Grand Adventures

I have been having grand adventures. So many so i am afraid we will have to skip ahead to the recent ones.
As you diligent readers all know, i have been sick. no fun. But none the less determined to have fun, i agreed to go with some friends to Tianjin for our 5 day (including weekend) break. So Sarah, John Frankin, Dan, Jen and I all took one of Beijing fantastic new trains on a 30 minute ride to Tianjin, the 3rd biggest port city in China. There we met up with JP Stevenson and our new found Austrian friend Max. Upon arrival, both Jen and I realized that we had forgotten our passports! At first the group tried to check into the only hostel in the area, which had said the night before that it had 10 free beds, and found that they now only had 4. For a group of 8, this was not so great.But four hotels later we found a suitable arrangment. Not having a Visa means you cant legally stay anywhere in a City, and you especially cant purchase a room in a hotel. So 6 friends purchased 3 bedrooms with twin beds, and brought everyones things up to the rooms while Jen and I sat in the lobby. We went on to have dinner and explore the Gulou, or culture street, which, it turns out, was built around 1995 and was purly a venders market decorated to look traditional. I bought a hat, its an awesome hat, ill post a picture of it. Later on we went back and I bought a candy dragon, and AWESOME andy dragon. Again ill post a picture. That night Jen and i snuck in with the group when the night shift came in. It was like playing robin hood or being a fugitive. The next day was a little hectic. JP and Max woke us up early and we all went to see a temple, but it was under construction, and then we tried to go to a museaum, but it was closed. with reason (China doesnt ned reasons to do what it does apparently) But we did stumble upon a tiny Church hidden down a back ally which was a fantastic find! Religion in China is so very interesting and controversial. Later JP max and I went out for lunch, got lost, wondered around, booked a new hotel for the night after being turned away from the hostal AGAIN, and went exploring. Everyone but Sarah, Max, JP and I went back to Beijing and our small group went to find dinner. On our fruitless attempt to find culture we stumbled upon an Italian fetival in the old Austrian quarters o Tianjin. We ordered pizza spagetti and wine and settled in under the canopy of ivy to watch the preformences...which turned out to be kareoke, soprano sax, American pop music, Chinese pop music, and some horribly played Motzart. But all in all it was a good night.
Conclusion. China has too much paperwork. China has whitewashed and re-written its culture to the point where even its people do know what real history is.
A.