Being horribly overcharged for this time, and I've already spent most of my hour making reservations, so this will be a quick where-I-am post.

Still in Beijing.

Well, OK. A little more elaboration. Went to the Forbidden City. Which is vast, and flat. And which indeed does contain a Starbucks. Which is small and overpriced. Huge gardens, strange rocks. Weird clocks.

That night, Matt and I met up with some fellow travellers and had a few drinks at our local while Julia had dinner with her friend Jeremy's brother, both who live here. When we met later in our room we found Julia drinking my whiskey, which is a bad sign. Her bag and everything in it, including her passport and her bankcard and all her money, was stolen. Luckily her friends speak Chinese and so could help at the police station, but we don't ever expect to see the stuff again.

Next day i accompanied Julia on a tour of the many wonderful embassies that Beijing has to offer, while we tried to get a new passport for her, and a new visa. Yay! Fun. But all finished now, and she's set to travel again.

Yesterday took a trip to the Wall, which is just incredible. I can't yet find adequate words to describe it. "Big" starts you on your way, though. Hiked 10k from Jinshanling to Simatai. Well, maybe 10k of distance travelled, but probably twice that in ascents and descents. Not to mention a member of our party got kinda lost, so I ran half that distance back and again looking for her. Whew. Thank god for cheap beer and baozi (dumplings).

OK. Off I go. Love to my peeps!