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Archive for July, 2007

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Warriors, Wallets, and Wushu

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

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I’m now in Xi’an which, like Pingyao, is a city surrounded by an ancient wall. Xi’an was the capital of China thousands of years ago, but today it is famous for the Terra Cotta Warriors. The Terra Cotta Warriors were only recently discovered, in 1974, by a farmer digging a well. There were originally 8,000 warriors, each made by hand and unique (no warrior has the same face), which were buried with the emperor to protect him in the afterlife. Today this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in China. As with any tourist attraction in China, it was extremely crowded and commercialized, but amazing nonetheless. [read on]

3rd Class Travel Builds Character

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

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At least in my opinion.

We left Beijing last night around 11:30pm, an hour and a half later than our scheduled departure time, on the way to Pingyao, a small traditional Chinese town several hundred kilometers south west of Beijing. We thought we had 2nd class sleeper bunks, but we didn’t. We had 3rd class hard seats. Third class is always a little chaotic as it’s often standing room only and jam packed and the train to Pingyao was no exception. I’ve done quite a bit of train travel, but I’ve never seen anything quite like the insanity of boarding a train in China. [read on]

What I like about Beijing

Saturday, July 21st, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Beijing was not a city that I liked immediately. It's crowded. It's polluted. It's hot and humid. It seems everything is under construction in preparation ... [Continue reading this entry]

Beijing, Beijing, Beijing

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket We made it to Beijing. The past few days I've been about as energetic as this family. I was sick yesterday (a gift from Ben) and today was ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Beauty of Mongolia

Monday, July 16th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Yay for Mongolia!! Taken at a monastery with breathtaking views My words and photos can not possibly communicate the beauty and magic of this place. I took so ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Nomads of Mongolia

Sunday, July 15th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket One of the things that has always intrigued me about Mongolia is their nomadic population. The nomads of Mongolia live in felt tents (gers) and move about 8-10 ... [Continue reading this entry]

Choo, Choo, Choo!!!!

Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Today was a magical day. Witnessing a horse race on the Mongolian steppe was surreal, beautiful, exhilirating, and extremely dusty. I've been to horse races before, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Celebrating Manly Sports in Mongolia

Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Nadaam: Mongolian word for "Game" or "Competition" Archery, Wrestling, and Horse Racing: These are the national sports of Mongolia, and the focus of the nationwide festival known as ... [Continue reading this entry]

The View from the Top

Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Ulaan Bataar is not a pretty city. It's composed of a lot of soviet-bloc style buildings, dust, and buildings under construction. It is surprisingly traveler-friendly, though, with ... [Continue reading this entry]

Fighting Crime in Mongolia

Monday, July 9th, 2007
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Exhausted and groggy when we arrived at the Ulaan Bataar train station at 6:30am on Saturday, we were met by the hostel owner, Zaya, who was full of energy ... [Continue reading this entry]