Greetings! Meredith and John are alive and well and enjoying life in Bangkok. How did we get to Bangkok, you ask, good question... Our last correspondence had us on streets of Shanghai. Since then, we have been to Hangzhou, Huangshan, Suzhou, Beijing, and the Great Wall of China.

Land of a billion, communist regime, bustling economy, culturally diverse, ecologically stimulating, China has just about everything...clouded in smog, pushing, shoving, and spitting.
Our first stop after hazy Shanghai was Hangzhou. Hangzhou is like a little Savannah with 30 acres of manicured parks surrounding a lake built for a King. Full of high end shops, expensive cuisine, and good weather, Hangzhou is a place where the elite leave Shanghai to find peace and serenity. Meredith and I found both in a quaint hostel, which included a small puppy that made us long for our little Lucas (Lucas, don't come here looking for us - they might eat you).
Meredith and I tramped the entire lake side, up the adjacent cliffs, and through the crowded streets. As wonderful a respite that this little town offered, it was still too close to Shanghai and we needed to keep moving.

Our next stop was Mount Huangshan. Mount Huangshan is one of China's greatest treasurers, offering a cooler climate and magnificent jagged peaks that thrust thousands of feet straight up. The climb requires 3 hours of steps, straight up! We started out ok, but after the first hour, the legs started to shake and we wondered "how much further." With the 70 year old porters, carrying 60lbs a piece, quickly passing by, we decided to keep some sort of self respect and tramp on without complaint. The climb was well worth the effort with Karate Kid mountain bonsai scenes giving us extra strength with each step. It was a wonderful experience and a highlight of China.

We then decided that we should take a "direct" route Beijing. Our best informants (aka Meredith) recommended the 5 hour train to Nanjing, stay the night, and another 12 hour overnight train to Beijing. Best option....we booked the train to Nanjing with our little bit of Chinese. The trains here require a specific language around the type, or I should say, speed, of the train. "Fast Train" is the key. However, "Fast" has five levels and seems to depend on some random wheel of fortune rating system. So, our "fast" train started chugging along. Luckily I was sitting next to a nice young Chinese girl (poor Meredith was stuck next to a large Chinese man with arms busting across all personal space), so, though three people to a bench seat, I wasn't over crowded. Even more lucky, she was a singer...and a dancer. Oh could she dance! She immediately took to display her skills as the train started to chug along. First, she was a bit modest, letting her cell phone mp3 player scream out on its own. Then, she began to embellish with a bit of Karaoke. Oh, her voice like that of an angel. Next, she stood on her seat, singing loud, dancing with the train as it jostled along the tracks. Not to be uncouth, she was sure to remove her shoes before the dance. Oh, the sour smell of her feet... The air was thick with a putrid funk, filling my lungs like a rotten pull from an ancient hookah. Choking, gasping, I sat, ears ringing with her mind numbing song and bouncing along with the beat of her dance moves. Feeling the spray of her food as she slopped it haphazardly, very nearly entering her mouth, on occasion, but not quite. Finally, Meredith and I decided to ditch the train. I just couldn't handle it. She, in actuality, was no dancing queen, nor was she pleasing to anyone on the train.

The next stop happened to be Suzhou. We looked to our guide books short description and grabbed a cab pointing to the name of the nicest hotel describe in our guidebook. It took the cab driver quite a while, but we finally found the hotel-Home Inn. It was about 12am, but luckily they had a room available. We took a quick look at the room and agreed on a price. Happy to be somewhere other than the train, we dropped our luggage and went to wash up. It was then that the water started pouring through the ceiling from the bathroom above. We then picked up our bags and headed back down stairs. Another room at the same price was not available, but through negotiations, at 12am after a long night mind you, we agreed at a price on another room. We headed back up three flights of stairs to find a room literally falling apart. We then headed back downstairs, negotiated our money back, and walked out of the door. Thus, we began wandering around a tiny Chinese town in the middle of the night. Luckily, we came across a MUCH nicer, albeit more expensive, hotel that was just what we needed. Clean, and as comfortable as a Chinese hard bed can get.

The next morning we headed straight to the train station. We booked the first "fast" train to Shanghai (this was actually a fast train). Four hours later we were back in Shanghai, booking the night train to Beijing. Uneventful was the trip, as we scooted along through the night and checked into a wonderful hostel in the Wangfujing district of Beijing. Wangfujing houses the infamous street food that so much of the world was mezmorized by during the side stories surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Whether you have a hankering for bull testicles, dog soup, scorpion, or silk worms, it is all available here. We chose the candied cherries. Whooooo, aren't we adventurous. Hey! they were good.

We took quick stride to wander the expansive courtyards of the forbidden city and many side temples. Side note: China needs to do a better job on the museums attached to the temples. It's really kind of annoying to look at several hundred ceramic bowls with the description "Exceptional Precious ceramic bowl circa 735 A.D. - 1600 A.D."

Where next...where else...to swim in the Water Cube of course! What? Oh my god, the water cube has a water fountain for a swimming pool. Well, at least the diving pool is open. What? No guests can't go diving...why did we come to China!!! (This is why John came to China and here is where he started to cry - real tears). The diluted sweat of Michel Phelps left untasted by the countless thirsty tourist. Forever will the gold medal essence be lost among the countless pictures and ill advised future documentaries...just one taste...What's the matter with us...the Great Wall is here!

Yeah! We are off to the Great Wall of China. This, my friends, are you all listening, is unbelievable. Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice. Just as if you have ever seen the Grand Canyon, or Machu Picchu, in person, the pictures just don't do it. The place is unreal. Our hike was about 10 kilometers of pure Great Wall magic. Unbelievably uncrowded along our remote stretch of wall, the place was more than surreal. At every turn, all we could say is "wow." That is all I can say to you, "wow, amazing, unbelievable, come see it..."

Done with the smog, now we are in Bangkok! A lovely little oasis in the city, we are at a swanky little hostel that is more like a boutique hotel (http://www.refillnow.co.th/). What a joy. The food is amazing! As much as we tried to enjoy the Chinese food we had, it was all reletive, this food is what we craved. Fresh, spicy, complex, mouth watering, we can't get enough real Thai Food. The weight will come back on, I am sure.

We have bounced around the city on a crazy Tuk Tuk ride through back alleys to forbidden temples. We prayed to the Black Buddha, pretended to shop for fine threads, and joined the locals on the water taxi through the Bangkok canals. This place is dirty, hot, and sticky, but a welcomed change. The Thai people are so welcoming, helpful, and happy, how could anyone not love to be here. Tomorrow we head to Koh Samui for some real beach time, more great Thai food, diving, and plenty of frozen drinks filled with local fruits.

Oh, we are getting very good at being retired....

Here's a link for more photos: