Long Cheng Li Yuan Sunshine Hotel Beijing

... dingy. The bathroom had seen many years of use, no shower curtain, mould on walls and water from shower flooded the floor! This hotel is shown as a mid range one in the Lonely Planet so we were a bit surprised as to its condition.

Guilin is a large tourist town attracting many international tours that use it as the start of day cruises down the River Li. Internet cafes are more common here and as throughout China they are full of young men playing games, watching films and ...

... could hold an interesting conversation with eachother just by standing on the east and west sections of the wall, and whispering to eachother (said the inscription outside the echo wall), and dominated by the imposing looking Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. WE did not go in anywhere, but this being the first exposure to Chinese architecture, and Chinese people chilling out, we were suitably impressed. The gardens went on as far as the eye could see, dotted with little pavilions ...

... left to do in his room so he shortly returned there. And I got to the reception desk. And there was this girl who Peter the Englishman had said was in love with him some days before. We settled the things, I gave her the key, she returned the money to me and when I thought that was all, she said: "Excuse me, sir, are you a musician?" "Yes, I am." She nodded: "You look like one." Well, I knew I did. After that the conversation inevitably veered off to ...

... the bus it took 3 hours to get back to Beijing. But before going to the hotel we stopped at a pearl market -what a shopping experience!! You walk into a building 5/6 stories high and are immediately dragged to a stall to look at the sellers wears. The market sold everything cloth, pearls, gadgets, watches, shoes, clothes, handbags, cameras.. literally everything you could think of they had. Every stall you walk past the sellers are calling you to have a look ...

... Though fireworks are an integral part to many of their festivities (as anyone who lived in Taiwan knows!), they are banned in Beijing. Hence, a huge crowd of very excited people crowded between Mao's Masoleum and the Gate of Heavenly Peace in breathless expectation. No one seemed to know which way the fireworks would come from. Then suddenly, a small burst to get everyone's attention. It was truly magical to hear everyone gasp, jump up ...

... Cixi and how she governed through the puppet Emperor (her nephew) until the last emperor Pu Yi was chosen at 3 years old to become the ruler and was crowned the Emperor at 6 years old--that is until thing changed and he was stripped of his monarchy and was allowed to live on the palace grounds only. I want to see the movie to refresh on all of that. I can't remember the name of this place, but is one of Beijing's major place of traditional ...

... It was a little weird but once we got down there more people were eating. They handed us 2 menus for about 8 people? They always do this for some reason. I think because they assume one person will do the ordered and all the dishes will be shared. The menu was probably 50 pages and was a real piece of art. It had pictures of every dish and was made out really nice materials. I always try to order the Spring Rolls because those are ...

... to blame" the world has changed since that time, but chinese ppl are just so damn stubborn. sure no one should ever forget what happend, but i mean, most chinese people dont like or hate japanese people. i happen to have some japanese students in my class and let me tell you they are so not shy and way more interesting and cuter than the average chinese student. i think every culture has its goods and bad.

We boarded Thai Airline (Silk Service - very nice!) and it was (I think) the first time I ever sat on the second floor of plane. Don't ask me the model of the plane; I don't remember that stuff. The flight attendants were stunning and looked like models. I ask for a blanket and I got something that appeared to be a brand new silk comforter. By the time we were in the air, I started not feeling so well. A ...

... trekker would have trouble walking on, serioulsy! You have to see it to truly appreciate its size and where and how the hell they built it, ridiculous. Beijing is wicked, fast paced but the place is unreal, so much history. My favourite part of Beijing? Spitting!! Would make a Singaporean cry (it is forbiden there and against the law in their sterile country)!!! These people are able to 'golly' (aussie term) the meanest spit ever!! Not to mention ...