31: countries visited
35: countries touched
23: currencies used
2: countries under budget :(

23: boats taken
82: bus trips
29: flights
61: trains
42: car trips
6: moto/scooter rides
28: taxi fares
20: hair-raising tuk tuk rides
16: bicycle excursions
1: ride on a zipline

17: overnights on a vehicle
128: beds we've slept in
1.5: thickness of worst mattress (in inches)

3: invitations to kind strangers' houses
11: friends and family (and friends of friends and family!) that we have invaded
7: friends and family members that met us abroad

43: movies we've seen
39: books read (including 'War and Peace'--cut into two parts for portability!)
5: watches we've gone through
2: spiders over two inches diameter killed (by Simon, of course)
4: haircuts for Claire (by Simon!)
3: haircuts for Simon (including one ear and cheek hair burning!)
72: greatest number of mosquito bites acquired in one night (all on Simon's left foot)

6: local festivals or holidays enjoyed by us
21: beaches lain upon

26: dinners cooked for ourselves
55: pounds lost by Simon!!!!

Freakiest encounter: running into Gabe, our neighbor's grandson, on our way into Morocco.

Songs that Followed us around the world: 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'' by the Scissor Sisters. Still bop to that one. 'Snow (Hey Oh)' by the RHCP, and 'Final Countdown' by Europe !!!???

Top Five Countries:
1) Japan
2) Turkey
3) Laos
4) Holland
5) South Africa/Namibia

One country we won't be heading back to: Egypt

Best Experiences (in no particular order):
*meeting friends and family in new spots

*riding around the northern Holland island of Texel on our spankin' rental bikes

*New Year's Eve with amigos K&L in Mallorca

*Simon's 30th birthday in Turkey

*sundowners over the Santorini Caldera in Greece

*gorging on Marks & Spencers salads at the London airport after suffering from food poisoning in Morocco

*the Egyptian Desert

*safari in Etosha park, Namibia

*climbing Table mountain in Cape Town, SA

*riding horses around the pyramids at sunset

*Simon learning to surf in Jeffrey's Bay, SA

*Simon losing 50 pounds!!

*snorkeling with K&V in Pulau Tioman, Malaysia (despite the sharks!)

*the gorgeous cliffs and beach at Varkala in India

*lunch with wild elephants in Kumily, India

*hiking and eating in Katoomba, Australia

*Luang Prabang, Laos: new friends, non-greasy food, pi mai water festival, biking, and gorgeous waterfalls

*Chinese acrobats!

*all the fun and silliness two people can have when they have all the time and the world to spend with each other

Worst Experiences:
*waiting for three hours in pre-dawn cold and wet, Czesky Krumlov, Czech Rep., for the bus that never came and being unable to communicate with anyone about it

*Moroccan food poisoning

*Simon's migraine in cold Cinque Terre, Italy, where he pulled himself together to travel only to have to return immediately as we'd left behind our passports with the guesthouse reception

*all our emails and contacts being deleted from our email account!

*one hungry day in Kyoto where i couldn't seem to ever get enough to eat or find suitable restaurants

*the Egyptian day from hell: wait in uncertainty and frustration at 4:30 a.m. in a tiny desert town as the bus ticket vendor absolutely refused to deal with us. Finally get on bus last when he is forced by others to sell us a ticket, only to get the broken squashed seats at the back. Unhappy innards and some revolting toilets. Arrive in forbidden-to-tourist town and have police escort-to top it all off, Simon gets a migraine!

*trying to get errands done in Beijing on the windiest day we've ever experienced and not being able to access our money

*last day in Agra, India after parents leave, reading bad news about Thailand's bombings etc. (we are headed there that night), running out of rupees, delayed train and missed flight

*intimidated in the dark, who-knows-where, somewhere the back side of the pyramids, being manipulated by Egyptians on our second day in the country

Top Five Restaurants(we truly cannot understand why we were over-budget (note sarcasm), and how Simon lost 50lbs (note enuine astonishment):
1) Del Gado, Phnom Penh: old converted mansion with lamps, curtains, verandas. mini potatoes with pear, carmelized pumpkin, chicken and blue cheese dressing.

2) Harbourview Hotel, Raglan, NZ: spectacular food--stayed in town a second night just to eat there again. sweet potato, feta and roasted tomato caneloni with pesto cream sauce, lamb with minted sweet potatoes

3) Prinz Myshkin, Munich: big open, stylishly simple place with massive veggie menu. went back three times out of five dinners in Munich!

4) La Zucca, Venice: cozy, warm, friendly restaurant with yummy offerings and chatty clientele. Went twice! beef in wine sauce with polenta and potato, pumpkin casserole, rabbit with onions and potatoes with provolone

5) Mango Rooms, Hoi Ann, Vietnam: open colourful place with low tables and floor cushions and a view over the river. beef with mango salsa, fatastic salads, asian-international fusion stylishly served.

mmmmm. I'm drooling all over again...

Farthest we have been from home: Perth, Australia - 17,598km

Farthest we have felt from home: waking up on our first night in Turkey to the sound of the call to prayer (being broadcast right behind the guesthouse, of course!)

So that really is it, folks. Thanks to all of you readers who have offered such support and compliments and news from home when it was so far away. We only have one request of you; should this year's postings have inspired you to undertake some travel of your own, please blog about it so that we can live vicariously when it's our turn to keep the homefires burning!

Love and hugs to all the amigos out there,
Claire and Simon (no longer the World Travellers, but the At-Home Kick-Abouts)

The Year in Photo Review: Photos you've seen before but don't have to go looking for. People are asking about what will happen to my 15,000+ photos and Claire's wonderful text. Will there be a book? Will there be a Slideshow? Will there be a Gallery show?
The answer to all of these questions is still maybe. I have not yet gone through any of the photos nor have we had time to make any plans.
We will keep all of you posted and invited to any event that might happen with the photos. In the mean time if any photo really appeals to you I am interested in discussing the printing and sale of it to you. Please email me.

Stay tuned for one last post; you can do it---you've already lasted the whole year with us!
(Sorry there are no pics from our Nikon Superstar. He has his computer set up which means a place to download pictures, which means he doesn't have to carry them with him anymore. We promise some in the next post!)

Fa'a is the "Samoan Way of Life" and is a hugely popular concept on the Island of 'Upolo, Western Samoa. For the huge and friendly Samoan people Fa'a has to do with the respect and communal ideas that their society is based on. The Samoan way meant a lot of relaxation and very little activity of any kind. We spent 5 days in a fale - a traditional, open hut on the beach. Our's was modified from the columns and roof style that defines all structures but the latrines here, to include some latice and a lockable door; It may be being poor sports but we were unwilling to submit to the local "your-property-is-my-property" concept. We were happy, though, to experience other small aspects of Samoan culture at "fia-fia" night. This is the islands festive fire dancing, which is often paired with traditional song and dance. Simon joined in to a group dance but I decided I lacked the grace for the elegant hand movements and chose to watch instead.

Aside from this one outing, however, our five days on the island held very little activity. We read on the beach, collected some shells, lazed in the shallow water and let our heartbeats slow to a reptilian rhythm.

As we rarely ventured far from our accomodations, we were fortunate to have good company there in Mary and Chester, two septegenarian New Zealanders. These generous folk provided us with coconuts, inspiring conversation and even an offer of a ride home from our fia-fia experience until their car broke down.

Alas, all good times must come to an end and so our trip has come full circle. Two overnight flights and an 8 hr lay-over would takes us from island, through L.A. and finally, home.

We enjoyed a tour of the town and later went to the local cinema...to see a Canadian film! Snow Cake is set in Northern Ontario and was definitely a taste of home for us.

From Napier, we headed north to New Zealand's fart capital, Rotorua. The people here eat a special diet to produce plentiful pungent gas. Ok, that's a lie. Rotorua is a nifty volcanic center full of bubbling mud pits, exploding geysers and steaming waters, but man oh man does this place stink thanks to all that sulphur!

Hopefully we didn't carry any of the stench with us to our next stop; Adam and Ro's place in Mt. Manganui. Faithful readers may remember these two from way back in Cairo. They were one of the few bright spots in our time in Egypt. Though we'd enjoyed only one day with them at the pyramids, they knew of our plans to come to NZ and gave us an open invitation to turn up on their doorstep. So for one night we enjoyed some homestyle comfort and hospitality. Thanks, guys!

From the Bay of Plenty, we planned to drive up the Coromandel Peninsula and do some hiking and sightseeing. But there was a different fate in store for us. We made it to the charming town of Coromandel through the raging wind (gusts up to 150km/hr) and driving rain, only to discover that the power was out. But it was late so we decided, power or no power, we'd be better to hole up than to push on in this storm. So we got a room and huddled in bed playing cards and reading by flashlight. All through the night the wind howled and shook the motel.

The next day was a little calmer, though still grey and wet and we set off for Auckland through the wreckage. Trees were down, roads were closed, sign posts torn out of the ground and roofs lifted right off stores and houses. Apparently we're going out with a bang from this lovely country. Though we had to weave around fallen trees and washouts, we did eventually make it to Auckland, where we laid low in anticipation of our flight to the last stop on our trip - Samoa! We've got five days in this paradise where we plan to do little else than swim and beach. You may hear from us, but most likely our next post will be a retrospective once our feet are firmly back on Canadian soil. See you all soon!

XO,

Simon and Claire

Back in town, it was shearing time for the German Angora Rabbits. We thought we'd check it out - who doesn't want to get a glimpse of a bald bunny? Helen and Huckleberry were very patient as they were stretched out and delicately freed of their furry mantles.

But what next? With no caves to go to, we felt that few other experiences would live up to rabbit shearing, so after only half a day in the Waitomo Area we pushed on to Taupo, a nice little town that looks out across a lake onto Mordor (or Ruapahu Volcano to non Lord of the Rings fans). Most of the time we couldn't see this impressive and destructive volcano as it was buried in rain clouds. Still, when in New Zealand, one hikes, or tramps, as it is called here. So out we went once more into the weather. We took in the lovely Huka Falls, and saw the Aratiatia Gorge fill with water as the dam was opened. We also had our first taste (or should I say smell) of geothermal stinkiness as we wandered around the volcanic 'Craters of the Moon' area.

So we were a little soggy by the time we decided to push on...This time to the unique southern city of Napier.

From Auckland we headed north to the Bay of Islands area. We had a short stay in the town of Kerikeri (pronounced with a 'd' instead of and 'r'), known for it's café culture, where we sampled some of the fare and walked along the beach and to a lookout over the beautiful Bay.

It was after this short introductory drive that we decided some tiny ultra-cheap speakers for our ipods were necessary - the radio choices outside of Auckland were severely limited to advertisements and oral want ads, and to be frank, there are very few conversations that Simon and I have not had in the past year together.

So with some good, if tinney, tunes we rambled south through the hilly countryside, Simon thoroughly enjoying the swervy roads. Along the way, we stopped at the Waipoua Kauri Forest, home to some of the largest Kauri trees in existence - These trees are sometimes 3000 years old and are truly impressive in their height and girth. Despite Mr. Photo's diligent attempts, though, their magnificense refused to translate into picture format - You'll just have to come see these for yourselves, I guess!

It was late evening by the time we arrived in the dream town of Raglan. This coastal haven is a huge draw for surfers and artists, imbuing the place with a relaxed, cultured atmosphere. Our favourite discoveries in our time here were the free kayaks and yoga lessons provided by the homey backpackers place we inhabited, as well as a local restaurant with a British award winning chef that served up delectable delights.

We were so charmed by this place that instead of leaving one late afternoon, as we'd planned, we convinced ourselves to stay another night. All the better to enjoy one more meal at the restaurant and then take in "March of the Penguins" in the T.V. Room. It's easy to see why people wind up staying here for months, abandoning all plans and pretense of seeing the rest of New Zealand. But not us! One night was as much as we could give - the sands are racing through the hourglass - less than 2 weeks 'til we're home!

But hold on! We've still got a country to see. Or really, just 1/2 of one. We've decided that it's a bit ambitious to try to see both the North and the South Island of New Zealand, so we are sticking to the North. We're also going to do something we've not done in 10 months - drive! Thanks to $12 CAD/day car rentals we're going to take on the left-hand side of the road and crazy, windy roads. It's fantastic that cars are so cheap here, as it would be tricky to see much of the country by public transit and tours are none too cheap.

We started out this leg of the journey in Auckland. This city takes some flack but we rather enjoyed it. It is, in my opinion, the perfect sized city - big enough to be quite cultured and have anything you could want on offer, but not so big as to be an overwhelming timesink. It also has an interesting position on the island, spanning from one coast to another on a little ithmus. We made the most of this by spending a day walking the trail from one side to the other. This is when we discovered another unique aspect of Auckland - it is built on a range of ancient, extinct volcanoes - which makes for a few small climbs! So we found ourselves, again, asking, why do we always feel the need to go up?!?

Otherwise we enjoyed some browsing around the city and a few meals at some fine restaurants. Our hostel room, slightly on the chilly side, was a glassed-in upper porch of an old mansion, once owned by the Queen of Tonga. What more could we want?

More sights to see, of course! So off we went up to the much raved about Bay of Islands, 3 hrs north of Auckland.

Thanks to the Simons Down-Under bunch, not only did we enjoy the luxuries of homecooking, good company and a comfy bed, but we made the most of Wally and Sue's footy tickets as well. It was my first time seeing Australian Rules football, but it didn't take an expert to recognize that the Sydney Swans' performance was dreadful that night. I reckon our crew on the west coast passed better in our parking-lot practices. (We probably couldn't have managed all that running, though. This sport has got to top the charts for distances covered!)

In all other respects, though, Sydney showed us its best side. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique, waterfront city and felt that I could have poked around here for a while longer. We wandered the downtown, with its famous vistas of the Harbour Bridge and The Opera House, took a wild, wavey ferry ride to Manly Beach, visited with an old friend of Simon's, and just generally enjoyed ourselves. We even ventured out of the city one day for some hiking in the spectacular Blue Mountains.

With less than a month left of our travels, we leave Australia hoping it won't be another twelve years before we return--we've still got the whole east coast to see, not to mention the center! I guess I'd better get working on that teleportation thing...or at least get a job with an airline...

What do you do when you've flown all the way to the southern continent of Australia but have only three weeks left to see it, thanks to some pleasant dilly-dallying? You get lazy and sign up for a back-packer's bus tour up the west coast. At least that's what we did. This option was alluring thanks to its low cost and the fact that we wouldn't have to think for ourselves for a full 10 days. Moreover, heading north would get us to some milder weather as we have brilliantly timed our arrival with the coldest time of the year here. Sounds like a pretty good plan, eh? We weren't so sure. The pros were clear but we had to overlook some concerns. First of all, the accomodations would be shared dorm rooms - something we've so far managed to avoid on these travels. Secondly, we had some reservations about spending ten days on a bus with who knows what kind of group of people - we're not as young as we used to be and Australia doesn't have a party reputation for nothing!

But gosh darn it, it seems like we'll never learn that our expectations are never right; the tens days whizzed by, the dorm rooms were not so bad and the folk quickly became an unusual family.

We departed Perth on day one and arrived in Broome at Cable Beach on day nine. Some highlights in between were the Pinnacle desert, stargazing around the campfire in Karijini National Park, fantastic gorges, pools and waterfalls, seeing dolphins - playing out in the ocean and coming in to Monkey Mia beach for a feed. We even splurged to swim with a Manta Ray and snorkel with turtles - all excellent adventures.

But perhaps the best of it all was the company we were in. Despite a wide variety of ages and rather close quarters, the group got on extremely well. The Irish contingent (and there are a lot of them in this country!) provided fun with footballs, a bottomless lolly box, and endless giggles thanks to a good amount of teasing and an addiction to the phone game, 'snake'. The Brits were good for a bit of girl talk, the Germans and Belgian for some youthful fun and silliness, the Dutch for taking the blame for all the mistakes of the early settlers, the Japanese for a lot of smiles, and the Aussies for some delightful, indulgences. The 18 of us were shepherded around by Western Austarlia's biggest, baddest guide. This fella may as well have walked right out of our previous tree-planting lives.

So it was under a bit of a dark cloud that we left Cable Beach to fly to Sydney. We extended the goodbyes as long as we could with a generous dinner from our favourite Aussie ladies (can't wait to repay the favour in Montreal some day!), visits on the beach, celebrations at the local bar and breakfast with our fearless leader.

Thanks, all you emus, dingos and kangaroos for your excellent company. We hope you'll stay in touch!

Sometimes wandering boys and girls get tired of the wandering part. At these times it is handy to have fab friends with a home you can invade. These should be good mates who have an enviable pad and a common love of good food, chats and wine. It's an added bonus if they welcome you for as long as you like, and don't bat an eye when your stay drags on to ten days. Fortunately for us, we have just such friends in Kevin and Varnya, our favourite Canadian/Aussie couple. You may remember these two, soon to be three, from such adventures as "Familiar Faces and Relaxing Places" in Malaysia.

These comforts of home were so seductive that we stayed in Perth longer and longer, while deciding how we should spend our dwindling time in the country. Occasionally, we did venture out of the house for a little tourist activity - walking around the city, taking the train to nearby Fremantle, and heading out to farm country to Varyna's parents get-away house on top of a hill. In this time I also managed to see and eat kangaroos.

But it became clear that if we didn't soon push on we would wind up staying chez Kevin and Varnya's forever, which would no doubt be crowded and chaotic with the arrival of le bébé in four months. So we devised a plan...a lazy man's plan...

Claire kicked all our butts at Monopoly that night!

It was along one of these alleys that we saw a geisha. It was dusk, prime time for these ladies to be heading to appointments, and she and a friend were hovering in the doorway. Sadly, when she caught sight of Simon looking enquiringly at her with his camera in hand, she beelined indoors. Simon only managed to capture a blur of her fabulous green kimono and white socks. As a photographer, this distressed him and so we made another pass by the house. But stricken by a sudden shame of stalking this poor woman, our photographer engaged his attention self-consciously in our conversation and missed seeing her entirely! Clearly a career as a paparazzi is not, thankfully, in Simon's future. Still, I had to reassure him that some things aren't meant to be caught on film (or digitally!), including it seems, the mysterious and rare geisha.

Fortunately, he managed to get plenty of other shots he was pleased with - it wasn't hard in a city of 400+ temples! Though we saw plenty of buddhist temples in Southeast Asia, these were refreshing and different. Nestled in forested gardens, the temples are simple and tranquil. Most featured bubbling streams or waterfalls set amidst the mossy ground. Some have bamboo glades and other still contain stark carefully combed rock gardens. But they all seem to convey a feeling of contentedness. It's easy to feel happy after an afternoon in these surroundings.

This pretty much sums up our feeling about this place. I could go on with my rave review, but I suggest you save up your pennies and come here for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

What is in Hammamatsu, this coastal city with a small town feel? Sean Gibb, my cousin-in-law, Jenni's brother. Gratefully hooked up with another place to stay in our journey 'round the world, we spent a coupe of nights in this low-key and welcoming dwelling. Sean had been put to work on our mid-reno house ony 2 years ago in Toronto. He and my cousin Tom got very excited about drywall demolition and enthusiasticaly carried on their handiwork into an area that was in no need of modification. So Jenni heartily encouraged us to return the favour on our visit. But from our point of view, not only did the poor guy get suckered into some messy work on our house, he got houseguests to boot! You gotta love family - even the most extended kind!

Sean was an excellent host, having not just a room for us, but bikes, as well. He cut work to show us the sights and even translated a whole menu for our benefit. We marvelled at his 'suburban' home from his back deck - serenaded by frogs croaking in the surrounding rice paddies!

We were equally impressed with Sean's lifestyle in this paradise - an engish teacher, his classes are all scheduled for the mornings and evenings, leaving him to spend the afternoons on the beach, kite surfing with his friend, Matt. Simon also hit the surf for a little bodyboarding, but I reasoned that, comfortable in long pants and a fleece, I had no need to get wet.

Clearly, I find my pleasure in the simpler, less adventurous things - like the toilets! I'd been enjoying a plethora of clean, free pubic toilets in Tokyo, (no need to plan ahead or hold it here, a decent accessible loo, it seems, is the right of all Japanese, and a dreamland to me!) but it was at the public washroom at a video store in Hammamatsu that I got my first taste of luxury - a heated seat! The vessel also came equipped with several fancy buttons, which, as they were in japanese, I was too chicken to push. No doubt they provided even more decadent services, but for me, the toilet is no place to start trying new things. Ever efficient, some loos are even equipped with a sink on the back of the cistern, allowing you to wash your hands and fill up the tank at the same time.

It's easy to see, I'm sure, why Japan has scored so high in my books. But, truely, it's not just the W.C.'s that recommend it - just wait 'til we tell you about Kyoto!

We touched down in Tokyo and were instantly in love. We noticed two things immediately; 1) This society really is as clean and efficient as reputed to be, and 2) The Japanese are really, really, REALLY friendly and helpful. These two things were a great source of peasure for us throughout our time in Japan.

Anne this is for you and especially Mike. The main Japanese convenience stores are Lawson Station and this, the heathier version.

When you look at a map of the Tokyo subway system, you may feel a small tremor of apprehension at having to navigate your way around this plate of spaghetti. But if you're a weary traveller, you will soon realize that all these twisty-turny routes are conspiring for your beneft, so that you may have a conveniently placed stop no matter where you wish to wander. Not only that, but at $1.80 Canadian per ride you're starting to realize that this is only the most basic example of how Japan is not nearly as expensive as it is made out to be. That's not to say you can't get rid of a lot of money here if you've got it to spend. In our visits to some of Japan's departments stores we did see some lovely pottery we could have had for $2000 CAD per rice bowl. Sorry friends, but don't expect these as souveniers!

We did a lot of wandering around this city. While frustrating to track down a specific address (They numbered buildings as they were built, rather that sequentially down the street), aimless meandering is a perfect way to soak in this vibrant city. We saw women in kimono and rebelious girls in goth or Bo-peep outfits inhabiting the same space. We went from the hub of high-tech (complete with floors dedicated to robots!) to the arena to see the centuries old tradtion of sumo wrestling. Simon even headed down to the docks to see the fisherman selling their impressive catch to the restaurants, just as it's been done for decades. If any society has figured out how to ook to the future yet retain it's unique roots, this is it. Japan is a gorgeous mix of east and west as far as we're concerned.

While American wrestling leaves me cold, Sumo is a dfferent story atogether. We spent four hours in the stands and it hardly seemed enough. We saw these men, ranging from massive to average, slowly lift their hammy legs and stamp them down to banish evil spirits from the ring. Then we watched as they faced off, smacking each other's fatty rolls, until one was propelled out of the ring or off their feet. These battles rarely reached the 30 second mark. The excitement of the day came when the Yokozunna (Grand Champion), winner of dozens of tournaments over the past decade, actualy lost his match. A situation like this dictates that the Japanese spectators must hurl their seat cushions into the ring. And so the day ended in a traditional rain of pillows.

While the formidable formery undeafeated sumo champion left to nurse his wounded pride, we hopped a bullet train for Hammamatsu, and rode the rails in speedy, roomy luxury.

But we were fortunate in two things in China: 1) We had a full week in just Beijing--one bed for the whole time!, and 2) We were armed with a tailor-made itinerary thanks to Lauren's fab friend, Kai (Can't thank you enough, Kai!). So fighting our apathy, we still managed to have some excellent experiences.
Perhaps tops on that list would be hiking for several hours on the Great Wall. And it truly was hiking! You know all those pictures you see of the wall snaking along the crest of the majestic hills? Well the clever person would understand this as an indication that there would be a lot of serious up and down involved in this walk. They would also question their level of fitness, having spent so much time on buses in the past few months, before racing ahead on a scorchingly sunny day. But yours truly have never been put off by a little walk before--at least not until we're dripping and panting and sore with over three hours left to go! Really, though, our breathlessness would have been inevitable, as if the hike didn't do it, the scenery would have. We did manage to take some moments of rest to marvel at our surroundings---"We're on the Great Wall of China!!!"

Claire took the long walk down whereas Simon...took to the air!

With that little physical undertaking under our belt, we looked for a little culture...and found it in the two famous imperial residences, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. Some of you may be horrified to know that you can actually get your Starbucks Vanilla Latte within the walls of the UNESCO protected Forbidden City. We, however, were tickled pink.

As for the Summer Palace, we found it far more attractive than its winter-time counterpart. Bemused by the sometimes literal yet mystical names for these charming buildings (Temple of Timely Rains and Extensive Moisture--can you guess what this one is deicated to?, or Cloud Dispersing Hall, and even Garden of Harmonious Interests), Simon announced that henceforth our bathroom (when we have one) shall be known as the 'Hall of gaseous relief and aqueous ablutions'.

When we were all templed out, there was still plenty more fun to be had in the evenings. We took in an acrobatics show that left our eyes googly and our jaws a mile wide. We also sipped tea at a teahouse and delighted at a variety show comprised of oral mimicry, chinese opera, a tea ceremony, comedians, kung fu, and face-off, a performance that involves the instantaneous and baffling switching of elaborate, traditional face masks.

We even devoured a local delicacy (Daniele, don't read this part), Peking Duck. Despite appearing to be dry and unappealing, this stuff is actually melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and eaten with some sauce and veggies rolled up in a kind of pancake thing. Mmmmmm good. Quackers aren't just cute to look at I tells ya!

What else did we do with our week in Beijing? Well, we rode bikes, of course! We toured around little back alleys and big streets, all the while evying the massive bike lanes that took us everywhere we needed to go. But we were surprised that these were not chock-a-block full with Chinese cyclists as we had envisioned in our 'this is China' dreams.
Other curious things we noticed about this country: 1) a huge portion of the population smokes, and unlike Canada these days, this can be done aywhere and everywhere (not sure if this is what leads to the other seemingly national habit---loud, gutteral spitting!), and 2) excercise is done in synchronized groups, at sunset or sunrise, often involving props (i.e. fans or drums).

This is absolutely a fantastically curious place to visit, and we only scratched the surface of the surface of this huge country. So as Beijing counts down to the 2008 olympics (a huge, unmissable vibe here right now), we count down to four countries and 2.5 months left to go in our voyage...and we flew on to Japan!