beijing

after arriving at the airport I decided id better find a cab to the hostel rather than chancing it on the train. You go into a giant line of other folks trying to get a cab meanwhile on the road infront of you there's a 6 lane highway of cabs all whizzing by. Behind the mini highway is a massive video screen running promo videos for intel, and chinese propaganda films about how great the olympics will be. A dude hauling a handcart carrying garbage walks by a brand new A8 sedan and then someone hands me a little slip of paper and barks "GO THERE NOW!" motioning to an aproaching cab. I get in. The driver speaks no english but I show him the address of the hostel kindly written down in chinese by a girl i sat next to on the plane. I show him the paper and he says ya ya ya and we drive off. I look at the slip of paper that was handed to me before i got into the cab. I have it right here actually. It reads:

"Do not get into a cab with more than one person already inside, you may be robbed. The driver may mischarge you or take you to a wrong destination. Please call this number if you notice any suspicios (sic) activity."

The driver eyes me throught the rear view mirror as he puts on his seatbelt. I notice that mine has been completely removed from the backseat. Outside the pollution of the city casts a weird foggy haze over incomprehensable billboards of chinese propaganda and commercials for shampoo. Im not in fucking kansas anymore :-)

Beijing has been an eye opener thats for sure. This city is the complete polar opposite to Tokyo, and the term third world has a whole new meaning.

Yesterday I took a mini bus ride with a bunch of other backpackers to the great wall. We left at 6 am and drove for three hours through beautiful countryside before arriving at an almost intact 12km long section of the Wall. We spent the whole day hiking across it almost totally alone (this place is not regularly visited by the hordes of tour busses). This was just about the best hike ive ever done. The views of the wall snaking through the green mountains were stunning. I took about 300 photos. At the very last part of the wall you are presented with a choice. Walk nearly a km down a mountain path to get to the end point, or take a doggy zipline, which was suspended about 600ft up over valley to the gorge below. I choose the zipline of course. sailing through the air at high speed with a mountain panorama and a very real sense of certain death was...

Tomorrow I leave on the trans syberian. A guidebook at the hostel had this to say: "often, russian boarder guards will take your passport and demand a cash compensation for you to get it back. Its advised you carry about $40 in american cash in small bills for these "transactions" while on the train." Actually, I must be getting to the bank before it closes!! With the help of some kind of higher power my train ride should be gravy.