ANOTHER JOURNEY WILL SOON COME..........

Yes!! The third personal journey to China (possibly my last!) is set at the break of Christmas Day 2008 and this could well be a very personal journey indeed.

But....before that happens, eve of Christmas will be at Prince of Wales 8pm to catch Etc. for another exciting "live" electric gig with ex-Etc. band members joining in! Potentially a wrecking ball of a time! I gotten meself a Santa hat for the occasion right up to getting on the plane to Beijing after that!

This time round, the trip plan very vague, many pieces and pockets of time not filled with anything! Inland flights? No idea, will do it upon arrival at Beijing Capital Airport probably. Only fixed up a Great Wall trek on 27 Dec (Sat), about 10km around Huairou County. The only thing set was the hostel on Nanluoguxiang Street hutong area. A small homely place which I had high hopes that I will enjoy it very very much! Will bicycle around probably (in zero to 3 degrees Celsisus? Nutz!). Will complete the standard touristy places around Central Beijing for a day or a day and a half at most, if possible squeeze in a half-day snowboarding trip in a nearby man-made snow resort, possibly by then no longer man-made but flushed with real falling snow!

Thereafter heading to Xi-an, via train or flight, for the Terracotta Warriors, Mount Huashan (balls-dropping wooden-plank walk! In winter cold too!), the Muslim Quarters, starting point of the Old Silk Route and meet a very special person (in my own assessment) before heading to Chengdu hoping to meet a little baby girl who could yet be my biggest lesson about life and the living. Also will head out to Renshou to visit 2 friends from the March trip earlier this year. The rest of the 2-week journey I will make up as I go because there is no other big ticket items I yearn to see in the Middle Kingdom. Possibly a short trip into Inner Mongolia, weather permitting and also pending availability of tour groups.

Haven't do any packing as yet with just 2 days left to go, then again making things up along the way is the essence of any journey. It still amazes me how things almost always fall into its places......eventually! That I have no doubt.