a day later

one black-out sleep, a class, some rice and six bananas later, to be more precise.
still a bit fuzzy but on the road to normality and in a fit of sporadic grins.
flashbacks of one peculiar set of memories from a mix 'n flurry of activity in china's capital - they got me giggling.
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some highlights:

day one / meet up with chris-dribble at baiyun / coffee and chat / board plane / take off / 'take off your pants and jacket' paired with some mindless doodling / landing / cab ride / arrive at leo /

leo hostel. mad quaint. little place with a 24hr bar and an inside courtyard type-deal; sunroof and water feature. like i said, mad quaint. instantly at ease, i slip into holiday-mode. felt a bit like misplacing my favourite sunglasses only to find them chilling smugly on my noggin. finally, a breather.

reunite with maggie and miss priss / prattle on and on and on / faff / finally suanter to bar / drink / drink / burger / meet bing !

bing: what a treat. used to work with chris-dribble and so kindly offered to treat us to some real beijing, acting as tour guide, translator and new friend.

off to tian'anmen square / packed to the brim with people / too many / too much / photobomb escapade with miss priss / more drink / a long awaited tequila (.heaven.yoh.) / bottle of red / peking duck ( yum ) / back to leo / sweet sleep.

day two / wake up / caffeine / meet with bing and driver / hour of driving and chats / breakfast / fragrant hills / 

fragrant hills: despite the shattered serenity and the surplus of faces, there was something so peaceful about this place. walked up flights of stairs to the garden, finding the most enchanting little temples, each one with a different buddha. a 'no photos' rule ensures that the tiny buildings are kept as sacred as can be amongst an ocean of people; who are all looking to say a little prayer and wonder at the marvelous structures. fragrant hills, masked by incense and permeated with wishes for good fortune and good times. replenished with untried perspective and renewed hope ! hooray !

'let's climb to the top' / begin climb / fuckin smoker's lungs / wheeze for the first 20 minutes / halfway-point break / suck it up and endure / stop wheezing / start embracing / higher and higher / practice some mandarin by counting steps in chinese / reach 'yi-bai-lieu', get bored / just walk / the top ! / 

finally reaching the destination, feeling rejuvinated, i cast my eyes down to see the wondrous view of the mountain i had just made my bitch. looking over, i spied the majestic and vast view of beijing's finest smog. what a pity. i do miss fresh air.

hour in a queue / cable seat to the bottom / sneak a smoke / share some offensive jokes with chris-dribble / rush back to car / race bing to train station / back to leo / another night out / meet an australian fellow - jezza / sit at tiny bar / smoke a hookah / play some kings / back to leo / crash-sleep. 

day three / wake up / grab some bananas and bread / meet tour guide and rest of group / nap on bus / arrive at the great wall / 

the great wall: is really great. after daring to face countless steps again and finally being of sound mind, in a place not polluted with people, i finally started to take it in. the wall mostly had me thinking about how often english speakers misuse the word 'great'. 

take a seat on the edge of this treacherous and beautiful wall. tune out and just stare on for a second. start to grow smaller and smaller. look around and suddenly find that you're merely a gnat, hovering about without intent and without a clue. finally finding something so massive, with such an undeniable presence, makes you feel like a microscopic ignoramus. in the finest way. that feeling is truly just - greatness.

run back down the wall /  begrudgingly head back to bus / nap on bus / back to leo / take a breather / another night out / meet london-girl / meet up with jezza / smoke a hookah / tell some stories / drinkdrinkdrink / meet a chinese fellow and some swedes / 'follow us to a club called "fubar"' / get in taxi / arrive at not-fubar /  go in anyway / commence jamming and vigorous alcohol intake / end up on stage to boogie with somerandoms and maggie / catch bubbles on my tongue / more drink / more dance / more drnik / mroe dnace / mroema dinrk / dmoaar dansnsa / maeokmklsmdalksmf...

hop into cab / free chinese lesson from driver / forget everything instantaneously / back to leo / pass out / alarm an hour later / sleep on / prodded awake by chris-dribble / late late late / back to airport / a day full of wretched transportation to paradise-bed.

and here i sit. with too many stories and too little space. no time and no patience to say much more. words don't cover it. only your mind will ever really know, you know? 

like i said before, a camera would come in handy.

words just too blah.