Safe arrival in Beijing

- We left the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and arrived the
smoggiest city I'veever seen. But it's good to be here. Phi Phi Island
was ridiculously relaxing, but we pretty much ran out of things to do,
especially when some heavy rain came our way. I read "A Fine Balance"
(it's SO good!), went snorkeling and ate lots of seafood.

- Tonight we ate duck gizzard (or was it goose?), jellyfish, and a
huge pot of mushrooms. Thai food is tasty, but Chinese food is
definitely more interesting and, in my opinion, preferable.

- Great Wall tomorrow, then some sights around town.

Halfway through the honeymoon!

Stuff we've seen so far...

Shanghai and the World Expo, which is ginormous. Tasty treat: bullfrog soup.

Suzhou, the Venice of the East.

Lijiang, winding cobbled streets and canals. Rode horses, ate dragonflies.

Shangri La: caught the annual horse racing festival (we didn't ride
this time) and experienced how thin the air is 3miles above sea level.
Very, very thin.

Siem Reap: fulfilled Scott's childhood dream of visiting Angkor Wat,
which is truly awesome. Got "Dr. Fish" massages, where you stick your
feet in an aquarium and let tiny fish nibble away the dead skin. It's
fun, and it's fun to see the expressions of the tourists who walk by.
Ate crickets.

Bangkok: vies with Naples for the most hectic city I've visited. We
visited some sites this morning, ate some good street food
(mealworms!), then relaxed near our hotel with Swedish & foot massages
($7/hr) and drinks and free wifi, sans the Great Firewall of China,
which blocks Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger.

Headed to the beach tomorrow (Ko Phi Phi or Railay) for a few days of
lounging, then on to Beijing.