http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Harrison-H-K/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Harrison H K en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:08:52 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:08:52 +0000 Just a quick updateI spent the last few days in Kunming a nice city with only 6 million people....writing that seems crazy but it's much less than most of the other cities I've been in. Today I'm taking a bus 20 hours south to the ChinaLaos border. There I can buy a visa and exchange my RMB for Lao KIP which is worth about 15000 to 1 USD. Wow. I will spend the next 1 12 2 weeks in Laos befo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-426354.html Its been a long time since I've written anything. I guess the last time was in Yinchuan That seems like ages ago. from Yinchuan I went to Chengdu a big city with some great areas most famously the Panda breeding center. I spent about five days in Chengdu before heading south to Mt. Emei the tallest of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China. It was probably the most difficult hikes I've e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-425513.html The last time I wrote I was in Hohhot Inner Mongolia. Today I'm in Yinchuan the capitol of the Ningxia autonomous region in northern central China and home to China's Muslim minority the Hui. I arrived two nights ago after a ten hour train ride and found my way to Ningxia's only hostel. I befriended a 27 year old Chinese man named Tony who was traveling with his wife Sandy Tony's younge http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-418031.html I traveled by train 12 hours northwest to Hohhot the capitol of Inner Mongolia claimed by China and home to 4 million people. I needed to escape Beijing so Hohhot was a gamble being that I didn't know much about it. It's not as hot as Beijing's humid weather but I don't think I'll be staying for more than a couple days. I went to Hohhot's meuseum with an Australian woman who's doing field wor http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-416712.html I have a gameAnyone who can guess what city I'm going to next will win something awesome. I'm not sure where it will be yet but I'm deciding today and it will be somewhere west of Beijing. Best of luck Oh and because China is so big you get three guesses.Yesterday I went and saw Transformers 2 in Chinese . . . with Chinese subtitles. I coulnd't understand much of anything they were saying bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-415596.html But not TOO hot that I would stay inside even though we're supposedly in a heat wave. The last few days have been filled to the brim. The first full day I was here I did the tourist thing and went to Tienamen square and the Forbidden City. Well it's not forbidden anymore IF YOU PAY. There were thousands of Chinese tourists and a few others that roamed the grounds with cameras and umbrellas http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-415045.html Wow talk about a long commute. After a 9 12 hour plane ride to Tokyo a 3 hour layover followed by a 3 12 hour ride to Beijing and three different check points serviced by employees with masks and eye goggles I finally . . . got out of the airport at 12am it was a brisk 80 degrees. Next I bargained for a taxi that turned out to be sketchy as hell but no worries after a half hour ride aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Xuanwu-District/blog-414215.html This is what I have heardJust making sure my travel journal is working. I'm witing from Hostel International in Boston just under 8 days from my takeoff to Beijing. Apparently I can map my trip add photos and video and anyone may leave comments if they'd like. You can also subscribe to my blog and every time I post a new entry you'll be notified by email.If you'd rather write me by email ple http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/Boston/blog-411303.html