The various sections of society that’ll be severely affected by this ‘cleanup’ plan to fight back vigorously. Maybe it’s time for all the ‘lusters’ lurking here to rant about this as well.

It’s unfortunate the man is still the target of lawsuits. One can’t help but feel sorry Jacko.

A few people gathered in a gas station in St. Louis recently to pray to God for lower gas prices. Are cartoons allowed?

The Internet is everywhere I go and yet, I can’t bring myself to write. I am not even writing on my journal. And slowly over the months, I have attained this stage of travel nirvana where I don’t even see a lot of the touristy stuff. I just show up at places, meet some people (some fellow travelers, some locals) and just hang. Sip a coffee or chai here, sip a beer there, eat some noodle soup here, eat some Thai fish curry there. I sit and watch children play on the beach; young adults canoodle on park benches; Japanese tourists take pictures of me with whatever statue is behind me; get hit on by local men and touristy women. Life goes on. I occasionally pop into an Internet cafe to check on close friends and family and let them know I’m still in it. But even news has lost a lot of the meaning for me. I mean, what’s the point really? Unless you are on a world domination spree, why bother with what’s happening thousands of miles away? Give the conscience a break and be selfish… in your moment for a while. It feels good.

Random thoughts. Observing people and surroundings with nary a care in the world. Feeling good about humanity. Remembering how tough, interesting, life-changing and amazing the last few months of my life have been. Missing those close to me. Wishing I could get a hug.

I am now in a tiny cafe in Hobart, Tasmania. Beautiful weather. A few clouds in the sky, summer is approaching. I can see Sullivan’s Cove from where I sit. A beautiful woman with a Spanish accent sits by herself at a table nearby. Probably late 30s. She’s talking on a sleek looking phone (no, not the iPhone) to probably a jilted lover. She’s angry but the voice is soft but steady. On the only other table sits a young boy with headphones bigger than his head wrapped around. A girl sits opposite him bored and having a cake. He’s reading some thick tome. The waiter likes me. Keeps coming to my table to chit chat. I think I’ll indulge him. He’s cute. Pakistan and Darfur don’t interest me now. I am living in the here and now. And loving it.

I didn’t feel any effects of altitude during the train ride though I did often feel woozy once in Lhasa. This is a journey that every one who goes to China should take. You will not be disappointed.

Blogging is not easy from China as I found that from some Internet cafes I can’t even access rantlust. Weird. Now that I am finally out of China and am in Vietnam, I hope I’ll be able to blog more about my year off travelling the world.

With absolutely no knowledge of the language and having never been in this part of the world before, I was a bit anxious when my taxi made its way through throngs of bicycles and smoke spewing automobiles into the heart of Beijing where I had booked two nights in a very touristy district targeting westerners named Sanlitun. I did this because I wanted to orient myself with the city before venturing into the unknown.

After a couple of days wandering around Tiananmen Square (yes, that square) and the Forbidden City (a truly magnificent architectural achievement), I checked out and moved into a less touristy part of town in the north and while it meant that I had to take public transport to get to the city centre, it was a big relief for a long time backpacker like me. I finally felt at ease.

I spent a week in Beijing enjoying the fabulous but somewhat fear inducing cuisine (I still didn’t and won’t try to eat baby snakes) such as bugs, Szechuan hotpot, Beijing duck, Xinjiang muslim cuisine etc. No sign of dogs at any of the restaurants I went to even though I pored through some of the non-English menus looking for characters for dog meat (gou rou). Beijing is a big and crowded city but it has a lot to offer for fans of history and colourful architecture, the greatest of which are the various sections of the Great Wall. Until deciding to come here and starting to research China, I thought that the Great Wall was just one place where you go to, not the multiple sections strewn all over. I went to only the Simatai section and hiked around a bit on the wall. It’s a beautiful section (thank you again, anupcs, for the recommendation).

From Beijing it was a nice train ride to Xi’An the land of the famous terracotta warriors of China’s first emperor, Qin (pronounced Chin) Shi Huang. Mind blowing! After a couple of days here, I went to climb Tai Shan, one of the sacred mountains in China that thousands of pilgrims climb every year. The easy and sane way to the summit is on a Gondola but I decided to climb the darn thing. I was probably one of the very few foreigners (wei guo ren) going this arduous route up what seemed like never ending series of steps. I was definitely the only white woman climbing that day. But after a few hours of painful climbing, I finally reached the summit. It was definitely worth it. It was a clear day and I had fabulous views though this was unlike any other hill or mountain I have climbed before in that there were literally more than a hundred people at the top with me and there is no one specific place to call a submit. It seemed more like a plateau on the top complete with restaurants and shops.

After Tai Shan, I returned to Beijing and went to Inner Mongolia to spend a few days drinking Yak milk. The country of Mongolia wasn’t on my unplanned itinerary but now I am thinking about it while sipping tea in an Internet cafe back in Beijing. I am now thinking of skipping Korea and going to Mongolia instead. I have to go looking for a way to get the proper travel documents.

Thoughts on China so far? Friendly people who’ll go out of their way to help you if you at least make an effort to speak the language. More so in the countryside than in Beijing. A lot of German cars (mostly black) on the streets in Beijing competing with bicycles. Construction everywhere…getting ready for the Olympics, I am sure. People are well dressed in bars and clubs but not so on the streets. Language is very difficult and it’s impossible to survive if you don’t know have at least a phrasebook knowledge of it. While my accent is terrible, I seem to be able to communicate OK to the locals…at least good enough to get by. I have cancelled my onward ticket to Seoul and have no specific plan on when to leave China. I might just decide to stay a week or two longer and go to say, Tibet. The Middle Kingdom (Zhong Guo) is a magnificent country that you should consider visiting before the Olypmics next year after which I am sure millions more will come and ruin the pristine nature of some of the remote corners of China.

I am sooo shit scared but at the same time the adrenalin levels have never been higher. I am already in my first stop… Beijing, China and am writing this from here. More later… Zai Jian and Ni Hau.