coming down to beijing

i have a confession to make:
on this trip to beijing, i very nearly became a crew member that i promised myself that i’d never become:
one of those crew members who spend the majority of their layover time in their hotel room, they don’t spend a cent of their layover allowance, and they never take any photos.

and it’s not so much that i think that what they’re doing is wrong at all – i just don’t understand how they have no desire to explore this world we live in

now, i say i nearly became one of these crew members because, while i didn't spend all my time in my hotel room, for once i slept a LOT on this layover, i think racing around paris and nagoya on minimal sleep finally caught up with me.
also, i only took three photos, none of which were worth posting on here cos of the insane fog in beijing – we couldn’t see to the other side of the street!

actually, i’m not too proud to admit i take bad photos -- here’s a photo i took out of my hotel room window, to capture an image of the snow on the ground outside:

obviously my photographic ability hasn’t yet been fine-tuned enough to allow me to take photos through a tinted window at night...


not all my time in beijng was spent inside my hotel room however: i did spend many hours inside the market places. i fear that if i ever spot one more imitation prada bag, i very well may keel over and die! (though i take comfort in the fact that so many chinese ladies were prepared to give me a “special price” simply because they’ve assumed i’m a “poor student” – a STUDENT??!! when was someone gonna tell me that i’m a student?!)

so yes, while i could now confidently navigate my way around these insane marketplaces, i feel as though i’ve not seen even a mere fraction of what Beijing has to offer.
i was absolutely devastated when the hotel concierge told me i couldn’t catch a tour bus to visit The Great Wall of China because of the snow and fog, the visibility was just too poor.

beijing is definitely somewhere i'll be going back to, hopefully during Spring, when it's not too hot, and i can see this great wall in all it's unfoggy glory.
though, i will say, next time i visit, i'll be avoiding the markets -- i had fun there, but there's only so much bargaining one guy is capable of doing -- and i'll also be avoiding that mystery "beef" dish i ate.
i swear i was eating dog. but i don't mind i guess, at least i was eating dog IN BEIJING!!!


...and for all the Aussie's reading this: "there's, uh, too many rabbits, uh, in China"

stay tuned, next week: SAO PAULO, BRAZIL!!!


let the good times roll!!