I'm going, going, back, back, to China, China!

Ok, maybe a Biggy Smalls verse wasn't in order here but that's all I could think of and I'm so damn excited I feel like I could rap about it. So I booked my tickets today for a trip back to the motherland...ok fine, it aint my motherland but I can't help it if I'm an ethnically confused caucasian (just kidding).

But in any case, I loved my first trip to China...best summer of my life...so I'm hoping this one, although shorter, will be just as fun.

I can't wait to get my hands on some naihuangbao:



Or some Beijing-style Huoguo (Hotpot - lit. "Fire pot"):



You have no idea how good this stuff is until you've actually eaten it in China!

So here's my tentative itinerary:

June 19th - Depart for PEK out of Newark
June 20th - Arrive (jet lagged) in Beijing
June 21st - Winston's Wedding!!!
June 22nd - 26th - Chilling, eating, drinking and partying in Beijing (maybe a little work too).
June 26th (evening) - Depart for Shanghai (train of course!)
June 27th - July 1st - Chilling, eating drinking and partying in Shanghai (maybe a little work too).
July 1st (evening) - Head back to Beijing
July 2nd - July 3rd - Eat and buy as many bootlegged DVD's as I possibly can!
July 3rd - Homeward bound!

And since Beijing is 12 hours ahead of New York, I'll leave at Noon on the 3rd (China time) and arrive at 1:30 PM on the 3rd (Eastern time)! Just in the time for the 4th of July the following day - who's better than me?

I hope my Chinese is still up to par - haven't had much opportunity to practice here in the States. It's a damn shame too, I studied it hardcore for 2 years and spent 3 months in China studying it every single day. So if anybody reading this wants to help me get my game back, please drop me a line in the comments.