Friday, December 29

ni hao BEiJiNG! part 1 {which means there might be a part 2... if i ever get my Lazy ass toresize pictures and upLoad them on friendster!}

too Lazy to make a proper update. but i promise iLL update Later! thats a super promise... so here are the pics i took in beijing! enjoy! {why does this paragraph has so many excLamation points?!?}


first, i'd Like ya'LL to meet my traveL companion in beijing nina. nina's this superkewL bitch who can backpack anywhere. and when i say anywhere peopLe, i mean anywhere! we
once backpacked in the middLe of nowhere in southern china two winters ago. we were the onLy foreigners in the viLLage and peopLe were Looking weird at us and they had thisPhil_nina_1 whattheheLLwereyoutwothinkincominuphere Look on their faces. we stayed in a crummy hoteL {which wasn't reaLLy a hoteL coz it was the viLLage Leader's hut or summat} with no bathroom {there was a pubLic toiLet} but the best part was there was a Lone pub over the next mountain with a karaoke system that has fiLipino songs! in the middLe of fuckin nowhere!!!! ahhh those were the days. this winter, nina and i are spending 5 days in beijing.

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ok foLks, before we go any further, Let's taLk about beijing for a bit. most peopLe know that beijing is the host of the 2008 oLymics and that's about it. beijing is the capitaL of china and is one of the most popuLous cities in the worLd with over 15 miLLion peopLe inhabiting the metro. it's the second largest city in china {second onLy to shanghai} and is the is the political, cultural, and educational center of the country.

ok, nuff of the LoneLy pLanet hoopla, if you wanna know more about beijing you can check the LoneLy pLanet

now, when yer traveLLin to beijing, we aLLs gotta think about food, coz food is way too important not to think about. when in beijing, you wouLdn't have to worry if yer ever gonna Lack on your major food groups and shit coz beijing has Loads and Loads and Loads and shitloads of food. not onLy you get the traditional chinese food, but you'LL aLso find western grease, russian, indian, mediterrenean, arabic, japanese, korean, itaLian and even fusion. the prices vary though, it can be ridicuLousLy cheapo to insaneLy expensive. here are some of the food we ate. website information on beijing. now back to the pics.

Burgers_and_fries_1
a good way to start yer first day in beijing is with grease, grease and Lotsa Lotsa grease! after visiting the embassy area, nina and i saw this tgif resto and we couLdnt heLp but be drawn in and eat good oLd fashion burgers and fries. good Lord, you gotta Love'm fries. oh by the way in china, t.g.i.f. means thank GOODNESS its fridays. funny eh? PRICE {rather expensivo}, but the grease was worth it.

now if yer on a mighty tight budget that even a butt pLug can't penetrate, i suggest you eat this ..... cheapeeyayayaaay. with shitLoads of that, you can even fart beethoven's ninth symphony, twice.

Sweet_potatoes

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when yer in beijing, you have to NOT MISS eating beijing kaoya which is the de facto officiaL food of the city. it might be super greasy and shit, but the grease is aLL worth it i teLL ya. and it sure as heLL beat then american hamburgers. beijing kaoyas are cooked using preparations and methods that have been passed on through centuries. one thing i Like about the beijing kaoya is the shiny Look and the way its prepared in front of you.

Beijing_duck1_copyPRICE {can vary from moderateLy cheapo to fuckin mucho expensivo}

of course, if the beijing duck is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too foreign for yer tastes peopLe, you couLd aLways stick to the official chinese food that every joe/juan/pedro/dmitry/consueLo/ingrid/heLmut schmoe of the worLd orders whenever he/she/in transition is in a chinese restaurant - THE PROVERBIAL SWEEET AND SOUR PORK. {moderateLy cheapo}Sweetsourpork

or you couLd go adventurous by trying out the spicy ones...

PRICE {moderateLy cheapo}

or you couLd go insane by trying to eat this...

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PRICE {moderateLy cheapo}

darn, i didn't get to try them barbecued scorpions in wanfujing street. weLL, there's aLways a next time.

oh yeah, the sites. nina, and i didn't go to the major tourist spots since we've aLready seen them. this time, we decided to go to the not so touristy sites Like the beijing naturaL history museum, the beijing night scene in houhai and sanLitun, of course them restos and the shopping disctricts in beiing.

here are some of the pics that i took whiLe on the road.

Fag

this sign just greeted me one morning.

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beijing is famous for her gates that are mushroomed aLL over the city. this one is the qianmen gate just south of the tiananmen square.

Hhutong










one thing that i'LL miss about beijing are them hutongs or aLleyways which are fast disappearing. hutongs, in my opinion {and many others for that matter} is the souL of oLd beijing. its reaLLy sad to see them hutongs disappear and get repLaced by highrise condominiums and residentiaL compLexes.

Beijing_crush




the tube {subways or metros} is absoLuteLy the best and the cheapest way to go around beijing. aLmost aLL the major tourist site in beijing is accessibLe by metro. just don't ever ride the subways during rush hour or prepare to experience the beijing crush.

Fish





i saw this reaLLy kewL fish muraL when nina, terry and i were waLking one night in the houhai bar district. this was just beside a cafe and a noveLty shop. i couLdn't resist taking a snap. weLL i kinda took Lotsa it.

Shut_up_and_drink







a totaLLy kewL kickass name for a pub.

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mamooth tusks at the beiing museum of naturaL history. btw, if yer traveLLing to beijing, the naturaL history museum is reaLLy worth a Look. the $4 ticket is weLL worth it.

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i can hear the nationaL geographic themesong pLaying in my head right now.

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dino overLoad. maaaaaaaaan, if i were into dinosaurs, i wouLd've creamed in me pants back there.

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a picture of a perfectLy heaLthy human specimen at the beijing museum of natural history. may he rest in peace.

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sorry. i just couLdn't heLp it.

Nina_primates










nina joining the fray, she's trying to shake katie's hand.
ok, so we didn't see suri hoLmes cruise. whatev. more to cum, hopefuLLy. i'm knackered.