Organized Chaos

The traffic in Beijing is unbelievable. There are 17 million people in this city, 9 million bicycles and 2 million automobiles. And they are all competing for space on the streets. We stand out as westerners, not only because of our physical differences, but because of the horrified looks on our faces as we stand with our mouths open wide in shock and amazement on street corners, as we watch the traffic, and dare to cross the street ourselves.

There are also some very interesting smells in Beijing. I will not elaborate.

We just wandered around the neighborhood near our hotel today, in preparation for our jam-packed three days of touring. The people here are amazing. They are so beautiful and friendly. They love Hannah. She is getting so much attention, and actually loving it. Ni Hao (pronounced Knee How) means hello in Mandarin. Whenever someone says hello to her, she says ‘Meow’ back. It sounds amazingly like Ni Hao, and people love it.

We ate dinner at a local restaurant. We shared an enormous bowl of Hot & Sour Soup, two large plates of dumplings, tea and two beers. It was so delicious. The entire meal cost $3.65. Gotta love it!

I will attempt to post some pictures tomorrow, but can’t promise anything, as I have a dial-up connection. I should have a high speed connection in Nanchang.

Peace.