Hiking the Wild Wall

When our friends Jeff and Susie offered to put us up in Beijing, we were more grateful than they expected. But after three months of hotel life, the opportunity to crash out in a real apartment, to dig through a refrigerator instead of a menu, and to relax with friends was something we couldn’t pass up.

Besides showing us around Beijing, Jeff and Susie also took us to their cottage by a remote section of the Great Wall. We spent the night there and helped out in their garden the next morning before setting off on an afternoon hike. Other parts of the Wall have been restored to include such jarring "improvements" as Ferris wheels and luge slides. Here it was just the Wall.

In Shanghai, the director for Chivas told us that "once you join the drinks industry, you never leave." I could see his point as we finished off a four-course meal at Sens&Bund, a French restaurant with incredible views founded by a pair of three-star Michellin chefs. From there we hit babyface, one of the city's most popular clubs - and one with a usually strict anti-foreigner policy. "Expats don't drink enough, and they don't drink the expensive drinks" our Chinese host said.

She was right - every table in the bar had from 2-5 bottles of whisky, mostly Chivas, which in China is mixed with green tea. Tastes better than it sounds. With our 4:30am departure from babyface, we were lucky our friend Justin had a comfortable apartment for us to recover in the next day.

Photos from all of our Asia travels - Thailand, Vietnam, and China - are up on the right. We're in New Zealand now, after ten days of r&r in Sydney. We'll get more posts up in the next week.