Hollyear Grand Hotel Beijing

... was friendly enough to give me 3 different kinds of moon cake to try. So if anyone wants to try some, feel free to join me at my hostel room number 309 ;-)!

I also got the opportunity to try out another traditional Chinese dish this week. As the Tennis lesson was cancelled due to the rain from the typhoon which passed by and headed towards Vietnam, there was a spontaneous gathering of our NSO Group on Tuesday evening and we went out to Tuen Mun to have some Hot Pot together ...

... down upon the people in the street. There was one steppingalong, proud of his purse; another, of the key he carried behindhim, though he had nothing to lock up; another took a pride in hismoth-eaten coat; and another, in his mortified body. "Vanity, allvanity!" he exclaimed. "I must go down there by-and-by, and touchand taste; but I shall sit here a little while longer, for the windblows pleasantly at my back. I shall remain here as long as the windblows, and ...

... Jamel. Anyone who knows Jamel knows where this story goes next... The camera took even longer than expected...Jamel showed around 8:45.... We walked to get some grub. Jamel was really in the mood for some food from west China, so we walked a long way to this place with West China food. It was worth the walk. We also passed through this cool little bar/backpacker/ex pat street. We even ran into a few of Jamel's friends in the restaurant. It ...

... where the emperors could go to escape the gruelling heat of the Forbidden City in the summer. Highlights of the Palace include a nice jaunt you can take around the lake -even with it being freezing cold outside, it was enjoyable - the boat constructed entirely out of marble, the covered walkway by the lake, and the view from the Buddist Fragrance Pavillion. (Marble boat: we were told that the emperor who built the boat viewed ...

... the world to learn about technology, finance, science and philosophy, the Chinese leaders who restrict religion will do so until a true revolution occurs. China is a world largely unto itself. And its non-elected leaders are not going to change their defiant ways because of escalating foreign trade, human-rights organizations, the fleeting Olympics or outside champions of religious freedom. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news /story.html?id=a3c7bdc7-5f9e-4cc8-beff- 280c63cf006e

we arrived to tanggu harbor 4 hours late. the air is yellow with polluted haze and the skyscrapers are obscured to faint glimmers just 2 km away. a bus takes you to the arrivals hall and we stand in the line. china, as i have said, has yet to embrace the art of the queue. this is a huge cultural difference that is hard to get used to. we are taught in the states from a very young age to line up and to wait your turn. people who cut the line are tattled on as not being fair. it ...

... everything's just BIG. speaking of big, the forbidden city leads out straight into tiananmen square, the largest square in the world. it looks exactly the way it does in pictures. the thing about the kind of bleakness that can only be captured by communist practicality, is that it is what it is. it can only be portrayed in its bleakness, and in no other light. the same stahlin-esque drabness, manifested through pure focus on function and opposition to aesthetics that you see all ...

... area quickly started to look a lot like the last. There were plenty of interesting details-sculptures, large pieces of unusual rock, plaza entrances graced with expanses of decorative tile, paintings on the beams above covered walkways, rooms that you could peer into to see how people lived-but I was ready to go when we walked out the north gate and up Prospect Hill, from which we had a hazy view of the Forbidden City and the rest of central Beijing. After a ...

Settled into Beijing for 5 nights...the weather was hot and muggy and the sky is a constant grey from the pollution, somewhat difficult for a California girl spoiled by blue skies. On Friday night had the most flavorful dry fried green beans with chilis and garlic, one of the most flavorful dishes I had on this portion of the trip. Saturday we walked to the Temple of Heaven and then back across town in search of a Peking duck place recommended in Lonely ...

... meals, flights etc etc for us. A big thank oyu for all of oyur help Simon, we had a fantastic time!! He speaks fluent mandarin so we had no problems with communicating. We spent a night in the Shangri La 5 star hotel in Xi An (which was amazing, esp compared to the hotels we have been in so far) and saw the Terricota Warriers. We did kareoke with the locals in the many complexes built for the party which was fun, and were taken to see the Great Wall of China. We were taken to ...