Intercontinental Beijing

"If they can betray Fourth Brother to the authorities, why did they save me?" she thought darkly. "There must be some other evil scheme afoot." <br><br> The wound on her thigh had not yet healed, and she couldn't afford the slightest mistake. Having been in the Manor once before, she had a vague idea of its ...

... force; just a presence.<br>The Forbidden City was so impressive too, and the communist government have made it into a museum and people walk around admiring and enjoying the huge spaces and impressive architecture - that was once the reserve of only the very select few.<br>We had lunch at a local restaurant - not for tourists. It was set up for a wedding party, and I managed to get a photo of the bride - dressed in red brocade, and groom - in a suit. The food was delicious, of course.

... take off. Somehow I was able to get on this flight, getting me to Beijing a full eight hours early! Very good fortune. I ate spicy sichuan beef and noodles on this flight, and I followed the moves of the Japanese grandfather next to me when they delivered a cup of broth and a hot paper package tied with a string: the cup had miso soup, which you are supposed to sip like a drink apparently, and the package contained rice... very interesting.<br><br>The reason I say that this flight ...

... and the incredible artwork on them before taking to the hutongs and finding a restaraunt where the cutest little waitress patiently waited whilst in horrifically broken mandarin we ordered food. Good old tofu, it saved me!  Next day we were up at the crack of dawn for a day trip to the ming tombs and the great wall. All i have to say about ming tombs is - don't bother, they were ****, easily the most unimpressive thing i've ever seen. The great wall however was incredible ...

... and a half playing Shuffle board before the 'quiet cabin time', 'happy hour', dinner and show routine. The show tonight was another performance by the new group of singers and dancers. This time it was called Classically Yours and was a combination of light operatic numbers, some ballet dancing and some Irish dancing - there are some lovely voices and some very clever dancers - great entertainment once again. Friday 29th What a difference. Our first impression of Japan was one of ...

... as well. After the speeches, we head back out. Group 4 wants to take a group photo, so we start trying to round everyone up. It is really hot outside, so we decide a good backdrop would be inside the hall. Some folks have already gone out though, so our leader sends a scout to round them up...uh oh, we forgot. No reentry. Guess we have to go out and join them after all. Its hot, but we survive ...

... was quite posh as well. After all that, a late night food session was in order so we sat and ate as a huge fight went down on the sidewalk outside the very local restaurant. I fall asleep thinking about how much I was enjoying Beijing and how it was so different from any other city I had ever been to. Such a shame that most people coming to this city for the Olympics won't get to see it as I have so far! Apparently they are ...

... during my next visit, probably in the most remote part of China, so there couldn't be any more excuses like the government has passed regulations to restrict blah blah blah... Baby celebrated her 4th birthday in China with all our new-found friends. We bought a really fanciful cake, and delicious too, from the super high class confectionary. They were able to custom make our cake in 35 minutes flat. I was so pleasantly surprised. Back in Singapore, we had to place the same order at ...

... and the whole time promising me a good price, promising me that she wouldn't cheat me, because I wasn't just a customer to her, I was her friend! Every time I would stop to think, "Do I really want to try on these pants," she would say, "Don't consider, just try!" and another pair would be coming my way. The key to the "hard sell" is getting the customer so confused that she agrees to whatever you say. After trying on about ten pairs ...

... do was find a beer somewhere to relax, and it looked like there was a restaurant next door so we tried it. The next hour was the funniest one I've had in a long time. One girl in the whole restaurant spoke enough English to wait on us, and I suggested just being adventurous and just pointing to the menu and seeing what drink we were served. The girl, once she realized we wanted drinks, said she had beer so we just said three, no other questions asked. I felt bad ...