Railway Hotel Beijing - Beijing

Today was a success.

The mere fact that I am writing to you, alive and well; without any bumps, breaks, cuts, bruises, fractures, or frostbite to speak of (at least none that weren't treadmill-induced…) earns a personal badge of merit in my book.

Last night, I signed myself up for a 60 km bike ride around the city with the same biking club I had joined for my Halloween ride. The description was an "easy, cool-down ride" that was “more relaxed than the ...

... the agenda; the new goal is to get home ASAP. I'm feeling particularly bad for poor Sammy...she's all decked out in 3" heels and a beautiful, delicate, completely non-insulated chiffon shift. And the temperature is dropping....

Fifteen more minutes later, a good Samaritan stops his car and offers to give us a ride. He's going in the opposite direction of our hostel (i.e. in the right direction ...

... and his wife Jimilla is originally from SoCal. They were two awesome people we have met on our travels and we couldn't have enjoyed our great wall experience more than sharing it with these two. We got up at zero dark thirty, had a quick coffee and some toast and jam (thanks Luda for the early breakfast!!!), and were off to catch the first subway train to the bus station. Rumor had it that only one bus in the morning was heading towards the section of the wall we ...

... Still, I found our local guide as interesting in her way as this terra cotta army. She was a fetching woman in a black pullover, tight black pants, and Chanel eyeglasses, whose cell phone didn't stop ringing. It turns out that she was the guide for the Clintons during their visit to Xi'an in 1998. "Bill was very charming," she reported. "He picked up my handkerchief when I dropped it. When that thing happened with Monica I was not surprised." And Hillary? "She seemed to be what we ...

... our trip!! eventually we get to the wall,and make our way to the highest point. The wall is so steep in places that we weren't expecting it. People were really struggling to walk along some sections. Around the wall were beautiful mountains covered in green trees, as well as a view of the wall flowing over the mountains. we managed to get to the highest part of the wall, after 3 photos with chinese people (as we were sooooo special!). Our 2 hours were quickly coming to an end ...

... more costly or impossible. They will have to cut operations or pay sharply higher prices to move goods by van. The city already has banned 300,000 older trucks and other vehicles since July 1. While Daimler AG can keep making Mercedes-Benz sedans at its Beijing factory because its emissions are below government limits, managers worry about getting parts delivered, said Daimler spokesman Trevor Hale. "We've tried to make sure our logistics ...

... We visited several classrooms, two with students working....one on their Chinese writing and another in Civilization class where they stopped to do singing exercises to make them alert and ready for their next lesson. The singing was really quite good...have some pictures:) We also visited a quiet computer lab and an empty physics lab. After an hour presentation on "Physical and Mental Health of Students and School Reform ...

... the tourist ones focus osn acrobatics rather than singing. Also, do not show your phrasebook to a waitress - it is liable to disappear till the end of your meal when you no longer need it. I think one particular establishment was making use of our phrasebook to translate their menu before the Olympics! Oh and expect anyone offering to help you when you look a bit lost to pull a rickshaw from up his sleeve! I got caught out by this many a time much to Jono's amusement!

... moments of calm away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing; the Forbidden City which was the main palace to countless Chinese Emperors; Tianamon Square and surrounding buildings, partly because of everything that happened there in 1989 but also because it showed how revered Chairman Mao still is almost 30 years after his death; finally the various markets around the city that provided so much entertainment from the banter and barter that you have with the ...

... dug two pits for toilets, surrounded by pegged canvas for privacy - the cleanest toilets we have used on the whole trip. As darkness descends mum plugs in the only light and cooks veggie noodles, adding yak meat after the vegetarians have been served. Then, they lay out mattresses and give us many blankets and we sleep, boys in one room, girl in the other (with the stove).