Walsen Beijing

... climbed the Great Wall, then you have lived”! This was one area of China that I was very excited to see. We have all seen it pictured in books but the breadth and depth cannot be realized until one is actually there. It still surprises me when I see something like this, thousands of years old, and I realize that it was built by the hands of many men. It is truly one of the great wonders that I have seen in my life.

... br>Thirdly, it is because often one has to be ready to learn. Certain places are only fascinating once you know the history behind it... in the same way that each person has many things which have sentimental value which others don't understand right away. Much of artwork and iconic symbols are this way. Just ask a graphic designer. Or for example, do you know the significance of your country's ...

... Hou Hai. So I insisted that we find him and we did! Since I was born in the year of the rat, whoopie, I got a rat shaped candy. I'm not sure if you can see him here, but it's pretty cool. It looked a lot like glass blowing when he made it. I felt bad eating it actually. But we ate it and it tasted like burnt caramel, in a good way, it was really delicious, but it did break apart kind of like glass when we ate it so it was hard to manage.

... works as a tout warding tool for when you are being harassed by street touts after you have used the 3 No, Thank You, Buzz Off rule. 6 Immersion Heater amazing all the things that you can make to eat and drink once you have one of these. I always double check that this is in my bag. I bring two on long trips just in case. I use it mainly for coffee in the morning and sometimes for noodles as a late night snack. Most airports have places that you can find a plug, sure ...

... window studies the paper for a few seconds, then tells me the price. I hand her a wad of notes and the ticket comes back soon after. I've no idea whether it's a top or bottom bunk, but I don't really care. I'm just happy to have my ticket. A short while later I am outside Beijing station in the dusk. I am not alone. Thousands of Chinese are queueing to get in, or sitting around on luggage, or milling around, or watching the musical fountain shooting jets of water ...

... a grueling 4 and a half hours - in blistering heat and extremely steep in areas - more like climbing that walking. As much as we were ready to give up we made it to the end and were very pleased with ourselves. Along the way there were the odd Chinese woman who would fan us, sell us souvenirs and generally try to get money off us - but they were a great help and at some points I had one on each side pulling me up the steps as it was such hard going. We felt obliged to buy ...

... more miles to the Temple of Heaven where we were nickled and dimed before being allowed to see the actual temple...which was the most impressive sight of the day. At night we drank beer and went to bedearly. The following morning we boarded a minibus without any working seatbelts for a three hour hair raising ride to the Jinsahling section of the Great Wall. Forget Cambodia, and Ecuador, the drivers in China are the worst in ...

... walk around the park taking many photos and observing the active elderly population. Compared to back home, it's lovely to see the parks here being used for such a variety of activities. It almost feels as though we have the misty park full of elderly Chinese all to ourselves. Tiantan Park is part of the Temple of Heaven complex. The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. The ...

... become so fragmented and argumentative, there would be too much instability, probably revolution, and it would cause more misery, not less. "Do you think this will really happen?" I asked, " Do you think that without pressure from the people, the government will allow a freer media, and do you think that the countryside can get better, given the corruption there and the lack of media interest?" I asked. A shadow seemed to hover over our ...

... a few hours of uncomfortable sleep, I wake up and cuddle up to Sarah. Her hair is still smelling a little funky after getting it dyed and just smelling it is making me feel even worse. I try to keep it down but it just won't and I have to run to the bathroom and start worhsipping the porcelain god. Yup...I start tossing my cookies in the toilet...wasn't really cookies...there wasn't much in my stomach left...mostly liquid and ...