Beijing and the glory that surrounds***

What's up everyone, checking in from Beijing. I have to say, that so far this has been my favorite of China. The city is all decorated for the Olympics and the sights are Amazing! ! ! We are staying at a great hostel in the Hu Tong district of downtown which is this really cool, older part of town surrounded by the 3 lakes of the 3 kings, long story. Anyway, all along the shoreline are resturants and bars with live music*** At first the hostel, sharing a room and bathroom with 6 other people took a little getting used to but now I would not trade it for the Ritz,,,,alright, that's a lie but we have met some really great people who have really helped us take in Beijing. One of our roommates named Paulo from Brazil has become one of our best friends here and has spent everyday with us so far,,,,he's freaking halarious, Se llama Paulo! ! !We have spent the last few days walking all over town and visiting sites such as, Forbidden City, Tian'men Square, Temple of Heaven, The Birds Nest and on and on but the hightlight of it all was, "The Great Wall". We did a 5 mile from Jinshanling to Simatai on a part of the wall that has not been restored and far away from the tourist traps. It took us around 4 hr's but we stopped, had lunch and let our minds attempt to take in all that surrounded us. There are no words and the pictures are only a blink. What an example of what man can do when we are determined and confronted with losing our homes, family and beliefs. As if that was not enough, at the end of the hike we were able to take a zipline across the canyon for 40 yuan or 5 dollars....Amazing*** Check the pic's! !
We have managed to find some really great resturants and have been eating like kings. Duck, Steak, Chicken, Bullfrog, which is actually very good and then polish it all off with a nice cold Tsing Tao beer, all for a price for less than 10 dollars per person. It's going to be hard to leave with the Olympics coming but I am looking forward to our trek in Nepal so much, it's makes it a bit easier. We are doing the Jonsom Trek which is part of the Anapurna Circut and is a 9 day trek through the Hymalaya's. This trip has already been such a humbling experience, but I think that walking in the "foothills of heaven" will be something that will spark my soul and humble my spirit like nothing else in this world,,,,2nd only to my wife! ! ! I'm not sure when the next time I will be able to check in so until then, take care of each other and know you are all with me! !