the Haina, I attempted to walk to Grandma's Kitchen, a western-style restaurant, to meet Natalie for breakfast. I got lost, so by the time I got there, however, it was about time for lunch, so I got a chicken sandwich. So good! But the prices were almost western prices. I paid 35 kuai, about 5 dollars, whereas a normal taxi ride costs 10 kuai. Grandma's Kitchen was ...

... lowered prices on December 19, 2008. After the cut, gasoline prices will fall by 140 yuan (US$20.5) per ton. Diesel prices will be lowered by 160 yuan per ton. Officials say the cut is triggered by the crude oil price decline in the global markets.

... are everywhere. There is a 7-11 right next to our hotel, a Starbucks around the corner, a McDonald's down the road, and a Bally's gym around the other corner. I've also seen Nike stores, Nine West stores, Pizza Huts, KFCs, even the Lion King cafe. I have also heard that there is an Outback Steakhouse, a Walmart, and an Ikea in Beijing. Moreover, from every other storefront, you can hear songs by Eminem, Fergie, or ...

... ts" inform people not to spit or cut in line. One even mandates that Chinese people don't ask foreigners about their salaries. A street right by my apartment used to be full of street vendors selling everything under heaven, but they have left. My favorite Chaur vendor is no longer around. Many traditional Beijing Hutongs (1 story houses) have been demolished to make way for luxury hotels or office buildings. Even try finding a bootlegged Western ...

... anything London buiolds for the 2012 olympics. * Summer Palace- this is an hours bus ride away but for 30p you cant go wrong, although finding where to get the bus is more confusing than first imagined. When you arrive at Sumemr Palace though it is beautiful, it is set on a lake and the views are amazing, even on a dull wet day like yesterday when we went. Our pictures wont do it justice. There is so much to do there you ...

... really loud weird Jemison noises of disbelief like, "whooaa oooshh!!" I swear it was straight out of Bill Jemison's repertoire. I did some fantastic things. The Summer Palace was remarkable. It was this huge summer resort area for Chinese royalty. I loved tooling around this area and hiking up to the The Tower of Fragrant Buddha overlooking the massive lake. It felt so Chinese, if that makes sense. It was ...

Beijing is amazing. The buildings are amazing, Tianamen Square is amazing, the people are amazing, the food is amazing, the beer is amazing (-ly cheap) and the toilets are squat down and not amazing. Tomorrow we'll be climbing the Great Wall so tonight is gonna be an early night as opposed to last night. We went to the bar district last night and sampled slightly more expensive prices to what we were used to..it was outrageous. I mean ...

... set up a special room attached to the cafeteria for us, and each of the seven or so tables had a university student there for us to talk to. After piling our plates with amazing food from the buffet line, we ate and played a game with our student, whose name I couldn't understand. He asked if we'd ever played the Number Game, and taught us how. He gave someone his cell phone, had them pick a number, and we went around the table guessing the number. With each guess ...