Henan Plaza Beijing

... gray since I arrived; the pollution keeps it that way even when the sun is shining. On my trip to the Great Wall, just beyond the city limits, a thick fog blanketed everything I couldn't touch. Between the city, the weather, and the Wall - constructed to keep outsider out - I feel locked inside the big red machine. I take comfort in knowing that they would only too quickly chuck me out if I asked.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>< br><br><br><br>

... short, I ended up staying another 10 days in Beijing; as fascinating a place as Beijing is, if I ever go there again it'll be too soon! After putting off and putting off another trip to a hospital to get my still ridiculously painful arm looked at, I finally caved in and went to the Beijing Friendship Hospital across the road from our hotel (luckily!). The hospital was even worse than the previous one in terms of ...

... receipt because I left it in my purse and I did not bring my purse today. <br><br>We sat on the curb and ate the croissant and pastry, some meat and an iced tea. We met Swen and Claude, brothers from Switzerland. There are 14 others in our group. Along the way we met Peter from South Africa (currently living in Hong Kong), Ruth from Ireland and Veronique from Munich.<br><br>Our bus arrived and we loaded up. It was a long ride to Jinshanlin, around 3 hours. We ...

... keep them for a souvenir. After we had got settled we went for a walk around the area that the hotel was in. There are lots of little side street food places where it looks like local eat. Went to the supermarkets to see what prices were like and it seems really cheap. I thought we were working the prices out wrong as I bought a big pot noodle with a sausage, a packet of dried squid and two things that we weren't ...

... people clapping and singing by themselves, oh and a little dog going up an escalator (didn't like steps i should imagine!). The weather is pretty hot, there are some really muggy days which seem to affect Mark more than me, but then a couple of shifts in Tay ward would get anyone used to muggy heat!! I would say it's around 28 degrees most days which is rather nice and beats a rainy Scotland!!(sorry)! And who ...

... We really enjoyed Beijing a lot. It's a beautiful city and as David eloquently put it "the men are very lucky!!" as we people watched one day! All of the women in Beijing, no matter the place, time or occasion, will dress up to the NINES. They are so elegant and feminine. Made me feel like a right heffalump in my combats, trainers and sweaty vest-breasts. When we went to sort out our China trip, we were taken into the finance dept of the tower-block sized travel ...

... martial arts classes. I must of walked at least 5 miles today if not more. Eating here has proved to be a humbling experience with my bad Chinese I tried to order some sort of duck that I saw on the picture menu but ended up getting some sort of fish! That was lunch. For dinner tonight I just went to the first restaurant that I found and went in and asked for a seat. I knew I should of taken a hit when they gave me a weird look for asking for a table for 1 ...

Sul aparechio mi consegnin une cjarte di imigrazion. Si capis subite che achi no si scherze, ti domandin cui che tu ses e ce che tu as di fa. Sicome tal elenco nol'e "sgarfefurlans", tra i varis motifs de visite in Cine, o sielz di scrivi che o voi a cjata amiis. Mior di sigur lassa piardi tiarmins comprometens tipo g**rnalist. O brami di jentra ...ma ancje di salta fur di chist pais. Ancje al me cognom Vescovo, sperin che no lu cjapin come mistiir.. A Bangkok, pes stradis, al regnin i ...

... are good replicas most of the goods were stolen from Chinese factories.... they are pretty hard to decipher. As soon as we entered into the shop, both my friends and I were in awe of the plethora of cheap designer goods, we didn't even know where to begin. I chose the perfect group of people to bargain shop with, 3 long islanders who are both frugal and fierce and will not settle for anything but the absolute cheapest price. The reason for our trip was ...

... institution where you gorge yourselves on lots of small dishes including many varieties of dumplings or dim sum. And after walking through an inner city park where locals praticed thai chi in formation, and old men drew calligraphy on the pavement with water and foam brushes and dicussed the fine differences in the characters and the intricate history of the meanings, we went home and staight back out to a recommended hot-pot restaurant where we had an ...