Finalizing Plans




I finalized details for my trip today. I will be flying out on May 31, 2008, and returning on August 30, 2008. It's a 12.5 hour flight, and fortunately I can fly non-stop from Chicago to Beijing. I found out I'll be staying near Tiananmen Square, which is very close to the Forbidden City, in central Beijing (see map above!) Fun fact: China is a 12 hour time difference from Chicago, so my return flight leaves Beijing at 4pm on August 30 and arrives in Chicago at 4pm on August 30!

I met my friend Garnett for drinks/appetizers today at the Hard Rock Hotel, after which we went down to Borders. I picked up two guidebooks to Beijing, Eyewitness Travel's Beijing and Shanghai, and Eyewitness Travel's Top 10 Beijing.  

Yesterday, I contacted Verizon and found that my phone will work in Beijing, although the rates are $1.29 per minute, 50 cents to send a text message, and 5 cents to receive one. I think I'll stick to email and blogging for the most part.

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