This post covers 5-8 October, 2010. One of the things on my to-do list for the trip was some shopping. Books, CDs, some musical accessories (like strings for my Chinese instruments), and clothing were on the list. The Xidan area west of Tiananmen Square features one of the city’s biggest bookstores as well as several…
This post covers things I saw on 5 October, 2010. Several times each day, I would walk between my hotel and Line 4’s Xisi Station. Eventually I noticed that over the construction fence there were some golden-tiled roofs, which usually indicate something interesting. So I walked around the corner and found the entrance to 广济寺…
This post covers things I saw on 5 October, 2010. On the first day after the music festival, I figured that with it being the national holiday and all, Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) might be interesting. It was certainly crowded. The first week of October is one of the biggest holidays in China, second only to…
This post was originally on my old Blogspot page, posted in 2010, but I’m copying it here to keep all my stuff together. It’s an ongoing project to relocate the rest of those old posts. Choosing to visit China during the first part of October has both advantages and disadvantages. It’s a national holiday, so…
Here’s a post about what I was up to in November of 2006, not long after I first arrived in Beijing. Yesterday was another adventure day, though not a tourist sort of adventure. I got a message from “Cloudtrapeze,” someone I met over on Last.fm, a Brit who’s been living in Beijing for some time….
Date of writing: 4 November I managed to get myself and all my remaining bags into a taxi after checking out of the Kuntai. It’s only a short ride, less than a mile, and cost ¥10 (about $1.25), but was a real chore with all my junk. The driver didn’t know exactly where to turn,…
Date of writing: 6 November If you’re reading this, I must have got my internet connection set up. I blew nearly my last cash at the Digital Jungle on a network cable, plugged it in, and got nothing. I asked BG about it, and apparently there’s some software that needs to be installed to connect…
It’s been a couple days without an update, but I haven’t really done anything exciting this week. I’m packing up all my things at the hotel, getting ready to check out and move over to my apartment. It’s still only partially appointed, but I don’t have the room at the Kuntai for another night. So…
Not really much to report today. I met with the real estate agent and signed the lease for my apartment. I’ll meet his assistant tomorrow to pick up the keys. I’ll say I don’t really know what that means, since the apartment door has a keypad for entry — I’ll enter my code to get…
I had the day free from work today, but after yesterday’s strenuous sightseeing, I didn’t feel like another big expedition, so I just explored the neighborhood around the hotel, which is really not very far from where my apartment will be. I’ve heard stories both ways about bicycles in Beijing. Some writers said with the…