11MAR07 On the Train to Lhasa and A's Birthday!
Kevin dropped us off to catch the T27 at the Beijing West Station just be 20:30, and he and Dee even remembered my Birthday and managed to sneak a HUGE cake onboard (which we shared with the dining car staff to engraciate ourselves to them!!).

And of course the Birthday Boy! What a great way to spend my Birthday!
See you in Lhasa in two days.

11MAR07 Forbidden City Beijing
We arrived safely to our hotel Saturday night, The Taiwan Hotel, located conveniently 10 minutes walk from Tia'namen Square and the Forbidden City. The weather was clear and sunny and my friend Kevin Wang (Wang Ting) from CITS met us after breakfast to give us a spin around the city to see the sights and taste some Beijing Dumplings!

And of course no visit to the Forbidden City is complete without a stop at one of the world's most controversial coffee shops! Starbuck's China Store No.4
Here's a link to an article from the International Herald Tribune with the background and how a Chinese Blog prompted the the debate and started an online campaign to rid the Forbidden City of Starbucks: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/18/bloomberg/bxstarbucks.php
The Starbuck's shop is located along paths that for centuries were off limits to anyone but emperors, concubines, eunuchs and court guards, and has drawn stares (as well as purchases) from many of the 1.6 million foreign visitors to the World Heritage Site each year.
Despite lowering its profile with the removal of its trademark signboards, the Starbucks faces stronger opposition than ever recently. The trigger was a blog entry posted in January by Rui Chenggang, a TV anchorman, who called for a web campaign against the outlet that he said "tramples over Chinese culture".
According to local media, half a million people have signed his online petition and dozens of newspapers have carried big stories about the controversy.