Beijing Craziness

There are a few things I have learned in Beijing -

1. cars don't care about other cars, cars don't care about pedestrians, and pedestrians don't care about cars--it's the circle of life
2. road lanes are just suggestions - cars and scooters don't really care about the lane lines. They like to go wherever they feel like whether it's in between lanes (between 2 cars) or on the shoulder lane
3. the government paints road lanes for their own entertainment; 4 lanes moving straight through prior to an intersection magically turns into 3 lanes after the same intersection
4. the car/scooter/pedestrian that chickens out first loses their spot
5. you can try to anticipate and guess what the other drivers are trying to do, but it is mostly just a futile mental exercise as they go wherever they want and whenever they want.  See points 2-4 above.
6. it's organized chaos - meaning it's chaotic and a haven for road rage, yet we don't see much of that here (road rage).  Actually, not so organized (see point 5 above), so it's really just chaos.
7. hygiene isn't quite the priority here...imagine taking a taxi and the taxi driver horking up a nice phlegm wad and spitting right out the window while driving at highway speed...and doing that multiple times.  NASTY
8. anything can be food - including bugs, squirming scorpions on a stick, and sheep penis
9. 85rmb can be bargained down to 15rmb in the market
10. food is extremely cheap! but a cup of cappucino/latte can cost the same amount or even more than a set lunch combo.

Lastly - I have learned that I am quite dependent on my internet access to certain websites like FB, this blog, and picture uploading sites such as Picassa - all of which were blocked in China.

Unfortunately I have not been able to post up any pics as our internet access has been quite spotty - even in HK.  May have to wait until we have returned from our trip....but stay tuned!