the best laid plans... and photos of beijing streets

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1st post
tuesday
3 june 2008

I just found out that my posts aren't going in order, so putting "1st post, 2nd post" tags on them for each day that I write.

Well, my plans have been thwarted for the day. The plan has been to get up and go take my camera and be a tourist in this area so y'all could see where I'm living, etc.

But it's raining.

Which means that when the rain stops, the sky will be beauuuuuutiful and clear! Yay acid rain? Hopefully it will stop this afternoon or evening and the light will be good and I can go be photographer extraordinaire.

PS. Yuck! According to weather.com, it's going to be raining and storming all the way until Saturday! It's only Tuesday!

blargh.

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17:00ish Stopped raining this afternoon while I was at the Bookworm. Two things I'm glad I brought: my tennis shoes, and my rain coat.

Took some photos a bit ago and will post them here.

Have been talking a lot with native Beijinger A**, one of my roommates. Interesting stories about life in Saudi to come later.

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Photos

ya think?
beijing mantra

yongli construction
hole in the world outside my hostel window

chun xiu lu
the street where the hostel is located

yongli panels
what the construction site looks like from the street, massive walls all around the block!

street sign and taxis
sunlitun youth hostel

the den
rugby bar [amid more construction]

different hole in the ground
southwest corner of gongti and sunlitun south

yashou market
walking across the flyover

new adidas
northwest corner of gongti and sunlitun north

dad this is for you!
recognise the emblem? same as your hat from 6 years ago

uniqlo
the weird orangeness on the corner of gongti and sunlitun north, next to adidas new complex

NW gongti & sunlitun
all new stuff since i left a year ago. next down the line is yashou

china post
mail getting ready to be loaded

typical street crossing scene
everyone crossing the street and turning all at once... typical

new front windows
hostel is also under construction and they've finally finished the new front windows and cleaned up a bit.

hostel is open!
sign to let people know that through all the construction there is an hostel!

my hostel bedroom
my bed is the bottom bunk on the left. A** is the bottom on the right. notice the feet on the bottom bunk in front of mine? those are the feet of the chinese roommate who never leaves!