Starmoon Garden View Hotel Beijing

... Suddenly a rickshaw appeared and we showed the man the address. Rather comicly he ran (or waddled fast) into a nearby hotel then appeared shortly after apearing to know where it was. We decided to get in his motorised rickshaw and went on a bit of a crazy death drive down the wrong way of four laned traffic. A bumpy ride later we arrived and got ripped off. But being tired and slightly grateful we didnt really care so we payed and went into the hostel.

The ...

... to take me to the bus stop, but to some small town along the way. I refused. 1. shady cab driver 2. getting dropped off in an unknown town 3. not knowing where this town is and then add the fact that even if I did I wouldn’t be able to maneuver my way back to where I’m supposed to be… the whole thing was “不三不四 ”, a Chinese word for sketchy. The driver scolded me, telling me that the bus wouldn’t come for ages, and ...

... homes), where I observed and then joined locals at a local eatery. I had a plate of nuts, tagliatelle, green strands of something (maybe seaweed) and other mixed veg, with 3 dough pastries containing more green veg - delicious! Washed down with a bottle of Tiger beer, it all cost a pittance and I got to spend time with the locals in the eatery and down the alleys. The following day I took a second tour of Tiananmen Square where I had hoped to ...

... before the tickets check. I assumed it was the legacy from the Olympic Games. It was a bit of a hassle, but nothing serious. If it could guarantee us all a safe ride, then I was all for it. The morning was warm and sunny. In Beijing way, of course. Waiting for PingPing on Xichang'an Jie, right by the station exit, I noticed a large number of policemen. Or whatever they were. It was difficult to know since they all looked like police to me, and on the other hand, not all of ...

... breeze. Inside the pagoda was a large Budha. The best part however was the 360 degree panorama of the city. Since the park was next to the Forbidden City, the Pagoda stood above it and gave me an incredible view of the entire Forbidden City from above. Once again, the fog and smog tried to ruin the view ...

... games with them which was extremely fulfilling. The pictures do this experience more justice than any words we could use to describe. Enjoy! Fav Foods: Chinese food has treated us well. Peking Duck was yummy, but our favs are still Sweet and Sour Pork and Kung Pao Chicken (chicken, peanuts and chili peppers), and dumplings. We will definitely try to find someplace in Dallas that has yummy dumplings! We walked down the Donghaumen ...

... Chinese students. A couple we have met are the ones that we hang out with on a consistent basis. First this is Maggie. Maggie knows everyone. Seriously. She takes us to all the good restaurants and the cool places in Beijing and she knows the owner, or someone else that works there usually. She is very talkative and has very good English, which has made here the perfect friend in the new city. Next is her best friend. Her English name is ...

... a bunch of people to the Outback Steakhouse (apparently they have that here too!) to satisfy our craving for steak, and I saw the movie Transformers at an IMAX theatre (so the screen was ginormous!). I also just got back from my first massage this year in China- probably good for my muscles, although I feel as sore as if I'd just done a hard workout! Anyways, hope things are well at home, and miss you all! love Katie

... statues, paintings, and other representations of the Buddha. One shrine has a Buddha carved out of a single sandalwood tree 23 meters high. You are not allowed to take any pictures inside the shrine, so I tried to zoom in from outside. The best I got was the Buddha's robes near the foot. Later that day I was wandering around the mall at Guomao, and two girls stopped me to ask where I came from. USA ...

... hier ook maar een half jaar garantie. Dat houdt niet in dat je je geld terug krijgt als hij gestolen wordt. Reparaties binnen dat half jaar hoef je niet betalen. Het is niet te hopen dat de mijne al voor die tijd kapot is. Tegen zes uur komen er drie Nederlandse gasten van ATP (Advanced Travel Partner), een grote speler op de Nederlandse zakenreizenmarkt op bezoek. Zijn gaan waarschijnlijk samenwerken voor de Olympische Spelen van 2008, gezien ATP net een contract heeft getekend met ...