Executive Summary - Beijing Saw: Temple of Heaven, Night Markets, Forbidden City (including the Gate of Heavenly Peace with a disappointingly small portrait of Mao), Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, Birds Nest & Water Cube at the Olympic Park, Lama Tibetan Buddhist temple, large groups of people singing / ballroom dancing / doing tai chi / playing hacky sack / line dancing / performing gymnastics, the world's coolest bar with what have got to be the most...

Overland Border Crossings (or, how I learned to stop worrying and love bureaucracy) Thus far on my travels I've done 4 overland border crossings South Africa to Swaziland and back to South Africa (hire car) Turkey to Greece (ship/port) Russia to Mongolia (train) Mongolia to China (train) The first two were really no big deal, just involving a flash of the passport, maybe paying some sort of fee, fill out departure & arrival cards, an...