Beijing

Cultural capital of China and home to The Forbidden City, 2008 Olympics, Peking Duck and the resting Mao Zedong. The official population is 17 million though government numbers are notouriusly wrong and many think the population could be closer to 22 million. Technically, residents have to have permission to live in Beijing (or any city [...]

Skydiving Video

We finally got access to a DVD player and had a chance to upload Kelly’s skydiving video. Here it is!

The Yogurt and the Pandas

How did I forget about the pandas?!
One of our more frustrating and fun days in China was spent in Chengdu when we went to the much tourist visited Panda Breeding Center located just outside of the city. According to the Koran, the pandas sleep right after eating so you need to get there early to [...]

And That’s How I Roll, or On Underwear – Part I

To me, the most object able aspect of sharing your sleeping quarters with other people, whether it‘s in a dorm setting or in somebody‘s house, is that it makes it pretty hard to wash my undies every day.
Let‘s face it, when you travel with only four pairs of underwear, it’s in your best interest [...]

On Pigsties and Couchsurfing

Nobody wants to walk into a dorm room with eight beds, all of which reek of various deadly stenches from intense B.O. to sweat to mold, to plain ol’ nastiness.
Nobody wants to be suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by  a size 12 foot squeezing their chest, especially a foot belonging [...]

TIC: Part II

It has not been Diesel’s or my intention to discourage any of our friends to visit China.
China is an amazing place.  It has 4,000+ years of history.  It has over 56 ethnic groups (at least recognized by the government) that make up a rich cultural, linguistic, culinary heritage.  It has the [...]

An Inquiring Mind

I don’t know how much you know about the Chinese, but when it comes to conversations, no topic is off limits, from asking a perfect stranger how much money he makes to telling them how to raise their kid.
Having left this country over 40 years ago, the little Chinaman that has lived dormant in my [...]

Tales from Shanghai

We are finally in Beijing with my mom, who arrived in Shanghai a few days prior to meeting up with us. She spent most of the time hanging out with my Shanghai cousin and her family. While taking a stroll with my cousin, my mom spotted a lady in her 40s, walking her [...]

The Lonely Planet

I have lost faith in the Lonely Planet.  Viewed by most backpackers as the authority in travel, often referred to as the “Bible,” the “Koran,” or simply “LP,“ the Lonely Planet has been one of our essential travel tools.
Diesel is pretty adamant about paying for books, and he’s made it a point to buy the [...]

Diesel vs. Kelly

One day, Diesel asked me:  “Kelly, why are you always competing against me?”
Now you’re probably wondering why he asked me such a question.  I have been wondering that myself too, seeing that I’m such a supportive wife who always strikes his ego and made his desirability-stock shoot up after he married me.

Perhaps he asked this [...]