The plane's wheels lifted off the surface of North America at exactly noon on Thursday, May 31, which was one a.m. Friday, June 1, in Beijing. I never got a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean because we were above the clouds the whole way. Most of the eleven hours were spent reading, watching movies, and talking with Li Zitian (Candy), a young exchange student.
The question I had posed was whether during the flight we would experience nighttime. I'm sure if I had studied algebra more I could have stated the question in an algebraic equation and found X. The answer came experientially. We, in fact, did not have a single moment of darkness. In essence, I lost an entire night.
BEIJING. Beijing is urbanism on steroids. An overwhelming city in many ways, but also a city with what Herbert Gans called, "Urban Villages." There are grand avenues lined with skyscrapers and throngs of people moving about on every mode of transportation the human mind can conceive. The "villages" are the very narrow alley-ways called "Hutongs." These Hutongs are extremely congested areas in which people carry on their daily lives. Without actually seeing them, it is hard to imagine the commerce and traffic that proceeds in the narrow spaces. My hotel, the Orchid, is actually in the Baochao Hutong. I dare not send pictures of the hotel entrance lest you think I've lost my mind. But I will, because once inside, it is a small tranquil space with an international staff (mostly women) dedicated to the comfort of the guests.
Today is my last full day in Beijing. In the morning I'm off to Mongolia by train. Another day, another adventure.
The pictures below are of the Hutong, Orchid Hotel entrance, Orchid Hotel courtyard, People on Tiananmen Square, a laborer moving debris, and a child of the Hutong.
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