Tibet Beijing

... Then I had to turn around. The coming didn’t prove as easy as the going… as I originally had no idea where I was going, so the coming I only knew I was headed somewhere between the 3rd and 5th ring roads (that’s a big distance… google map it)

The funny thing about bike trips, or running long distances, is that when you turn around any confidence you build up dwindles, as you realize you’ve only made half of the journey. The truth is even ...

... games. So, by 9 a.m., we're at the Den (conveniently located next to Hooters), watching American football on an LCD screen. We run into other expat pigskin lovers, including Boyce, who's plotting out his Halloween bar crawl strategy. Oh, yeah, Halloween. We almost forgot..

Four hours later, the Redskins have lost to the Eagles, and we're on our way to the Forbidden City

At the Forbidden City, we rent only one English ...

... was coming because of the humidity, actually hit. It came down in sheets and everyone rushed to hide under a nearby tent. It lasted for about 20 minutes or so. That wasn't so weird, what was weird was that the sky turned black. Like night-time black. It was about noon when the lights on the street (which are on sensors to turn on when it gets dark around dusk) all lit up. The sky had a scary reddish tint and it looked like it was 9 ...

... of chickens pecked at corn on the dirt floor. "Their children live across the highway in the high rises and work in the city," our guide explained. The couple seemed to get pleasure from our visit, no doubt owing in part to some unseen remuneration ("It's taken care of," our guide said). It occurred to me that these people might be a Potemkin Village couple, but if so, it was unclear to what purpose. They were not exemplary in any respect except in the placidity of their mood. They ...

... childhood dream was to compete in the Olympics, just to be there and experience it was a dream come true for me. I knew there could be some drama since I entered the country on a crew visa but I had traveled in China before on that visa so I though I would be fine. I had pre-booked and paid for a hostel and my Olympic ticket ahead of time online so I figured once I made it to Beijing I was home free.....NOT! The trouble ...

... said Wang Feng, professor of sociology with the University of California, Irvine, who just returned from Beijing. "What's most important is not having any problems." Terrorism is a serious threat for any international host, especially one that's welcoming 80 world leaders. But serving as host is also a balancing act. Going overboard with security risks could undermine the Olympic spirit, alienate visitors and, in this case, tarnish China's impressive preparations and billion ...

... how they got all those giant rocks in place that high up in the mountains. It was constructed by the emperor of the Gin dynasty to try and keep the Huns and the Mongols from invading the original Han people. 90% of the people today are descendants of the Han people of ancient China. It stretches 3,000 miles through the mountains, which would be compared to having it start in New York City and then having it stop in Los Angeles. When we finished our ...

... around with a banana in my hand trying to attract the missing monkeys' attention. An Amercian gentleman had heard that one was behind a lion at the entrance so I checked it out. I found an animal who could have been a monkey, but in all honesty it could have been a cat too. I rubbed it anyway, just in case. There were many monks walking and standing around, but we couldn't talk to them or take pictures, unfortunately. On the way back ...

... and forth for less than 20 yuan, so I did my best to find that. I just kept asking random people how to get to ba da ling... some people said there was no bus, some people just said take 919. I'd ask them where the 919 stop was and they'd keep telling me "5 lu" which i translated as 5 roads. I found out later that means take the number 5 bus. Finally I asked this really nice bike cab driver guy how to get there and he wrote out ...

... photos taken. He was dressed western style and she wore a traditional Chinese wedding dress. Welcome tot Suzchou. This is a city of about 4 million people and considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in southern China, After a quick lunch, we toured the silk factory, seeing how silk is made and how patterned fabrics are woven. Very interesting. Then we visited the 'Humble Administrator's Garden', one of the many gardens, and the jewel of Suzchou. The ...