Huadu Beijing

With his wife missing and his son dead, Zhou had spent two unhappy days fretting endlessly. <br><br> After nightfall on the second day, an attendant reported that two visitors had arrived, and Zhou ordered Meng to receive them. One was Tong, the other an Imperial Bodyguard surnamed Pan, one of the fighters who had helped to seize Wen ...

... these really made time fly by. I got a lot more antsy on the second, much shorter flight than I did on this behemoth of a flight. Did I mention this was my first time flying alone, too? Anyway, the food was really good, even though it was hard to tell what mealtime I was supposed to be experiencing. I had chicken teriyaki and rice, then a raisin croissant, then baked ziti and strawberry yogurt. Being as it was a Japanese Airlines flight, there were myriad extra offerings that I ...

... I rather be really hot. Ok, when I am hot I will remember this. In fact last night, jacked up on my decongestives and wearing my full array of clothing - I kept praying for a hot flash - damn, if only they were programmable. Stop worrying now - I am on Asian soil and putting my mitts and hat on and getting ready to join the throngs....and buy toilet paper...that hose thing???? Maybe nice in the summer. Winter? Just wet and cold!!!! Tomorrow Great Wall!!!!! Love, D.

Wednesday 27th A little warmer on deck this morning for our walk, which we now do before breakfast on the top decks - up and down steps to make for more demanding exercise. The whole day was once again fine and clear. We tried, unsuccessfully, to learn the Cha Cha today, and then were brought back down to earth with only 6 for the days trivia - not a lot to boast about this morning at all. In the afternoon we managed to get the latest addition to our blog sent and checked up on our emails ...

... that now) On the way to the main hall, there is a huge card display to sign for the Earthquake victims. It's very touching and we all leave our sentiments to send to the school children in the afflicted areas. I wonder if they will really ever get to see it? Many people also leave donations to help with the relief efforts there. The welcome reception features several speakers, along with headsets ...

... not only were the shoes falling apart at the seam already, but no one had my size. I escaped the markets only picking up a fake i-pod headset for a few bucks. The crew then moved on to see what traditional noodles were all about. Henry took us to one of his favorite places where we saw the chef actually make the noodles before he cooked them for us. We all ate for some ridiculously cheap amount and were absolutely stuffed before ...

... with. We took the ski lift up and down, admiring the scenery. The whole area was a massive snow field, pure white and looking so fluffy. We spent lots of time rolling in the snow, making snowman, throwing snow balls, and tossing bits of snow onto people. Baby went a step further by tasting the snow as if it was ice-cream. We also went into ice palace to admire various ice sculptures. Baby had lots of fun with the ice slide. We spent a day in Tian Jin where we tried the famous Gou Bu Li ...

... market, and when you go in, you'd better have your haggling armor on. Buying clothes there is no easy matter. If you let your guard down for a second, you will come out broke. I went in expecting to buy a new pair of pants and came out with four!!! This is because the Chinese have mastered the art known as the "hard sell." The "hard sell" is prevalent all over Beijing. You walk by stores, not just in Sanlitun Yashou, but all ...

... no less attention with every move we made, and crossed the bridge over the freeway. I was terrified at one point by the man lying on a landing of the set of stairs leading us back down to the street, because he was lying face down banging his head repeatedly against the ground. He was clearly homeless, from the dirty, shabby clothes and coat he was wearing, but I really thought something was wrong with him. Obviously there was, but it seemed like he could have ...