Paddon Business Hotel Beijing

Done, walked the Great Wall of China today and loved it. It was very foggy so didn't have a great view but that didn't matter, it was pretty unreal just to be there and see the enormity of it. It was hard enough getting myself up there so mind blowing to think of how it was built.

The old bell was, after a time, carried away to a greater distancethan any one, even the warder in the bell tower, ever imagined; andthe bell in the breast of the young man was heard in countries wherehis feet had never wandered. The tones went forth over the wideocean to every part of the round world.
We will now follow the career of the old bell. It was, as wehave said, carried far away from Marbach and sold as old copper ...

... niet veel aflezen, wat bij ons kitsch is is hier veelal chique). Dan vraag je de menukaart (voordat je een tafel vraagt). Je kijkt naar OF plaatjes OF de Engelse beschrijving. Maar vooral: je kijkt naar de prijs. Als de gerechten (voldoende voor 1 persoon) tussen de 3,50 en 4.00 euro kosten dan zit je goed! Dit is de prijs die je blijkbaar moet betalen voor de zekerheid om niet ziek te worden. Nadeel van deze restaurants, ook vanavond weer, er staan 3 obers bij je tafel. Je ...

... coming back to the grind of exams and papers. Back in Beijing, I had a 'long lost cousin' reunion with Katherine! It figures that after not seeing each other for a while, we would meet up on the other side of the planet... It was great catching up, and I was introduced to Kro's Nest, the best pizza place in town. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. 13 days til home! Take care friends, Jonathan

... a beautiful chandelier made us feel we were attending a state diner like royalty. Later, Mr. Li took us to see the night view of the National Stadium--the center of the Olympic Games, fondly called 'Bird Nest'. The facility was completely blocked off prior to the opening of the Games so we could only see it from distance. We did see groups of people walking here and there on the ground inside the gates. They ...

... police march in Tiananmen Square in Beijing yesterday. China's leaders are not about to let anyone spoil the country's coming-out party.Claro Cortes Iv, ReutersChinese paramilitary police march in Tiananmen Square in Beijing yesterday. China's leaders are not about to let anyone spoil the country's coming-out party. It may be the world's premier sporting extravaganza, but China is turning the Beijing Olympics into the biggest security operation in history. There will be 100,000 ...

... palaces and residencies. In total there were 999 buildings in the city, apparently the old emperors thought only the gods could have a residence with 1000 buildings! So being next in line they would have one less! The buildings were spread over vast courtyards and gardens. Some of the trees looked like dragons claws. At the end of the city you see a large hill, this was made artificially in a naturally flat city, for the recreation of the royal family. The complex was so ...

... looking at, gets you into places that you wouldn't otherwise know about, and handles problems as they arise. A group also swings more weight than a solo traveler when something goes wrong. Me, I prefer going alone or with one other person (or with my friends Gregg and Lori, who might as well be one person ;-). This allows me (with some negotiating when I'm not alone) to spend a little extra time anywhere I want, do nothing at all if that suits me, turn left ...

... chatting to the other Westerners in our carriage, including two french lads Pierre and Florian. The night however passed slowly and sleeplessly under the duress of snoring and ******* from our fellow compartment comrades. Alighting at Datong at 5.30am evoked only the desire to find a bed for more sleep. After a reviving hour's kip, we met up with Florian and Pierre again to explore the sights around Datong. Florian's excellent command of Mandarin ...

... så de måtte til en amerikansk gudstjenste på et hotel inde i byen, på døren ind til konferencelokalet stod der at det var for "foreign passport holders only", religion er jo farligt...Jeg var ikke med da det originalt var meningen at jeg skulle ind og hente vores julemad, da jeg igennem noget tid har skrevet sammen med ejeren af "Den Lille Havfrue", Torben som han hedder ringede til mig engang i september og fortalte at han havde set min hjemmeside, og at han bare lige ville ...