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Other entries in Peking

Ni hao!

It means "hello" in Mandarin, by the way. So it's been less than a day and a few first impressions of Beijing...

Got in last night after a 90 minute flight. Found an ATM and loaded up on Yuan which is going for about 7 to the dollar. The taxi guy spoke about as much English as I speak Madarin, but I had printed out the name of the hotel in Chinese characters and handed it to him. The ride was quiet but that's OK because I was pretty well out of it. By the time my head hit the pillow, it was about 7:00 in the morning back home and I hadn't slept more than an hour the whole day. Woke up a couple of times but when I woke up for good, it was about 8:00 am here which worked out great. There is a 15 hour time difference so it's about 3:00 Tuesday morning in LA.

Breakfast was at the nice hotel. They have a solid buffet with Western and Chinese options. I stayed away from the pig's kidneys but what I did eat was pretty good. Wandered out of hotel and found Jingshan Park a few minutes away. Wow. In the middle of this huge city is this beautiful, verdant place. There were dozens of little groups of (mostly) women practicing their various traditional dances, meditation techniques and any number of other activities. It was incredible to witness. The place is incredibly well-maintained and just a great place to relax!

Walked around a whole lot after that. What little I have seen is very clean. It seems that all the streets are lined with trees- not what I would've expected. This is good given the weather. It is hot and humid although nowhere near as bad as I had feared. Maybe I'm getting a break and tomorrow it'll be like Bangkok a few years ago.

Found lunch at a place teeming with people so I figured it would be good. It was. Had a chicken dish with lots of little green peppers but they weren't all that spicy. Also had an amazing scallop appetizer that had been baked and served with some glass noodles and enough garlic to impress all the Cubans I know. And I had a huge TsingTao beer. The bill came to 46 yuan. Oh yeahh, the waiter forgot to add the bowl of rice so 47 yuan which comes to about $7. The beer alone would've cost almost that back home. And the whole thing was great!

The lack of knowing the lingo has not been a problem. The people are incredibly kind, patient and very accommodating so far. On my long walk, I entered a huton (traditional alley-like nieghborhood) where I came across a restaurant. I wanted to take a peek inside because it looked pretty ornate. As I approached the door, a guy announced my arrival and eight beautiful young ladies wearing traditional costumes from the Ming era, stood up to bow as I walked past them. Holy crap. I kept trying to tell the hostess lady who greeted me that I just wanted to have a look and make the ladies sit, but she kept saying, it is OK, it is OK. She then passed me to another lady who gave me a brief tour of the preserved rooms. The place was amazing but the bewildering generosity I was shown is what I will remember most. So when I say so far, so good...I mean it.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Forbidden City and on Thursday, the Great Wall and the Ming Emperor Tombs. Right now, I'm off to Tiananmen Square. Thanks for reading!

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