Reply #7: I'm Making Some Notes,

[On the Road]

but it's a bit overwhelming. This is Day 4 and the first time seeing a computer since Christmas eve. Thanks for the encouragement on writing.

Beijing is like New York City without rivers. A lot of it's like Queens, some of it's more like eastern Europe, with a bit of Tokyo and Times Square thrown in. The scale of the buildings and streets is incredible -- they don't do anything small here.

It's well below freezing, but the sidewalks are crowded by people without hats and the streets are full of cyclists, a lot of them deliverymen with pedaled flatbeds. Traffic is a mess, and the city is so large it takes at least an hour to get anywhere.

Staying with my girlfriend's relatives. No tourist hotels. It's a real experience.