Nihao All,

I arrived safely yesterday by luxury train in China's big stinky capital. It was a beautiful sunny day with clear skies! Maybe it's true what they say about the government controlling the weather!

Well, it is true.

It's true about the traffic too.

And about the spraypainting the grass.

And that Tiananmen Square is really huge.

And the construction boom. It's crazy how much building, hammering and nailing (ha ha I said nail) painting and general work is being done.I'm staying in a kind of weird lame hostel, but once I get outside I can forget that my room opens onto the noisy parking lot. I've been having fun walking around. Later tonight (because it's Friday) I am planning to meet up with my young American friends who are staying here. I met them on the train to Xian and we stayed in the same hostel there by coincidence.

I got my train ticket to Moscow - are you ready!

Sing with me!

I'm going to Mos~cow, I'm going to Mos~cow!

I leave Beijing next Wednesday morning (Sept 5th), and arrive in Mos~cow next next Monday(Sept 10th).Tomorrow I am going to the Forbidden City! I am so excited. I hope I wake up feeling rested and strong because my muscles are still killing me from the hike up Hua Shan. I have to recover in time to do the 10k Great Wall hike on Monday!

I'm off to drink some beer.