There's not much more to say other than it is absolutely phenomenal! All of the places around it are goregous as well - so much better than China.
We're in the South now, Chennai, and are getting a tour of this cute, very religious city from one of Deepa's friends. Hope you are having as much fun as we are :) Tonight we're off to the beach, yippee!!!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Bus craziness
Who would have known Delhi would remind me of Paris?!?!? I guess it's the arc de tripmphe like gate of India and the European influenced Parliment buildings! Regardless, it was a plesant surprise to see the mixture of Indian, Arabian, and European influences in the city. It's also very easy in Delhi to escape the ever-so-scary driving and enter a park, temple, or market. We went to a goregous Muslim temple - I forget the name of course - but it was beautiful red with the wonderful dome tops, we also went to an ancient sun dial/astrology park, and did some shopping. Deepa drives a hard bargain, I tell you! It helps if I watch her bargain from a safe distance as she gets Indian prices if I am not too obviously with her!
Left Delhi to make an exciting drive to Agra - stopped to see the birthplace of Krishna and saw an amazing sight: college kids riding the bus. Now, this may not seem exciting to you westerners, but here riding the bus means you do the following:
climb up the ladder on the back of the bus with 150+ others while it is moving to avoid paying the fare.
The poor bus was about to tip over and of course we had to pass the frightening thing. While passing, I said 10 hail marys and prayed to Ganesha when we had to pass it. It is solely due to my praying that we didn't get crushed.
Now we're in the posh Taj View Hotel - read: fancy - and we are loving it. However, with the nice shampoos and lovely lounges come the downside: internet here is more expensive than a house, so I am off for a few days. Miss you all!
Left Delhi to make an exciting drive to Agra - stopped to see the birthplace of Krishna and saw an amazing sight: college kids riding the bus. Now, this may not seem exciting to you westerners, but here riding the bus means you do the following:
climb up the ladder on the back of the bus with 150+ others while it is moving to avoid paying the fare.
The poor bus was about to tip over and of course we had to pass the frightening thing. While passing, I said 10 hail marys and prayed to Ganesha when we had to pass it. It is solely due to my praying that we didn't get crushed.
Now we're in the posh Taj View Hotel - read: fancy - and we are loving it. However, with the nice shampoos and lovely lounges come the downside: internet here is more expensive than a house, so I am off for a few days. Miss you all!
Friday, August 25, 2006
A sight to see
Yesterday, I took a trip to 2 Hindu temples with Deepa, her lovely cousin and her auntie. The temples were absolutely goregous (reminded me a lot of Cambodia), however they are no so much of a tourist sight.
Translation: I was the only white person for hundreds of miles .
Here are some of the comments that were relayed to me by onlookers:
A woman told a beggar child in Hindi to "Ask the white lady for money. She'll give it to you"
A transvestite said "The American lady will give you more money"
Others said "What is that white lady doing with 3 Indians?"
Children and adults stare at me. It's a riot. I have a new title: conversation starter and jaw dropper.
All is great - we leave Ahmbedad tomorrow morning and are headed to the Taj Mahal, Delhi, and Agra next. Exciting!
Translation: I was the only white person for hundreds of miles .
Here are some of the comments that were relayed to me by onlookers:
A woman told a beggar child in Hindi to "Ask the white lady for money. She'll give it to you"
A transvestite said "The American lady will give you more money"
Others said "What is that white lady doing with 3 Indians?"
Children and adults stare at me. It's a riot. I have a new title: conversation starter and jaw dropper.
All is great - we leave Ahmbedad tomorrow morning and are headed to the Taj Mahal, Delhi, and Agra next. Exciting!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Top 10
hi from India! I am loving this country for all of the differences it holds from probably anywhere else in the world.
Top 10 surprises so far:
1 - cows share the road with people (no one owns them...free ranging - they are sacred in the Hindu religion)
2 - driving means you honk your horn and just go
3 - shaking your head from side to side means yes, no, and maybe (i think...very confusing)
4 - you can NEVER eat enough :)
5 - 5 people can fit on a motorbike (up from 4 in Vietnam)
6 - goregou peacocks with their feathers open are not hard to find (so pretty)...nor are monkey
7 - You say "I need an STD" when you need to make an international phone call
8 - our driver looks like the Indian rendition of the Fonz...hair, hip hugger bell bottoms and all
9 - there are rarely road signs
10 - men wielding machine guns guard temples
I am having a wonderful time - much in part to Deepa's family and friends here. Everyone is lovely and so giving. The food - literally everything we've had - has been absolutely fantastic and we've gone to dinner at a different friend/family member's house every night. I am quite lucky!
It has been fun seeing Deepa as a local celebrity! Everyone has come to see her!
Also, I couldn't contain my laughter when her Uncle and Aunt both were talking to her at the same time, one in Gugrathi and the other in English, and Deepa was desperately trying to answer both...her head couldn't move around fast enough :)
We've also seen some beautiful textiles (mom, you would have drooled) and amazing temples. More exciting news to come :) We're off to dinner at another Uncle's house.
The weight we lost in China will be taken care of here!! Email me - update me about your lives!
Top 10 surprises so far:
1 - cows share the road with people (no one owns them...free ranging - they are sacred in the Hindu religion)
2 - driving means you honk your horn and just go
3 - shaking your head from side to side means yes, no, and maybe (i think...very confusing)
4 - you can NEVER eat enough :)
5 - 5 people can fit on a motorbike (up from 4 in Vietnam)
6 - goregou peacocks with their feathers open are not hard to find (so pretty)...nor are monkey
7 - You say "I need an STD" when you need to make an international phone call
8 - our driver looks like the Indian rendition of the Fonz...hair, hip hugger bell bottoms and all
9 - there are rarely road signs
10 - men wielding machine guns guard temples
I am having a wonderful time - much in part to Deepa's family and friends here. Everyone is lovely and so giving. The food - literally everything we've had - has been absolutely fantastic and we've gone to dinner at a different friend/family member's house every night. I am quite lucky!
It has been fun seeing Deepa as a local celebrity! Everyone has come to see her!
Also, I couldn't contain my laughter when her Uncle and Aunt both were talking to her at the same time, one in Gugrathi and the other in English, and Deepa was desperately trying to answer both...her head couldn't move around fast enough :)
We've also seen some beautiful textiles (mom, you would have drooled) and amazing temples. More exciting news to come :) We're off to dinner at another Uncle's house.
The weight we lost in China will be taken care of here!! Email me - update me about your lives!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Language Barriers Abound
The Chinese-American language barrier is crazy huge, but the one between Brits, Aussies, and me is also quite large :)
I told our55 year old British woman traveler that I bought a really cute pair of pants with embroidery that tie on at the waist. She just looked flabbergasted at me, asked if they were small or big, and said "Oh that's nice" with an air of "Why did you tell ME that?"
When I remembered: pants in British english are undies. Trousers are our pants! We all got a kick out of that.
My British friend also mentioned that she would look like a "right tit" if she bought this crazy flower hat. Apparently it means Idiot.
I won't even get started on the issues between Chinese English and Engligh-English. IT should be noted that sign language (i.e. running around with toilet paper when you need a bathroom) doesn't work so well here and all you get are blank stares. Regardless, we're loving Yangshou. It's sort of like you are in an oven all the time (read: sweating like crazy) BUT it's goregous, the food is wonderful (farmer's wife cooked weggies for us yesterday - tasty!), and there are lots of little cafes and shops to knock around in. Last night we went on a river cruise at sunset, but on the way there, our sardine can "bus" that very uncomfortably seats 6 westerners (and seems to have the technology level associated with sardine cans) just stopped in the middle of the road! Of course the driver doesn't speak Engrish, so we watch while this man takes a bottle out of the back of the sardine can and starts running with it in this 105 degree weather. He leaves us with the car and the keys. Deepa climbed into the driver's seat and we all got a kick out of that. Turns out he was out of gas! Go figure. It was the highlight of the day.
Today we're going caving and are heading to Hong Kong on an overnight train. I am told I can use my credit card (exciting...I miss it) and that it's air conditioned everywhere!!!!! Kudos Hong Kong! WE're melting, melting, melting.
FYI - I probably won't post until we get to India the 19th. Hurrah for good food!
I told our55 year old British woman traveler that I bought a really cute pair of pants with embroidery that tie on at the waist. She just looked flabbergasted at me, asked if they were small or big, and said "Oh that's nice" with an air of "Why did you tell ME that?"
When I remembered: pants in British english are undies. Trousers are our pants! We all got a kick out of that.
My British friend also mentioned that she would look like a "right tit" if she bought this crazy flower hat. Apparently it means Idiot.
I won't even get started on the issues between Chinese English and Engligh-English. IT should be noted that sign language (i.e. running around with toilet paper when you need a bathroom) doesn't work so well here and all you get are blank stares. Regardless, we're loving Yangshou. It's sort of like you are in an oven all the time (read: sweating like crazy) BUT it's goregous, the food is wonderful (farmer's wife cooked weggies for us yesterday - tasty!), and there are lots of little cafes and shops to knock around in. Last night we went on a river cruise at sunset, but on the way there, our sardine can "bus" that very uncomfortably seats 6 westerners (and seems to have the technology level associated with sardine cans) just stopped in the middle of the road! Of course the driver doesn't speak Engrish, so we watch while this man takes a bottle out of the back of the sardine can and starts running with it in this 105 degree weather. He leaves us with the car and the keys. Deepa climbed into the driver's seat and we all got a kick out of that. Turns out he was out of gas! Go figure. It was the highlight of the day.
Today we're going caving and are heading to Hong Kong on an overnight train. I am told I can use my credit card (exciting...I miss it) and that it's air conditioned everywhere!!!!! Kudos Hong Kong! WE're melting, melting, melting.
FYI - I probably won't post until we get to India the 19th. Hurrah for good food!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Engrish
Forgot to mention that "veggies" are "weggies" and Deepa is "Keeper"
Signs on our hike told us to "Becare" and we were close to the "morder" of the mountain.
We're in a lovely town surrounded by mountains now in Yangshou. It reminds me of Vietnam a lot.
Tonight I am taking a cooking class, exiting, and other events on the agenda include boating, caving, biking, Tai Chi, massages, and a light show. We're only in this town for 3 days - so sad because it's so cute - but are very excited to get to Hong Kong and then India (still not huge fans of the food...).
Deepa and I have both gotten hippie headbands and now fit in with the backpacker crowd. I even got some crazy pants that scream freak, but they will be good for Lake Michigan.
Adieux! Email me and let me know what you are up to!
Signs on our hike told us to "Becare" and we were close to the "morder" of the mountain.
We're in a lovely town surrounded by mountains now in Yangshou. It reminds me of Vietnam a lot.
Tonight I am taking a cooking class, exiting, and other events on the agenda include boating, caving, biking, Tai Chi, massages, and a light show. We're only in this town for 3 days - so sad because it's so cute - but are very excited to get to Hong Kong and then India (still not huge fans of the food...).
Deepa and I have both gotten hippie headbands and now fit in with the backpacker crowd. I even got some crazy pants that scream freak, but they will be good for Lake Michigan.
Adieux! Email me and let me know what you are up to!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Crazy Monkeys
Our stay with the monks at the Buddhist monastery reminded me a bit of Thailand and the hilltribe stays: very rustic and showers with spiders and who knows what are common. Unfortunately we had a curfew and no alcohol was allowed (remember Leslie how that helped with those bathrooms>!?!!? haha)
I absolutely loved the hiking to the monastery which was located at the top of a mountain and we saw tons of monkeys there and on the way! They monkeys here have red faces and are about the size of a 4 year old who eats too many snacks since they are fed tons of garbage food by the tourists. They are actually a little threatning and you can't have water showing or drinks showing when you walk through monkey areas! Crazy! Our hike guide had an orange juice on the outside of his backpack and a monkey sneaked up and grabbed it. He chased after it for a little while while waving his walking stick and screaming a few choice words in Mandarin. He didn't catch the mono but it did unscrew the cap of the bottle and drink it in front of his face!!! Haha. It was funny. On the hike we enjoyed great views, rivers, many trees, cicadias, and ate a yummy dinner at this older couples house (very rustic...bathroom is bascially the side of the mountain and the bedroom may be the only enclosed room) and they were so cute and sweet! They named their restaurant the "Hard Wok" restaurant which gave all of us a chuckle and they also provided us with some yummy crepe-like banana chocolate pancakes for breakfast. Mmmmm.
We also visited a nunnery and met some of the cutest kids there. They were quite good at English and were taking a drawing class in the mountains with the beautiful scenery. Their drawings were amazing - I took pictures. Two little girls gave Deepa and me some dates and so we shared some Cheerios with them. It was so funny to watch them eat them - it's extrememly western and I think it was their first encounter with them.
On completely different note, it's been funny to be in China while it is so quickly developing. It means there are constant juxtopositions of old and new. For example, while hiking in the mountains we walked past a house with chickens running around outside, thatched-type roof, falling apart walls, and it had a HUGE satellite dish on it! Haha. It also means things like the roads will be amazing (the infastructure here is quite good), but little kids don't wear diapers - just assless pants - and they poo anywhere. Middle of a town square, sidewalk, etc. It's just fascinating.
Moving on: we cruised along the Yangtze River the past 3 days and really enjoyed that as well. In the year 2009 the dam that they are building will change the landscape of the 3 gorges area a ton - we feel very lucky to have seen them before they are resolved to nothingness. They are raising the river another 150 meters within the year, I believe. There are huge signs all over with 150M on them - everything below them will be gone. A lot of the farming people are going to be displaced and the dam is very controversial, but it will be a source of tons of energy and it will control flooding.
Crazy to hear about the weird bombing things in London and just got a warning about Al Quaeda in India. Keeping my fingers crossed....Thankfully there was a cease fire in Lebanon-Israel conflict, right? News here isn't so great.
Miss you - take care! We're off to a train for the next 15 hours and then onto some small towns...not sure when you will here from me. No worries, though, we're not where the typhoon is going on.
I absolutely loved the hiking to the monastery which was located at the top of a mountain and we saw tons of monkeys there and on the way! They monkeys here have red faces and are about the size of a 4 year old who eats too many snacks since they are fed tons of garbage food by the tourists. They are actually a little threatning and you can't have water showing or drinks showing when you walk through monkey areas! Crazy! Our hike guide had an orange juice on the outside of his backpack and a monkey sneaked up and grabbed it. He chased after it for a little while while waving his walking stick and screaming a few choice words in Mandarin. He didn't catch the mono but it did unscrew the cap of the bottle and drink it in front of his face!!! Haha. It was funny. On the hike we enjoyed great views, rivers, many trees, cicadias, and ate a yummy dinner at this older couples house (very rustic...bathroom is bascially the side of the mountain and the bedroom may be the only enclosed room) and they were so cute and sweet! They named their restaurant the "Hard Wok" restaurant which gave all of us a chuckle and they also provided us with some yummy crepe-like banana chocolate pancakes for breakfast. Mmmmm.
We also visited a nunnery and met some of the cutest kids there. They were quite good at English and were taking a drawing class in the mountains with the beautiful scenery. Their drawings were amazing - I took pictures. Two little girls gave Deepa and me some dates and so we shared some Cheerios with them. It was so funny to watch them eat them - it's extrememly western and I think it was their first encounter with them.
On completely different note, it's been funny to be in China while it is so quickly developing. It means there are constant juxtopositions of old and new. For example, while hiking in the mountains we walked past a house with chickens running around outside, thatched-type roof, falling apart walls, and it had a HUGE satellite dish on it! Haha. It also means things like the roads will be amazing (the infastructure here is quite good), but little kids don't wear diapers - just assless pants - and they poo anywhere. Middle of a town square, sidewalk, etc. It's just fascinating.
Moving on: we cruised along the Yangtze River the past 3 days and really enjoyed that as well. In the year 2009 the dam that they are building will change the landscape of the 3 gorges area a ton - we feel very lucky to have seen them before they are resolved to nothingness. They are raising the river another 150 meters within the year, I believe. There are huge signs all over with 150M on them - everything below them will be gone. A lot of the farming people are going to be displaced and the dam is very controversial, but it will be a source of tons of energy and it will control flooding.
Crazy to hear about the weird bombing things in London and just got a warning about Al Quaeda in India. Keeping my fingers crossed....Thankfully there was a cease fire in Lebanon-Israel conflict, right? News here isn't so great.
Miss you - take care! We're off to a train for the next 15 hours and then onto some small towns...not sure when you will here from me. No worries, though, we're not where the typhoon is going on.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Vegetarian Feast...MMMMMM/.
Eating in China has been not so fantastic...I think Deepa and I have managed to lose a few pounds because to us, rice gruel isn't exactly a good brekkie. Also, other dishes are not balanced (as in all noodles, or all meat, or all cooked lettuce) so we haven't really felt satiated yet. That is until we were informed of a vegetarian FEAST (as we all did...) at a goregous buddhist temple. 12 courses, none of which I have a clue of it's name, were all fantastic! There were little fake shrimps, potato based chicken, etc. It was fantastic.
Also did traditional hot pot (minus my vege roomie, tear) where you have boiling broth - we had pork and Szechuan chili, to dip in veges and thin pieces of meat. Pork, steak, lettuce, CHinese swamp spinach, etc. I TRIED the Szechuan chili broth and nearly went to the fire department since my whole body went up in flames. My lips felt larger than Angelina Jolie's! A good precursor for some of the spicy food we'll be eating in Northern India I suppose (and a fantastic remidner NOT to get a lip job...if my lips were as big as they felt, I wouldn't fit through a door).
Hot pot was a ton of fun and people who are around MI, we'll have to do it when I get back!
Went to a traditional tea house here in Chengdu and enjoyed very strong and bitter (we steeped too long...) tea on a beautiful river where local fams were renting boats. We were sitting by the willow tree a few families managed to get caught in! It reminded me of when a friend and I tried canoeing at MSU and totally needed to get evacuated from the tree we landed in! There were also the cutest kids by us whose parents had gotten them bubbles and they had an absolute ball blowing them all over. Managed to get some cute pictures :)
Saw pandas as well - very cute - and met the Olympic panda - Xing Xing. They really love them here - it's the national animal.
All in all, things are great. We are busy all the time. Too much to write about. Today we're on the way to the mountains to hike and stay at a monestary. Sadly no gambling for us there and a 9oclock curfew awaits for us.
Last note: the only western toilets are in our hotel rooms. Makes life interesting. I have assembled a "toilet perparedness kit" which includes toilet paper, dove wipes, hand sanitizer, and a rosary so I can say a great deal of prayers in an effort to avoid the many horrendous things that can happen to you in there. Next item to include: a gas mask.
We're off! Miss you! And Mrs. P - the monastery has tons of vegetarian food (actually that's all they have) so your little one will be well fed!
P.S. I think while in China I can't access any people's blogs. IN fact, I am sure of it since I have tried sooo many times, so please email me updates!
ox
cb
Also did traditional hot pot (minus my vege roomie, tear) where you have boiling broth - we had pork and Szechuan chili, to dip in veges and thin pieces of meat. Pork, steak, lettuce, CHinese swamp spinach, etc. I TRIED the Szechuan chili broth and nearly went to the fire department since my whole body went up in flames. My lips felt larger than Angelina Jolie's! A good precursor for some of the spicy food we'll be eating in Northern India I suppose (and a fantastic remidner NOT to get a lip job...if my lips were as big as they felt, I wouldn't fit through a door).
Hot pot was a ton of fun and people who are around MI, we'll have to do it when I get back!
Went to a traditional tea house here in Chengdu and enjoyed very strong and bitter (we steeped too long...) tea on a beautiful river where local fams were renting boats. We were sitting by the willow tree a few families managed to get caught in! It reminded me of when a friend and I tried canoeing at MSU and totally needed to get evacuated from the tree we landed in! There were also the cutest kids by us whose parents had gotten them bubbles and they had an absolute ball blowing them all over. Managed to get some cute pictures :)
Saw pandas as well - very cute - and met the Olympic panda - Xing Xing. They really love them here - it's the national animal.
All in all, things are great. We are busy all the time. Too much to write about. Today we're on the way to the mountains to hike and stay at a monestary. Sadly no gambling for us there and a 9oclock curfew awaits for us.
Last note: the only western toilets are in our hotel rooms. Makes life interesting. I have assembled a "toilet perparedness kit" which includes toilet paper, dove wipes, hand sanitizer, and a rosary so I can say a great deal of prayers in an effort to avoid the many horrendous things that can happen to you in there. Next item to include: a gas mask.
We're off! Miss you! And Mrs. P - the monastery has tons of vegetarian food (actually that's all they have) so your little one will be well fed!
P.S. I think while in China I can't access any people's blogs. IN fact, I am sure of it since I have tried sooo many times, so please email me updates!
ox
cb
Friday, August 04, 2006
Terra Cotta Warriors
Did you know that the Terra Cotta Warriors are all airheads? (They are hollow!!!)
Quite an amazing sight to see....each face of the thousands is different. Some are cute, most are not. They were built to protect a king in his death chamber as he was placed in there with all of his expensive belongings.
Sidenotes: Tianamen Square is HUGE and everyone sells Chairman Mao watches with his arm moving around. Sorry, all, I didn't buy any for you.
--Tomorrow we're going to do Tai Chi in the am with locals.
--Here in the massive internet cafe filled with many gamers, DVD watchers, and online chatters, there is a man yelling "Shai Mai Shee Ai Yaaaa" which I think means he's selling green tea.
----It's rarely quite in China so far and the following things don't exist:
-crosswalks that are safe
-lines of any sort
-unpushy people
-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (however, we can get them in India!!)
:) Won't hear from me for a few as we have a 17 hour train ride tomorrow as we officially leave dumpling land!
Quite an amazing sight to see....each face of the thousands is different. Some are cute, most are not. They were built to protect a king in his death chamber as he was placed in there with all of his expensive belongings.
Sidenotes: Tianamen Square is HUGE and everyone sells Chairman Mao watches with his arm moving around. Sorry, all, I didn't buy any for you.
--Tomorrow we're going to do Tai Chi in the am with locals.
--Here in the massive internet cafe filled with many gamers, DVD watchers, and online chatters, there is a man yelling "Shai Mai Shee Ai Yaaaa" which I think means he's selling green tea.
----It's rarely quite in China so far and the following things don't exist:
-crosswalks that are safe
-lines of any sort
-unpushy people
-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (however, we can get them in India!!)
:) Won't hear from me for a few as we have a 17 hour train ride tomorrow as we officially leave dumpling land!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Concubines
Did you know that the Emperor of China had an entire wing of the Forbidden City dedicated to house his 3,000 concubines? (and they wonder why there are so many peopele here!) Also, if you are a concubine and you try to kill the king while you are concubining, he will have his people rip off your flesh over the course of three days then tie you up to 5 horses and pull you in all directions? One thing I learned: If you are a Chinese concubine, you best just do your basic duty and not pull any fast ones.
The Forbidden City was okay...felt like once you saw one beautiful building, you saw them all. There was, however, a Starbucks smack dab in the middle of it! Nearly everyone in the group treated themselves to the only cold thing in the house: Frappuccinos! It's sad how much chains (KFC, McDo, Starbucks, etc.) have broken the market here. Our guide told us that the young kids prefer the fast food to the local food. Which brings me to the next point: Local food...very meaty, which is surprising since this is a country with many Buddhists. Dumplings (dim sum) are everywhere! Breakfast is awful - rice porridge or something like that (haven't tried it...), and there are plenty of dried animal looking bits around if you are interested in a snack. Johanna they have ha flakes by the bushelful! Haha.
We're out of Beijing which is nice (very, very busy) and are in Xi'an. We've eaten in the Muslim Quarter (who would have known?!?) which means no pork, but plenty of lamb and special bread. We are doing a bike ride soon around the old city wall (they are all about the city walls here!!) and plan on getting foot massages in a few. Tonight we're onto a dumpling party - I have heard you can't get dumplings in the south of China and I hope not because I am sick of them! All is well. Looking forward to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mmmmm.
The Forbidden City was okay...felt like once you saw one beautiful building, you saw them all. There was, however, a Starbucks smack dab in the middle of it! Nearly everyone in the group treated themselves to the only cold thing in the house: Frappuccinos! It's sad how much chains (KFC, McDo, Starbucks, etc.) have broken the market here. Our guide told us that the young kids prefer the fast food to the local food. Which brings me to the next point: Local food...very meaty, which is surprising since this is a country with many Buddhists. Dumplings (dim sum) are everywhere! Breakfast is awful - rice porridge or something like that (haven't tried it...), and there are plenty of dried animal looking bits around if you are interested in a snack. Johanna they have ha flakes by the bushelful! Haha.
We're out of Beijing which is nice (very, very busy) and are in Xi'an. We've eaten in the Muslim Quarter (who would have known?!?) which means no pork, but plenty of lamb and special bread. We are doing a bike ride soon around the old city wall (they are all about the city walls here!!) and plan on getting foot massages in a few. Tonight we're onto a dumpling party - I have heard you can't get dumplings in the south of China and I hope not because I am sick of them! All is well. Looking forward to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mmmmm.
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