China Chillin

By far, the greatest thing about my travels in Asia has been the fact that at almost each destination, I have been able to visit a good friend (USF took Asia by storm). From Mikey in Thailand, to Freddy in the Philippines, and now Jon in Beijing....we have been so lucky to actually have a personal, friendly, and knowledgeable Homey to chaperon us in each foreign land.
The upmost positives come from this scenario: (to name a few)
1. We get to see a good friend and actually experience how they're living day to day.
2. We skip the "figuring out how s*@t works in this country" stage, which typically saves a lot of time and stress.
3. We get thrown into the local scene and are thus easily able to escape the sometimes inevitable tourist traps.
4. And best of all, we have been enabled to meet amazing people and do incredible things through the relationships that our friends have already established. In Thailand, it was barbecuing fish in the neighbor's backyard while drinking rice whiskey with a monk (on hiatus). In China, it was sitting at a street side table and being served a complimentary more-than-you-can-possibly-eat/drink-meal from 5 of the restaurant owners that lined the block. Jon has strong and trustworthy relationships with each of the local small business operators and their families and thus we instantly became friends too. No questions asked.

Jon Boy sitting at a table in his good friend's (extremely delicious) restaurant. Make sure to try the "2pac's beef."

Here's the man himself, "Lao Bon" which apparently means "Boss" in Mandarin







Jon took us out for duck which was really appreciated because it was DANK!
Alix is trying to copy my photo style.



Jon's roommate Dave is on the left. He is the man. In the next post about the Great Wall you will see and hear why.




Jon then took us to a large lake that was surrounded by nightlife and odd shops.

In Korea, the ultimate whip is the Hello Kitty scooter. In China, it was this beast.

D.....Coors Light was in full effect in Beijing.