[This post written by Ty] After a wonderful time in Hong Kong – albeit short – we are headed north to the capital city of Beijing.  The day started a little earlier than it could have.  We thought our plane was a 9am departure  so we headed out at 7 for the airport.  On the way we decided to look at the itinerary and realized that the flight was 12:45 so that gave us time to regroup and catch up at the local Pacific Coffee Company.  If you know me and coffee that was just fine!  Actually it gave Robert a chance to catch up with another friend from his days in Hong Kong, Archie. 

After about a three hour flight we dropped into Beijing and I have to say the most unimaginably foul air quality.  If you watched the Olympics they focused on the quality of air and the health issues but unless you experience this you can not imagine the brown fog that is ever present in this place.  I can’t blame it all on the pollution however.  The nearby Gobi Desert blows sand into the city on a regular basis and this adds to the fun.  You can just imagine a nice morning jog sucking in the sand and pollutants from the factories that are  making all our wonderful toys.  I read that the air quality number for the US to become a hazard for young children and the elderly is 50 micrograms.  On average in Beijing the number is 141!!  As you can image a major problem for the Chinese and the world. 

The highlight of the day was dinner with Jason Wu, our host, at an old rice storage factory turned into a Chinese restaurant.  The food was great and the beer was not too bad either. 

Tomorrow the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.