Halfway Across the World - Sep 25th

I guess I should have seen it coming, but I had to laugh as soon as we stepped out of the tunnel from the airplane to the terminal. The very first thing I saw upon arrival in Beijing was a Starbucks. You have to give it up for them, Starbucks really is everywhere. It’s also worth noting there was at least one McDonald’s in the Beijing airport, which I had to pose in front of, naturally.

Cheesin' at Mickey D's in Beijing

There was also beer in the vending machines at the airport, which made me ask Shirley how that could be, which led to my discovery that there is no drinking age in China. That sort of makes turning 21 not such a big deal in China, I'd imagine.

I had my first Chinese meal at the airport in Beijing. I know how that sounds, but c'mon, the restaurant has a Bruce Lee theme so it was the real deal right?

I ordered the dumplings and pork riblets, something I've had at Heavenly and I know I like. After being in a plane for that long, then having to catch yet another plane, I just wanted something familiar. The dumplings were filled with chicken and quite good, and the riblets were tender and tasty. Obviously, I prefer ours at Heavenly, but this was pretty good airport food! Hey, at least I didn't cave in at McDonald's.

Landed in Lanzhou

After a very long day of travel, we finally reached our hotel in downtown Lanzhou City. Everything went well, save for scaring a couple kids at the Lanzhou City airport when they witnessed their first American man. The last thing one of those kids expected to see when he came out of the bathroom was a 6’2 blond-haired, bearded man from the U.S.A. heading his way. Poor kid actually ran back IN to the bathroom just to find his dad to protect him from me.

Communism had a message for me when I arrived: "Never forget the origin of the purpose, always remember the mission"

I haven't had much of a chance to see China yet. We've been living in airports the past day and a half (if you count the 13-hour time difference). I'm very excited to see Lanzhou City tomorrow in the daylight and after a restful night.