1 June 2009, 8:00 pm local time. In the hotel lobby in Bangkok (just arrived from Beijing), and internet is frustratingly expensive. Luckily we managed to negotiate our way into paying a flat rate for unlimited usage! Lesson of the day: ALWAYS ask the question... you've got a 50% chance of getting a YES!

Greetings from swelteringly humid Bangkok!

What a day! We were up at 5am this morning to catch our first flight of the day at 7:45am, which was from Beijing to Hong Kong. After a 3 hour stop over in Hong Kong we got on plane number two, and arrived in Bangkok around 4pm local time. We're exhausted and very much looking forward to crashing as soon as we finish this update! So, while our memories of Beijing are still fresh and front of mind, here is the latest, hot off the press!

Alright, let's begin with the bad...

We got off to a slightly rough start in Beijing. On the whole, without sounding like I'm generalising (because I'm not, this was our experience), every single person we encountered was just down right gosh darn rude! From the grunting taxi drivers who refused to take us, to the pushy shop clerks who followed us around like shadows, to random folks on the street body checking us, the experience didn't exactly give us that warm and fuzzy feeling we so much love... To make matters worse, the famed roast Beijing duck really wasn't all that special in our books, and was even more expensive than our favourite duck restaurant (cue Phoenix Palace!) in London!?

Fortunately, by the end of the second day, things were beginning to look up. Overall, there were definitely more good points than bad over the course of our time in Beijing. The good...

- The "Forbidden City" (AKA The Palace Museum) was completed in 1420 and was home to 24 Emperors who ruled for a total of 500 years. It is said that the palace has 9999 rooms. We learned that nine is one of the luckiest numbers, and was historically representative of the Emperor. The Palace seems to go on forever with a seemingly endless stretch of grandiose gates/arch ways, smaller palaces (palaces on the West housed the Emperors' 72 concubines!), and commemorative statues. A lookout pavillion in Jing Shan Park offered tremendous views of the Forbidden City and gave us a better idea of just how impressive this Palace truly is.

- The "Temple of Heaven" was also a stunning architectural marvel that seemed to be reaching for the sky. It's so colourful, detailed and regal that it was impossible to take a bad picture...

- On our last day we visited the Great Wall of China (the BaDaLing section), and were amazed. In 221 BC they manged to create what perhaps seemed impossible at the time. Each stone was painstakingly laid by hand by over 100,000 workers. Simply amazing.

Most of the climb was quite intense as the steps were uneven, and the incline on the way up felt like 90 degrees at certain points! The views from the 9th watch tower, however, made it all worth it... the wall looked like a giant snake slithering its way through the mountains... definitely bucket list worthy!

- It's absolutely worth mentionin Liu, the friendly rickshaw driver! After a harsh negotiation littered with jokes and laughter, we were off, holding on for dear life as we weaved in and out of traffic en route to a Hutong (Hutong literally translated means alleyway, but it's more of a poor area/slum. Ironically these areas were once home to the rich and powerful). Although it was difficult to understand him, Liu took great pride in sharing his knowledge of Hutongs with us, and we deeply appreciated his friendly, enthusiastic ways!

- Massage, massage, massage! Yep, we had 3 in the course of 3.25 days, and LOVED every single indulgent minute!

- Finally, I had a lovely green silk kimono made to measure! The tailor/dressmaker were able to work their magic and completed my dress in 1 day! Talk about efficiency...

Lastly, the random...

After our visit to the Great Wall of China, we stopped at a Chinese Herbal Medicine Clinic, and in the midst of having a foot massage followed by a neck/back massage, we had a free medical/health consulation with a fantastic Chinese Doctor who I believe may have been slightly psychic. Simply by looking at our tongue, and feeling very carefully for our pulse in 3 different areas along our wrist he was able to diagnose our general state of health. It was like watching a medical magician!

Another random observation is that people in Beijing have a tendency to stare a little too long... some went as far as taking our picture, paparazzi style, and in some cases, we were asked to pose with them for a picture! It was a little weird, but mostly flattering!

That's all for now... stay tuned for the latest from Bangkok!

Hugs for all,

Jennifer & Daniel