Home Inn Beijing Yansha

... I was once told that, in the past, people did not see things as theirs (for reasons we should know). And with the progression of capitalism, this has dramatically changed. Now, many people's dreams are to have homes with nice furniture, and BMW's or Mercedes... because isn't this the way the rest of the world is "happy?" Doesn't it sound a bit too... Western? The only surefire consequence is the growing disparity between the rich and poor. Also ...

... to intrude, but also in dire need of how to change the gears on my mystery machine- the slight inclines of the hills were growing painful. The lady, Ines, patiently explained the logistics, and fixed my bike- apparently the chain was about to fall off. We struck up a conversation, she was writing a speech and had done tricks on bikes before, and we ended up coasting down the curves of a mountainside.

Mountain coasting is enthralling, its exhilarating, and I am pretty sure Ines ...

... all supposed to wear our program t-shirts.) I was a little disoriented and ended up accidentally taking an unofficial taxi that charged me twice as much as I should have spent. I knew I was being cheated but I was so tired and out of it I didn’t really care. I finally got here and was relieved to see a bunch of students wearing our program shirts in the lobby.

So now I’m starting to settle in to my room and my surroundings. My roommate ...

... and Longevity Hill in the background, but what really was worthy of an attention in its own right were only those bridges. Like Yudai Qiao or Jade Belt Bridge. An extremely arched and highly elevated structure, it was clear that its builders first and foremost had had its form and aesthetics in mind when they had designed it, and only then its functionality. Climbing the bridge and crossing the inlet almost resembled mountain-climbing. At least by its slope if not exactly by its height ...

... history the pandas were a must do for me on this trip. Given my slightly strange fascination with getting as close to the local animals as I can, whether they are camels, elephants, alligators, snakes, monkeys etc. the panda was not getting missed. It was the one reason we were coming to this part of China but when the earthquake epicentre was not far from the panda reserve we were visiting it was looking a little doubtful. Woolong reserve was badly affected. The enclosures were very ...

... We bought ponchos and they did not do anything to help us, so once again I am soaking wet!!! We had to go back to the hotel and put on dry clothes...then as soon as we went back to our bikes it stopped raining. We proceeded to ride around the whole city. We met Stacy (our friend who was doing her own thing that day) for lunch in the shopping district and we ended up having something called hot pot. This is similar to fondue where you cook your meats and veggies in a boiling sauce ...

... was absolutely phenomenal..a lot of shaolin monks doing kung fu..with the story of how Kung Fu started included..Very much like the one I dragged you to see in London dad..except here you bring packet popcorn and pop it in the microwave in the theatre foyer! how funny! It did remind me of me and you Christina practising our Kickboxing in your kitchen all those years ago..obviously the monks are just slightly better than we were!haha. Getting back from the show was hysterical..we ...

In Week 12 I had my first big night. It wasn't intentional, but it seems to be what happens whenever someone goes to Huxleys' for the first time. It might be the slightly seedy ambiance that lulls the senses; it might be warm hospitality of the owner, Mingis; or it might be the "GnT"s (Gin and no Tonic) Mingis serves. Either way, a fabulous time was had by all especially me who, despite Tash's protests to the contrary, was the embarrassing friend who is happy drunk ...

... book to study for this one test. then i headed back to the market by myself to really test out my bargaining skills. i discovered i'm the ****. it's easy when i'm speaking a different language, cuz it's like i'm wearing a mask... i'm not even myself, i'm not being serious, i'm just like a dude controlling a video game character. i won't say what i bought because it was all gifts for people, but one thing a lady said 80 yuan. i told her she was sick ...

What a day! We visited some incredible places today. We woke up to some light flurries as we prepared for our day. As we get on the tour bus we realise that today is going to be one heck of a day. We head over to The Forbidden City and spend the entire time absorbing every little detail that we could. Yes, we took some photos, actually a lot of photos but that goes without saying for this entire trip. Anyway, within an hour or ...