just over a week ago we were rattleling up a logging road, calling km's and trading spots with the local beasts of burden hauling thier plunder down the snowy mountain roads. trucks loaded with timber the main source of the local economy and our gate way to the goods we were after. lush turns on un tracked powder. Greg and I were out to explore a valley niether of us had been into. adventure!

the first skin track was a bush wack through willows up and old skid track 3km to a modern day trapers cabin. from there we pushed farther into the vally, aiming, as the low snow pack and warm weather dictated, to the south aspect slopes. though the day was limited in scale, it was more then made up for in scope. after a couple hours of grunting we emerged from the trees following bob cat tracks to the base of a morrine lake nessled in a saddle between two impresive peaks with a view of our suroundings. there is nothing more rewarding then earning you truns. comming out with a pretty good sence of what is contained in the back end of the valley,both of us wanting to come back when things are safer. strip the skins, slap the split board togeather, dig a pit to confirm what we already suspected, then it was all down hill. carving turns through the trees hooting and laughing. playing it safe, yet so happy just to be there.

I started to look at Reuters Year in Photos.  Wow.

Our friend in the bar down the street has a computer, that he got from his friend, who got it from his brother, who is a policeman.  Apparently, the police station decided that these computers were no good because they were generic (as opposed to say Lenovo, the company that recently bought IBM's personal computer business).  So a bunch of police just took their old generic computers home with them. 

Do you want to know more about Chinese local people, traditional culture, and life?
Do you have to concentrate on your study or work?
If so, Homestay is the best way to do it.

As one of China's leading home-stay providers, Beijing Leeo Homestay Club offers home-stays to overseas students and travelers with high standards of quality, comfort and security. Our goal is to help foreigners to learn more about Chinese culture and custom, and to assist foreigners when they first go to a new place. By staying with families in our club, you will not only get a "home-away-from-home" feeling, but will also have a great opportunity to participate in a unique inter-cultural experience that you just can't obtain from staying in hotels or campus dormitories.

Dear Treehouse,

I find your your site very helpfull when travelling in China, especially the trainscendules, but I miss the trainstation in my city: Linyi. (shandong province) could you add it please,

Thanks in advance,

 Bram van Vught

iHotPot.com is a new service for local English language speakers, enthusiasts, or beginners. Through their FREE service, you will be able to improve your language skills, learn more about the goings-on in Chengdu and receive important local news and events notices.

http://www.ihotpot.com/forum/index.php

Some questions I encountered about Internet Cafes in China

Are all of them running Microsoft?

The Internet Cafes that I've seen in China come in two flavors.  There's the massive acre-sized professionally set up ones where you get a card which you insert into the computer to unlock it, or with a password written on it that they use to track your usage time.  These places will have more than a hundred computers -- sometimes hundreds, and run 24 hours a day.  Then there's the smaller "family owned" kind which are more common on the South East Asia tourist circuit, where there might be between 10 and 50 computers, and they keep track of you based on which computer you were sitting at.

Review of Red Club by mojobboy (5), 2005年12月14日

Red Club is a chilled out place in 1912. Very Chinese and very upincomming in Nanjing, China. Drinks are more on the pricey side which opens the clientle to a more posh environment. Check out this Friday 12/16 for the debut of hip-hopper DJ MoJo with some good tunes, mcing, and beatboxing. Peace.

Review of TWH - Tai Wan Hotel by liyingcho (5), 2005年12月13日

香港台湾酒店是一所具有２０年历史，名誉响遍世界各地，特别是华裔旅客的老字号大型规模持牌宾馆。宾馆坐落在香港九龙半岛最繁荣的市中心－尖沙咀区。各类的游玩景点，购物中心，餐馆酒楼，酒吧舞厅随处可见；机场巴士站，火车站，地铁站，中港码头近在咫尺。四通八达的交通网络，方便旅客直达香港的其他游玩购物点和商业中心。在这里，您可以完全体会到衣食住行的便捷。

Welcome! TWH is the perfect choice for both your business and leisure travel needs. With nearly 100 TWH hostels in China, TWH - Tai Wan Hotel remains the most popular hostel brand.