Blogs from Xuanwu District, Beijing, China, Asia - page 2

Things worked out in such a way that I was a group leader on the last two days of this trip; the first day, yesterday, we lost our bearings and a few hours of our day, and the second, today, we fly back to the states. I've chosen to turn the last two days into one entry because neither of them really represents a big enough story, in my mind, to turn into its own, single entry, but both are still near and dear to me because they stand for my last day in China and my way back home, and should therefor both be given some attention. Yesterday was the one day on our trip we were meant to recognize the "Wine" portion of this Food, Wine, and (Agri)culture trip, but due to the many ... read more

Day one of our trip started well - upgraded on the flight from London is always a bonus. Managed to locate the hostel without too much trouble, caught up on some much needed sleep and walked around the area. Took the plunge and sampled some local food from a street seller in a hutong. Went to a Kung Fu show this evening with some other guys from the hostel and grabbed some noodles in a local place, luckily one of them spoke Chinese, I think we're going to have to go with the point and hope for the best option from now on. Booked on a bike tour of the city in the morning (yes, a push bike) hopefully the wrist will hold up and we'll get to see a lot. Great Wall trip on Thursday. ... read more

Wow, talk about a long commute. After a 9 1/2 hour plane ride to Tokyo, a 3 hour layover followed by a 3 1/2 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 around Beijing's 4th circle, we finally made it through the narrow alleyways of Xuanwu District and found the hostel. ... read more

I am getting super spoiled by my 5-star lifestyle here at the Ritz. Every morning, a cup of piping hot coffee is delivered to my door, complimentary as part of the hotel's Wake Up service. Every night, I come "home" to a clean room, fresh towels, fluffed pillows - and a chocolate truffle on the nightstand. I could get used to this! It's definitely a warped sense of reality I am living in, but I promise not to complain about it too much. I have braved the subway twice now. It’s actually a great system - clean, efficient, comprehensible - with maps in English. But, no air conditioning, at least not on the train I squeezed myself into yesterday. As you can imagine in a city of 16 million people, riding the subway here is a ... read more

The Angel of Peanut Butter arrived this evening (also known as Chris, my lovely friend from Texas) and delivered a jar of all-natural chunky peanut butter direct to my hotel door, all the way from Target (said with a French accent, of course). How happy am I? More good news, Beijing's traffic control plan went into effect today: the Games-time mandate that drivers alternate which days they can be on the road, in a effort to cut down on pollution and traffic. Today, only cars with license plates ending in odd numbers were permitted within the city center; tomorrow will be for the even numbered-drivers. I cannot imagine this ever working in New York City! Seriously, New York drivers would probably tell the NYC government officials to go %$(@ themselves! Thus I am wholly impressed by ... read more