In Beijing! -- lots to update.

So I have had a very long and eventful last couple of days. I stayed at the airport xfer hotel in Taipei, for my 11 hour layover. They quoted $2,300, and my jaw dropped... but only $70 American ;)


Me in the airport

In Beijing, I got a taxi to the hotel, which was about 45 minutes and only cost about $10. He dropped me off in front of an ally with a giant trash trash pile in it, and after being bewildered for a few minutes I realized my hotel was down it! -- workers in the back of a restaurant were tossing meat carvings and hot oil on the heap. I got past it and it connected to more of a normal walkway, with a Chinese school on it. I found the hostel, and checked in. In the evening, our group met up for our first 'briefing'.

Our tour guide is a Chinese national named Emma, and she has been guiding various western tours throughout China for a few years. There's a group of about 9 of us, and I'm the only American! -- the rest are European, Australian, and even two Chilean brothers. I'm sharing a room with a nice 'bloke' from London named James.

We had a nice Peking Duck dinner at a local restaurant and then settled down for the night. Today, we are gonna head out and tackle the city. Gotta remember to take pictures!