Ni Hao from Beijing

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man." -- Mao Zedong

I am proud to announce that I am now a true man. Horray!

Beijing is an insane city and I am damn glad I am going to be leaving today. It's absolutely essential in terms of cultural and historical importance, but damn, this place can be maddening to travel in. It's immense in size, crowded, noisy, smelly, and really poorly set up for tourist. I alter between reveling in the bliss of traveling to fantastic places, absolutely despising Beijing, and reminding myself that the world does not exist solely for the purpose of my travel. It's that last one that is the key to sanity in Beijing.

That being said, this place is amazing. So diverse, fascinating, full of energy....and the people are wonderfully friendly. I have really enjoyed it for sure.

I've seen almost everything I want to see here, except the preserved body of Mao. I wanted to see him, but the viewing hours are short and the lines are long. I had to pass in the end. I'm sure he would understand.

And in about an hour, I'm off to Xi'an.

Until then.....