Hi! It's Michael here.

I am now safely in mainland China. It has been quite difficult to get my hands on the Internet, following the closing down of almost all cybercafes. But finally got to one in this library.

Almost 1.5 weeks here already. Am staying with James, a friend from Malaysia but working here. Ah Too and I are both fine and in good health, thank God.

Have been doing some leisure travel around Beijing, plus a weekend trip to BeiDaiHe, a beach resort about 3 hours drive away. Ate lots of seafood there. Had a great time with the believers.

What is my impression of Beijing? First impression: lots of very tall, large and grand buildings. Second impression: people, people, people everywhere. Bookshops, shopping centres, streets, parks ... lots of people at all times. (Don't they go to work or go to school? I don't know.) Third impression: Beijing people are very kai1 fang4, hugging and kissing in the streets and in subways. Really cannot tahan ! Had a culture shock ! Beijing people also talk very loudly, like shouting to each other.. Then, the bookshops in Beijing are really really good. Lots and lots of books on many subjects. And all the books are so cheap! Have you ever seen people going to bookshop pushig a trolley, buying books like shopping at a supremarket? That's how cheap books are over here.

Where have we  gone so far? Ah ha. Visited some palaces (very very big compound), parks (again very very big), the Great Wall, museums, shopping areas, etc. Yes, things are very big and huge in Beijing. That's why when visiting one single place, it will take us lots of walking to cover it. Really tiring.

Starting to get a bit jelak of Beijing already. Will be moving on pretty soon. Still have no concrete plans of where to go. But will not be covering as many places as I have planned earlier. Leisure trip mah.

How about the food in Beijing? We have been sampling various stuffs found here. Beijing has delicacies from all over China. Have tried the Peking Roast Duck, Chinese kebab, SiChuan dishes and many other funny funny stuffs. They even have dog meat and donkey meat. Wow ! Conclusion is ... I still think Malaysian food is the best. Malaysia boleh!

Weather has been pretty cool when we arrived. Always hazy throughout the day and could not see the sun. Now it's getting warm, with more sunlight. It will only get warmer, as China enters summer. A bit of rain now and then, but never heavy rain, only those bulu-bulu rain.

OK lar. Will keep in touch with you all again when I can get my hands on the Internet. Will need to plan where to go after Beijing.

Please do not send forward mails to this email account for the time being. It will clog up my account. Thank you.

Please pray for our journey safety and joy. Thanks a lot.

Yes, I watched the two goals from Ronaldo, shooting pass Kahn. Brazil boleh!

Cheers,

Michael
Count your blessings !