Hell Flight: I must share my experience at the flight from Beijing to Guangxi. After just a few minutes in the plane, I started to fear that I would not arrive alive in Guilin, not because of a plane crash, but because the bad breath of the man by my side was going to kill me. I am not exagerating. It was lethal!!! Thanks to finding a strongly smelling lotion in my bag, which I practically put inside my nose, I am still alive to write to you. A troll to the bathroom revealed that we were 2 of the 3 non-chinese people on the packed flight. The bathroom smelled soooooooo horrible and the floor and toilet were sooooo completely wet. Needless to say, I had to go back to my seat and hardly breath for ... read more

The Great Wall started to be constructed in 220 BC and was built over successive dynasties. The purpose was protection against the nomadic tribes from the north, like the Mongolians. Attempted attacks were anounced but the smoke from the many tower the wall has. The Great Wall is said to snakes like a gragon at the neck of the gragon is Beijing. Badaling section of the GW is closest to Bejing, but we went to a section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu, which is less crowded with tourists and 2 hours from Beijing. The drive there gave us the opportunity to get to know some of the 17 people sharing our mini bus. A young couple from New Zealand who just spent 2 years teaching English in Japan, a guy from Pakistan working on developing ... read more

Ni Hao again. (Pequena versao em portugues no final) Amanda and I are having a blast exploring Beijing. We have estimated that 98% of the thousands of tourists here are orientals and 2% Westerners. Of these 2%, 99% are Europeans. Thus, it feels like we are the only ones from the US or Brazil. It's interesting walking on grounds that have be "civilized" for more than 3,000 years and with a population of 1.3 billion people. Beijing is huge, busy, smoggy, and very modernized, for the most part. This is truly a land of opposites, where the ancient and the modern collide. We have explored the popular sites but also some off the bitten path ones. We have been brave enough to venture pedicab rides, from hutongs (ancient courtyards houses on small alleys, rich neighborhoods of ... read more

Hello there. Every year we get to to pretend to go back in time during the Medieval Fair. The kids love it! Knights, magicians, music, shows, turkey leg eaten by hand... Eh um festival cultural. Amanda volunteers every year and this time Patricia and Diana helped at the fair as well. Neno: lembra quando o "rei" o batizou de King of Brazil? Pois, eh. Aquele rei e rainha, bonitos e engracados, dvem ter se mudado pra outro reino. O casal real deste ano nao agradou muito aos subitos Moreira-Cali. Let me know if you are enjoying the blog. Beijos PMC... read more