Beijing

I'm back from Beijing. I had a great time although by the 6th day I was definitely ready to come home. Got to sightsee at all the major places: Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall, hutong villages, etc.

Things I Like About Beijing:
Very clean
Lots of parks
Lots of tree-lined streets
Good restaurants
Pedicab through hutong villages
People wanting to take my picture like I was a celebrity

Things I Don't Like About Beijing:
Nasty hole-in-the-ground public bathrooms
Spitting (actually, hocking up a loogie and then spitting)
Rude, pushy people
Nobody speaks English (Although why should they? They're in China.)
Street names don't match the ones on the maps

I'm still working on my photos. I overloaded my Picasa and am having to use two computers to put together my slideshow. If anybody in LA likes dim sum you MUST go to Din Tai Fung! I went to this restaurant in Beijing and it's REALLY good. NY Times voted one of the top 10 restaurants in the world. The only U.S. location is in LA. You have to get the dumplings with soup inside. They melt in your mouth! Fried rice is good too. There's one here in HK in Kowloon so I'm going again tonight!

On another note: I've been eating whatever I want and not working out for the past month. It's been fucking fantastic but now I'm finally seeing the results of my gluttony. And after watching my friend Brigitte compete (and win her age group) in an Ironman race and be around all those athletes...I'm ready to shape up. As SOON as my friend Tommy leaves HK. He's in town and we're going out tonight. Then, starting tomorrow (seriously!) I'm all about the healthy-health-health.