Today we went to the Potala palace, the winter residence for the Dalai Lamas. The Potala was originally built in 645, and has been added on to throughout the ages. It has housed the government, religious schools, tombs, and has been the home to every Dalai Lama, up until the Chinese invasion in 1959. Now it lies dormant, a relic of the past waiting to be used once again for its original purpose. It is 1,400,000 square feet, and has 1000 windows. It’s enormity is truly staggering, and it’s religious and political significance cannot be rivaled. Buddhist pilgrims circumambulate the palace, as they spin hand held prayer wheels, while others prostrate themselves along the sidewalks. Buddhists circle the palace three times, as dictated by their religion. The tombs of all the previous Dalai Lamas are housed ... read more

Last night we went out shopping for some underwear, shirts and socks, being as our luggage was somewhere, who knows where. While walking around, I noticed that I have never been such a subject of outright curiosity as much as here. Generally while traveling in foreign countries, you get a stare, and a hushed whisper to a friend. Here in nowheresville China people were literally stopping and staring with mouth agape. If music was playing, the record would come to a screeching halt about every ten feet we walked. For a girl who is insecure this is something of a waking nightmare, however my love of travel usurps my silly hangups, and I remind myself that I am a curio, not an object of ridicule. Dennis went out later by himself in a quest for the ... read more

We arrived in Beijing at about 0530 hours this morning after a 12 1/2 hour long flight into the most beautiful and modern airport I have ever seen. Because of the 2008 Olympics, there are some incredible buildings that were built. Before you can go through immigration you must pass through a thermal body scanner that takes your temperature, and warns you will be put in quaratine if you are sick. This in conjunction with many people wearing respiratory masks gave us the willies. To save money and not miss a chance for a cultural experience, I decided that we would take the subway to our hotel, instead of taking the "easy" way by taxi. What a beautiful public transit system this country has. The subway did not smell of urine, and there were no homeless ... read more