DavidHessekiel

Have you ever had the experience of driving in a major city REALLY early in the morning before the traffic starts? It makes you realize how wonderful the place could be if it weren't for all the congestion. That's what Chris, Jim and I experienced when we caught a cab from our hotels to the Beijing Train Station at 6 am today. The extra delightful experience of the Chinese capital continued when we arrived at the ultra modern, clean station full of attractive stores and restaurants -- Chris was even able to get his signature espresso quad shot at Starbucks. My amazement at what the Chinese have built continued as our comfortable, high-speed train pulled out and quickly and nearly silently hit 300 kilometers per hour. Amtrak is pathetic by comparison. Once outside the city, however, ... read more

Day One of my trip was a huge success. Splurging on a Business/First upgrade on United Flight 89 was a great investment -- terrific lounge access at JFK before the flight, the most comfortable seat/bed I've ever experienced, terrific in flight food and a great entertainment center made the nearly 14-hour flight very easy to endure. In fact I arrived in Beijing at 1:45 pm local time feeling quite rested in spite of the 12-hour time difference (12 hours ahead of NY time) After freshening up at the JW Marriott Beijing , Chris and I quickly walked through the nearby luxury mall -- beautiful stores with lots of staff and not too many customers for a Saturday afternoon. Apparently such enterprises make their money on occasional HUGE sales to very wealthy customers, not a steady flow ... read more