We woke up early and got some breakfast and then headed to the tourist buses that are always parked at the end of Qianmen Street. We decided that would be the easiest way to get to The Great Wall. We bought our tickets (about 160RMB each I think) at the booth and hopped on the bus. Our tour included the Ming Tombs, lunch, and the Badaling section of the Wall which is the most visited section since it is closest to Beijing and has been completely restored. What we didn't know is that the guide would talk in the fastest, most irritating Chinese possible for all 70 km! I wanted to shoot myself in the head. Or maybe I just wanted to shoot her. She was helpful and since Enis and I were the only non-Chinese ... read more

On our third day in Beijing, we finally got up early enough to visit the Forbidden City without being rushed. You could easily spend all day here, but I frankly don't have the patience for that. It is a stunning place to visit, but after a while it just all looks the same. It is huge. And impressive. And extremely well-preserved. Renovations are always ongoing and they are very well executed. The central corridor of the Forbidden City is where government meetings took and place and important people were met. That's not where the emperor's actually lived and spent time smoking opium and having sex with their concubines. Those buildings are on either side of the central corridor, and there are a lot of them! Probably at least 25 on each side. Each room has its ... read more

Enis and I flew to Beijing for Chinese New Year. I checked the weather and I knew it would be cold, but I had my hat, gloves, long underwear, wool tights, thick wool pashmina, heavy wool sweaters, and a bright orange North Face coat, so I felt prepared. And I was. Sort of. Good gravy it was so cold!!!!!!!! And windy! I hadn't been in cold like that in a long time. Our first night there, it was -10C. It got warmer after that though and held steady around -5C at night, and even got above 0C one day. When we arrived, it was already dark and we found our hostel - 365 Inn - with no trouble. They had emailed good directions and we took the airport shuttle bus to the train station, then took ... read more

After a long five hour bus ride with people sitting in the floor and on top of luggage and between the driver and the front seat, we arrived in Mui Ne, a 10km stretch of beach that was little used and undeveloped until the last 5 years when resort after resort after hotel have blocked the beach so that there is literally no public access. The main road running parallel to the beach is dotted with restaurants and the backs of resorts and hotels that are overpriced, even in low season, and they have left little room for the small guesthouse or bungalow in between. There is still cheap accommodation to be found though, and I got a private bungalow on the water for 20USD a night. I was near the end of the 10km stretch ... read more

I took my first ride on a sleeping bus to Hoi An. I had never seen a bus like this. All of the seats lie almost flat and your feet rest under the back of the seat in front of you. It was great! I think it costs about $6 for the three hour ride from Hue to Hoi An. We got dropped off in front of a Phuong Hanh Hotel, who also owns the bus. Rooms here were $10 a night and Denis and Linka got a room here, and so did I, but I don't recommend it. I checked in and arranged a 4:30 wake up call so I could take their 5:00 AM bus to My Son Temple and watch the sunrise and miss the crowds. The knock on the door came at ... read more