LIVE UPDATE - # 8

Well, I have made it to Harbin. I just woke up in a hotel that Yen and I are staying in for two nights, which is a nice rest from the breakneck speed we have been going at for the last few days. A quick run down of my time in China so far; Arrive around Midnight on Monday, stay in a hotel in Beijing and wake up early to catch a 9;30 am train to Datong. Spend all of Tuesday on the train, which was great fun since it was very old, we were on a sleeper car so had bunks, and we (through Yen) got to talk to some Datong locals ahead of time get the low down on the city. Arrived in Datong in the late afternoon, stayed in a nice hotel near the center, ate at the hotel restaurant which was my first real experience with frightening Chinese food, the menu was quite intimidating complete with pictures and English translations. Woke up very early on Wednesday to catch an organized tour to the Hanging Temples and Buddhist Grottoes. (I had been looking forward to these two sites and they had been the reason for this side visit to Datong, beyond my wildest imagination, so beautiful, impressive, and amazing. Even as an English Major it is hard to find the words to describe what it is like to see them. I hope the pictures I took do a better job or that I find better words by the time I get back home.) The tour took all day and once we arrived back at the hotel in the early evening we were picked up by a driver who took us back Beijing, a more expensive option but much quicker and more comfortable than the night train. It took a while to find a hotel by Bejing Central Train Station, once we did we slept right away as it was very late. We had a bit of a sleep in since the train yesterday to Harbin was not until 2pm. We spent all of Thursday on the train, in the seat section, however it was a new high speed train so these were very spacious and comfortable. Getting into Harbin late last night we went straight to the hotel to sleep. Today is Friday and we are going to tour around and stay here again for another night.