May 17:2

Continued from May 17:1...

Afterwards, I thought we'd stake out one of these crazy open markets. One of the most well-known was Panjiayuan Flea Market, which only runs on the weekend, mostly Sunday. Since it wasn't Sunday, we couldn't go there. But we had any number of markets to choose from, if we could just find them. China is renowned for their markets, veritable meccas for tacky gifts and knock-offs, fake-authentic Chinese stuff (fans, scrolls, etc.) and, of course, the locals who peruse these very items. Since coming back from China, I've taken to saying that it's difficult to find real "authentic" stuff in China, which is odd because so many things are made in China. It shouldn't be difficult, then, to find real Chinese valuables, but that's not the case. I learned this after "window"-shopping many a Chinese market.

But first we needed lunch. By complete accident, we stumbled across a huge, six-story flea emporium of stuff to haggle for, right across the street from the Zoo (the Zoo is huge). We wended our way through the aisles, me eying the goods all the while, deciding I would stop by this or that shop later to pick out something, William wondering how long he would have to suffer it all. We asked for directions to the food 'court,' which was on the sixth floor--and nothing like we had hoped. A few days ago, we'd eaten at the Oriental Plaza on Wangfujing (major shopping district) at a place called Megabite, where you buy a prepaid card (plus deposit,which you get back once you return the card--which we found out the hard way!) and get whatever you like. This place was nothing like that, more the traditional style with people sitting practically on top of each other and vendors/cooks shouting at the top of their lungs. Unlike what's usual, these guys seemed uninterested in us in the least. I decided I wasn't hungry enough. But I was ready to shop.

I'd already had some things in mind for what I wanted to buy. For the past few months now, I've been looking for some pink clothes without much success, or if I do find something, it's way more than I'm willing to spend. Not so here. In fact, if it was too much, I just haggled until I ended up at a price I was 'willing' to pay. I say 'willing' because, sometimes I'll start the process and not judge very well, and by the end I've spent much more than I should have. Still, Saturday was a day of decent deals. I found a pink and white, floral tie for work (not too gaudy, just a hint of flair--for which I have received many compliments since coming back to Seattle), which was the perfect length when the merchant lady tied it--but too short with the full Windsor that I usually sport. (Later, I settled on a lopsided half-Winsor--or some approximation thereof.) I found a great pink shirt (which I didn't find out until too late had some paper still on it from when the seamstress sewed the emblem on it, but it comes off easily enough), and a cute pink cap. To celebrate my purchases--a steal at 90 yuan/$15 total--I wore the cap and shirt with some jeans shorts that night. Looking back at pictures, I think it may be too gay to wear here in Seattle. What was I thinking!

And that night, I decided it was our best chance to watch a kung fu show. China is all about kung fu, or gong fu as they call it (Americans always get it wrong). There's also an acrobatic show that tourists often go to, but I wanted to see kung fu on the stage. I am my dad's son sometimes (sorry, mom:)). So we went. It was interesting going there, way the hell on the other side of town, but it was totally worth it! Blaring lights, wire-choreography, cheap props, and lousy acting--this was kung fu at its finest! There was even English subtitles, although most of it was spoken in English, which the cast simply mouthed the words to. The production was called "Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu." The story was simple, but it was fun.

When it was done, we went outside to meet the cabbie we'd told to come get us after, but he was nowhere to be found. I saw a young white guy hanging around waiting for a cab and figured he was American, so I started talking to him. Despite his fair skin, blue eyes, brown hair and slight pudge, he was, in fact, Swiss-German. His name was Mark. He wasn't sure how to get around, so we invited him to dinner with us, since we still hadn't properly eaten. Not knowing where else to go, we went back to Megabite in the Oriental Plaza.

Mark was traveling alone, having just come off the Trans-Siberian train by way of Russia, Siberia (I think), and Mongolia. He had a one-way ticket around the world, so he planned to hit up Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket, Honolulu, and Cuba (among other places). The catalyst for the once-in-a-lifetime jaunt, however, was a sad one: his dad had passed away, leaving him some kind of inheritance. We exchanged emails afterward and, once we were sure he could find his hotel without too much of a hitch, we went back to Xiyuan Hotel for our last night there.

:)

May 17:1

The only real thing we had planned for Saturday was the Beijing Zoo and their Giant Panda exhibit. It had been our original plan to take a trip out to Chengdu to see them there. Considering the earthquake really affected that area (as well as Sichuan, and Xi'an actually--though very marginally [Incidentally, I happen to be writing this email there, after a day with the Terracotta Warriors, but more on that later:).]), I'm glad we stayed away. But I would not miss the pandas!

We started out late that day, devoting much of our morning to figuring out what we would do with the rest of our stay in China. As it was, we had only actually arranged to stay at that hotel (Xiyuan Hotel) for a total of five nights. We ended up deciding to move to a hotel "closer" to town. We were paying on average 30 yuan one-way into and out of the city center (at about half an hour each way, more in traffic), and we wanted to save some of that cab fare for more fun things--like shopping!:) So it was that I found Guangxi Plaza, where we would be moving our belongings to on Sunday.

We also looked into going to Xi'an and also a side trip to Guilin, having decided that Xiamen was just too expensive. We only arranged the other hotel, however, and went about the rest of our day.

Our hotel was right across the street from the Beijing Zoo, so all we had to do was cross the pedestrian overpass, withdraw some money (did I mention that I've been burning through cash like the Chinese burn through incense at Lama Temple?), and head down the street to the Zoo. It was utterly lackluster, but we knew what we were there for. We had been warned by Walt's friend Jonathan (with whom we had dinner on Wednesday night) that the pandas can be a letdown if they're just eating or not in the mood. However, after feeling like we would be disappointed by the end of it, we actually got to see them up to their usual antics. There were about five of them in separate cages--and there was even a baby panda! That one was the cutest and the most fun to watch, since s/he was unabashed about eating in public, gnawing on the stalks of bamboo and even climbing up a tree at one point (we have it on video). We felt it was well worth the visit. We lingered a while, hoping to come across the Lesser (red) Pandas, but their exhibit looked to be under construction. The whole Zoo (and much of China) seemed to be under construction. We stopped at "the Australian cafe" for some coffee then went to see the big cats, since I'd seen a picture of the snow leopard they supposedly had on exhibit.

Before we went, we'd heard and read that some of the animals on display were pitiful to behold, heart-wrenching--and that's exactly what the big cat 'mountain' was like. Here were these huge cats (lions, tigers, jaguars, and a panther, I think, and maybe a cougar) penned up in cages smaller than some doghouses. It must've been something like 12x25x18, if I had to guess roughly. There were cute, but all hopeless looking. I was esp. touched by the panther/jaguar (I don't know which it was) that reminded me and William of our Feisty at home. He was this great big black kitty, prowling around like he was king of the (tiny) castle. And just like Feistel, he would run up to the door of his jail cell and scratch against it, or 'shadow-box,' as we call it. It made me miss my kitty;(

May 16:2

Instead of climbing up the side of the ridge upon which the Wall sits, cutting through paths cleared for tourists, we could have taken the cable car, which was reminiscent of our trip to Chamonix and the Aiguille du Midi up to the Toit de l'Europe. (Read all about it on my Paris blog!) We hustled up the ridge though, having to shoo away farmer merchants that follow tourists up the path (and, as our friend Russ says, all the way along the Wall if it'll get you to by something--as we would soon find out). We got topside and were awed by the view. On all sides there was greenery, save for the slice of stone cutting across the land, about 15 ft wide and 1,000 of miles long. The Great Wall of China is actually the culmination of many mini Walls that were connected together under Qin Shi Huang's rule in an attempt to keep out the opposing Xiongnu people. (He's also behind the whole Terracotta Army business.)

The going was slow and treacherous, especially for acrophobic me. A very insistent and, eventually, helpful farmer merchantwoman ended up walking a long way with us. Her name was Sila (I think) and she was very persistent, especially seeing how terrified I was. She kept telling us about a shortcut farther along, one that would cut out many of the watchtowers in between us and Simatai. It seems sacrilege to come this far only to be half-assed about the Great Wall, but, truth to tell, I was too scared of the sheer drops, the uneven and precarious footing, and the angle at which the steps were set--about 60 degrees from level. Worse, when we started, there were (we were told by Sila) 30 watchtowers between the two sections of the wall (like this one here). We met Sila at about the third and managed to the eighth, where Sila told us the shortcut would take us over to the 25th. That would have been great, if the shortcut didn't deviate so much off the tourist (read: beaten) path. When we got onto the shortcut, Sila and her other guy friend, another merchant, had to help me because my shoes were slipping on the gravel. We didn't make it far before William and I decided to turn back. At that point, I kind of gave up. I just wasn't having fun and my body was already sore. (We were sure to pack lots of water and food and a travel first aid, in case, and all in my big hiking pack, which probably weighed something like 25 lbs.) William suggested we turn back, and after some hemming and hawing (I felt guilty for having come so far--China, Beijing, Jinshanling, Great Wall--and being so racked by my fear and exhaustion), we decided to go back the way we had come. I felt doubly embarrassed and frustrated since the troop of kids from Corvalis seemed to be clipping along without a care in the world. Sila helped us call Mr. Bao back, so he could get us at Jinshanling... again.

Sila and her friend helped us back. I should mention that somewhere along the way, before turning back, I asked Sila why she was helping us, and she gave us the honest answer: she was helping us so we would help her by buying some of her wares. Now back at the third tower, from which the cableway would return us to the ground, Sila and her friend--whose name I cannot remember--broke out their wares. They had been so helpful and even kind, and Sila and I shared words from our respective languages, so by the end of it, I was resigned to buy something. I ended up purchasing a book on the Great Wall and a T-shirt from Sila, and William bought a T-shirt from her friend, both of which proclaimed that we'd climbed the Great Wall. Then it was to the cableway and back down to the entrance grounds.

I apologized to William for ruining his outing, but he wasn't miffed. He was happy to be out in the open, in nature, and with me, I presume. We are very lucky.

Mr. Bao didn't seemed too miffed either, although he did have to charge us more for the tolls he had to pay there and back. We got trapped in horrible traffic, due to the laying down of some new pavement. It took us four hours to get back to the hotel, where we paid Mr. Bao 870 yuan and dropped onto our bed expecting to nap for a couple of hours. When I woke up again, it was midnight and we were still too tired to get food.

:)

Next: Pandas at the Beijing Zoo and bargaining for a pink wardrobe;)

May 16:I

Note: Some of these entries are really long, so, in hopes of alleviating some of the fear a long entry incites in readers, I've cut the next day-long entries into parts, as indicated by the Roman numerals.

Friday we set aside for the Great Wall of China. We obviously couldn't miss that. Getting there was going to be tricky, however. Most people go with a group or make arrangements with a tour office, while some 'hire' a private car (don't want to sound too British...). We hired a private taxi. The arrangements were a little sticky, since the people at our hotel didn't know exactly where we wanted to go: Jinshanling Great Wall. After helping them help us find it on a map, we told them we wanted to cab out to Jinshanling, hike over to a neighboring section of the wall called Simatai, and then cab back from there. It was an estimated 3 hours to Jinshanling, 4 hours for the hike itself, and another 3 hours for the trip back from Simatai.

We had been doing some reading up about trips to the Great Wall, and we knew we didn't (necessarily) want to go to Badaling Great Wall, which is the quintessential Chinese tourist trap (or so we'd read/heard), and William really wanted to get into the Chinese wilderness. So we were set on Jinshanling, even if nobody knew where it was. After we told the cabby where it was, he offered to do the whole thing (a ten-hour day) for 1000 yuan. I should interject here that I had, by this time, been flexing my haggling muscles, so I knew this was a jumping off point. I immediately said that it was too high, that a friend of ours had done the same trip for 300 yuan each way, 600 total, so that was my offer. The cabby (and the concierge, too, I might add) countered that it was that much to just Badaling which was visibly closer to Beijing and our hotel. So one of us (William says it was the concierge) offered 800, and it was set. We would have our trip to Jinshanling.

We arranged to have Mr. Bao, our cabby, meet us at the main hotel lobby at 8, allowing enough time for us to catch some breakfast. And then we were on our way. Now, only three long hours in a cramped taxi (which, thankfully, had AC) separated us from nature and the Great Wall of China. Aside from a pit stop at a gas station along the way (where Mr. Bao ran in, his own toilet paper in hand, to use the facilities), we made no stops. Once outside of Beijing, we traveled the length of the main highway for a long time before heading out into the real Chinese hinterlands. Here, the roads were lined with weather-beaten houses and businesses held together more by dirt than by mortar. Everything seemed tainted by the pollution in the air (and water and land, probably) and the dust pouring in from the nearby Gobi, which I read (in the Lonely Planet book) is encroaching daily on the city limits. The only thing that appeared new (indeed, many of them were still under construction) were the gas stations lining the sides of the road like so much concrete litter in China red and drab white. Sinopec and Sincpec (which may or may not have been a typo) were the only ones represented here; no Texaco, or 76, or Chevron. (In retrospect, I don't remember seeing a single gas station in Beijing as yet.)

When we saw tour buses leaving from the way we were going, we knew we were getting close. There was a great fork in the road where we veered left, off toward Jinshanling. The other tine led to Simatai. Soon afterward, we arrived at our destination, at about 10:30 am.

Jinshanling was unremarkable from the outside, except to say that there were no tour buses/vans (although there was a parking lot big enough for about a dozen of them), and--after reminding Mr. Bao to meet us at Simatai Great Wall at around 2:30--we paid our admission and went in to see the Great Wall of China. But first we had to pass some touts and their wares and we chatted briefly with a contingent of American students from Corvalis, OR (this far away from home) on an excursion. Further along, we came to a paper-cutting shop, which I was enchanted with. I'd been awed by the Chinese art of paper cutting ever since I'd seen the piece that Vivian Lam has hung up on her office wall. We found a number of great items, including a paper-cut of both my and William's Chinese zodiac animals (goat and monkey, respectively), but when she refused to work with me, I settled on only a couple of the things I'd picked out (as punishment for her not playing by the rules. Plus I have a sneaking suspicion that somewhere along the way I'll find another equally cute if not cuter paper-cuterie). Then, it was on to Jinshanling and the Great Wall.

May 15

Today we set aside for the Temple of Heaven. We had seen pictures and postcards and stuff and seemed impressive and gorgeous. Truth to tell, I was much more impressed and moved by the Temple of Heaven than the Forbidden City (and Tian'anmen Square, combined). It is quite the tourist trap, but it too is huge. There didn't seem to be as many tourists as at the Forbidden City. Getting there was a snap: after breakfast, we took a cab straight there, arriving sometime around 8:30 or 9.

The Temple of Heaven, Tian Tan, is a large park essentially, with various and sundry structures inside. When we went in, we found it really green, with trees lining the walk and dividing different paths, like medians on a highway. Unlike Forbidden City, there seemed to be a lot of locals, dancing to loud Chinese pop music and singing along; others playing the most cacophonous, ear-killing instruments I'd ever heard; still others playing with outdoor toys they tried to sell you if you looked too interested (as we learned first hand). Before we got to the pretty temple part, we saw a small lawn where there was a single bird of striking beauty. It had a white body with black wings, the cutest hood of blue, and a long quill of a tail. When a passing tourist asked about it (in English), their guide said it was magpie. Not like any magpie we'd ever seen.

Taking pictures of the playful, coy bird, we caught glimpse of the Temple itself, a round pagoda-like structure, majestic in its protruding solitude. We made our way over and took lots of pictures. As with most royal enclosures, the Temple was roped off, so no one could go in. Later on we crossed a bridge going north-south over the grounds and garden. After that, we came to the circular altar, a huge round, three-tiered altar. The Chinese (of times long gone, or perhaps maybe even continuing on til nowadays) believe(d) that Heaven was round and Earth was square, quite counter to what we in the West believe (now). Hence the circular altar, which they sacrificed who-knows-what on. Also the park is round on one side and rectangular on the other side to further recognize the 'shape' of Heaven and Earth.

After reaching the south gate, we turned back north intending to take a cab to Wangfujing, where I would finally get to do some real shopping. So far, I'd bought some trinkets, souvenirs really, but nothing really big. I figured Wangfujing would be a good place to get good stuff, since the guidebook suggested it. Unfortunately, although Wangfujing is quite the shopping district, we/I got sucked into a mall-type building called the Oriental Plaza which is tremendous and beautiful--so naturally I couldn't afford anything. I saw a cute shirt, something funky, not really my style, but I asked how much it was: 1450 yuan. 240 some dollars! It wasn't that cute. The whole place was like that. I was looking for pink: a cute ribbed long-sleeved shirt of decent material; a nice tie for work; a cute cap. I found some approximations that would have worked, were it not for the price.

Oriental Plaza had a Starbucks! So, for the first time in China, we had a Mocha frappuccino (bottled, because we're still wary of milk products, per friends' warnings).

We had lunch at a place called Megabite, which is a mini food court in a larger food court. It's very interesting because, in order to eat there, you have to buy a 'debit card' for 30 or 50 yuan, which can only be used there. The food was dirt cheap--but the drinks were not. 18 yuan for a full meal (which we loved), and 5 yuan for a bottle of water! I know that's still less than a dollar, but the meal was only about three.

Afterward, we tried to get a China mobile sim card, unsuccessfully. These guys didn't barter (like they do in the tourist shops and the small cornerstores), and we didn't feel like spending 280 on a sim card we'd only use for three weeks. (Although we had purchased a spare camera battery for 195 yuan earlier that day.) With that, we hit the Friendlies Official Store (one of about a million; they're everywhere). The Friendlies are the Olympics' official mascot, five cuddly teddy bear types, in red, yellow, green, blue, and black. They all kind of look like pandas, esp. the black one which is the only one with ears. They all have cute headdresses on, not terribly unlike the one pictured here, which we saw in the Forbidden City. We bought some Friendlies paraphernalia there, and then I left William at a cafe to go windowshopping.

While I was shopping, William was arranging to meet up with another of his contacts, a guy named Russ. We went back to the hotel wait for Russ to call us and for a nap. He called around 6:30, telling us to get up, get ready, and meet him outside where he'd bring his taxi around and take us to a place called Houhai. Russ told us there were two real bar districts: Sanlitun, which we'd heard of, and Houhai. The cab ride over was interesting, since I sat up front next to the cabby, which the locals seemed to prefer. But that wasn't anywhere near as fun as the rickshaw ride we took from the road to the restaurant! We took two rickshaws, me and Will in one, and Russ (a big, loud, charming white guy) in the other. Houhai is a lake around which bars and clubs and shabby residences are huddled. It was quite quaint, and not for the first time that day I told William I was happy he brought me to China. It was a short but pleasant trip in the rickshaws and then we were at the restaurant, Kong Yiji.

The story of Kong Yiji is based on a poet of that name who had squandered his money on the yellow wine for which the place is renowned--a sweet rice wine, dark as molasses at times, not wholly unlike sake. But the poet wouldn't give the spirit up, so he would live off of it and these boiled beans. So the authentic Kong Yiji experience is to order this sweet, yellow wine and have it with the beans (also sweet and savory, with a hint of licorice flavor). Everything is 'extra' as Russ puts it. He did most of the ordering. The cuisine was called Shaoxing (if memory serves), rather on the sweet side. I was delighted to find that the wine was served with (people back home will know instantly) Li Hing Mui! Salty-sweet, dried preserved plum. We also had kow yuk (which I have been looking high and low for and not finding), sweet, marinated fatty pork belly served on a bed of fermented veggies (the Hawaii version is served without the veggies and is bright red). Everything was great!

Except for the deep-fried stinky tofu...

I have never tasted anything so gross as deep-fried stinky tofu. I was raised on a pig farm (essentially), and I associate the farm with a distinct/stink smell. The tofu tasted like that smell; in short, it tasted like a hot, juicy mess of slop and pig crap. I am not even kidding. I did my best not to hurl right there. "It's not your thing, huh?" Russ asked. To say the least! I couldn't wash my mouth out fast enough or with enough wine and water.

Russ ended up ordering four bottles of the yellow wine. Will had his usual small amount (maybe half a bottle), whereas Russ and I took the rest (though Russ drank about two and a half bottles by himself). He was a nice guy and I found him attractive in the jovial, fun guy way. Since I was having fun, I insisted he take us to one of the outdoor lounges for a glass of western drinks. We went to a little place where there were small rattan couches duked out with pillows and padding in bright red and deep navy blue. I had a B-52 and William had a whiskey sour. I was sad that they didn't bring mine over ice, but in retrospect it's probably best that they didn't

We were worried that we wouldn't be able to get up for our trek up the Great Wall the following day, so we had to get on our way. Russ helped us get back out, and we took a cab to the hotel and sleep.

May 14: Beijing is fun!

We were happy to find that our hotel, Xiyuan Hotel has a nice little restaurant on the ground floor in the lobby which has a great buffet breakfast, and we availed ourselves of it every day there. The concierge has also proven useful, since they usually have at least one English-speaker around (though proficiency is not necessary on their part). After breakfast, we took a cab to the Forbidden City. It turns out that Beijing is HUGE, so although on our rinky-dink map we don't look too far out, we are in fact about a 45-minute/¥30 trip to the central Beijing area. The subway map we have of Beijing says that there's a line by our hotel, which is next to the Beijing Zoo--but it's actually being created as we speak. The map has something like ten lines, seven of which are under construction and none of which is anywhere near us. So we end up taking a cab everywhere. ¥30 may seem like a lot, but the exchange rate is something like six renminbi (¥) to one dollar ($).

The cabby drove us to the northern side of the Forbidden City, which is HUGE. We walked all around it, actually starting out in the circuitous side gardens by accident (thanks for the heads-up, Michelle!), with its cute little tea and souvenir shops. We didn't know we were starting from "the wrong side," but it worked out better, and we were early too, which was even better. We worked through the various Halls, and--north to south--they range from big to Large to HUge to MONstrous to WOW! The main Hall, I hear, is supposed to have received all 100,000 of the Emperor's subjects and courtesans and concubines and all of their subjects and courtesans and concubines (thanks again, Michelle). We ended up going south, then slipping off to the side Treasury Gallery on the east side and working north again, then going back south on the west side of the City. The City has interesting architecture--and interesting construction, literally. Apparently (William tells me) the Forbidden City, proclaimed by UNESCO to be one of the World Heritage Sites, requires much renovation and a bunch of crews work their way around it once every ten years--except that, by the time they're done fixing the whole thing up, it's time to start all over again. (My friend Tony used to paint a building downtown that was like that--so huge that it took them all year to paint the whole thing, and when it was done, they just started all over again.) Naturally, there were tourists everywhere, all the time flooding in, entire groups sporting all red hats, now again yellow, still another in orange or blue. By and large they were Chinese, but we did cross paths with a number of Westerners--Brits, Frenchpeople, Spaniards--in fact, we met a cute Spanish guy in one of the souvenir shops and were happy to speak a more easily and readily producible language!

Then it was on south to Tian'anmen Square, which was HUGE (see a pattern here?) and utterly unimpressive. There were touts touting their wares and people everywhere. All we wanted was water, so we bought some. We are always carrying water around, either in our pack or in our bladders, and it gets heavy. There was an interesting monument in the Square and grandiose reproductions in stone of people (soldiers, Heroes?) doing something important and relevant farther on. Ironically, the most interesting thing to me wasn't meant to be interesting; it was the floodlight structures that dot the Square. These were the biggest eye-sores around: tall as streetlights, they had eight floodlights lining the bottom of the light fixture, eight more bulbous lights around the top, and probably eight more lights inside the main fixture. We haven't seen Tian'anmen at night, but I'm sure it's probably bright as day if these lights are any indication.

Afterwards, we looked for a restaurant the Lonely Planet guide recommended, which doesn't exist. We ended up eating at a seedy place tucked off in a side alley where the local military boys ate lunch too, in a private room. We asked about the restaurant we were looking for, Quanjude Kaoya Restaurant (which we did go to later that night and which did have awesome Peking duck; here's a cute youtube of it), but were persuaded to eat there after a while. Side note: it is annoying as all get out that the mandarin word for 'hotel' and 'restaurant' are often the same--I say often because there are several different words, and many of them have both meanings. Go to a restaurant and ask about a fandian and they point next door. Go to that hotel and ask about a fandian and they point at the restaurant you just came from. The food here in this nameless establishment was okay, although Will's chicken and mushroom had more bones than anything.

Back to the hotel for a nap. We found we had kind of lost a day, meaning that the dinner date we thought we were having the next day was on that day. We took a long 45-minute cab to a very upscale and 'exspendy' (remember it's ¥6 to the dollar) restaurant which was a branch of the one we were looking for earlier in the day: Quanjude Kaoya Restaurant. We met up with Jonathan, a very nice American guy who's friends with Walt. Kinda cute in a geeky way. The food was great here, and we didn't even notice the 70-minute wait for the Peking duck. It was all worth it: cab-ride, time, and money-wise.

We went to bed early that night and were well rested by the time 5 am came around.

Safe and Sound in smoking, smoggy Beijing!

May 13:
William and I have made it safely to China. The flight was ungodly long; it seemed like all we did was eat and sleep (whenever possible). We had to go through security in Tokyo, but I don't think I've had a quicker, more pleasant experience. William was tempted to visit Japan by that alone--and the adjustable, Western-style toilets they had in the airport. The Beijing airport was also a breeze, but everything looked closed up when we arrived at 9:30 pm, and it had a shabby feel to it, despite the banners and bus-sized posters announcing the Beijing Olympics (One World, One Dream). The checkpoint guards seemed more pleasant in both airports than the matter-of-factual officials we have in our American ones.

Our hotel is near the Beijing Zoo. After shorting out the circuit and losing power for a while, we found out that we don't even need adapters for our electronics, provided they have the correct range (China uses 220V, 50 Hz). The room we have is actually apart from the hotel in the Expedia pictures--our only warning the tiny lettering on the website saying something to the effect of it's a villa (whatever that means). The bed is big and firm (thankfully, we sleep on a futon at home, so we're not miffed) and the bathroom is cool. The rest is shabby, not even shabby chic, and it smells like a freshly washed-out ashtray. (This photo is one taken in the Forbidden City.)

We woke up at 6 am Beijing time, which Will tells me is 3 pm Seattle time (subtract 3 hours and change am to pm). Now we're puttering around, recharging our electronics and thinking about the day ahead. I suggested we hit the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Sqaure today. We'll try and arrange a visit to the Great Wall of China for the day after tomorrow, but we'll see. We still haven't planned that far out. As yet we only have these two nights reserved here at Xiyuan Hotel. We're thinking of getting a regular (i.e. non-villa) room.

China!

So I haven't been blogging of late (obviously). I've been much too busy! Writing new material, working on music, moving out of the Northgate apartment and in with a friend.

Oh, and going to China! We just got back actually, and I'll be putting my writings about it on this blog for all the world (or what little of it traverses through this region of the internet) to see.

The pic in my profile is actually one from the trip. Needless to say, Will and I had lots of fun, despite the pollution and overcrowding and sterilizing heat! We would definitely go back to certain places (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong) and not others (Xi'an). But you can read all about it in the next few entries.

:)