nights out on the town

last night i went to a tibetan restaurant the guide book suggested. it was ok but i don't think i'm going to hunt down restaurants it recommends anymore if there is something else that looks good right in front of me. i usually don't eat dinner until 9 because i stay at work late and then walk to some district to look around.
last night i got carried away with the silk market. it was on my way to dinner and i didn't think i'd stop in. i thought i'd take a picture and be on my way, i mean, it doesn't look like much. but nooooo, its awesome! i only checked out the silk floor really and dabbled in the jewels. I finally learned how to like negotiating and got some sweet, sweet stuff.
thursday night i finally found the land of consumerism. this was the first time i had seen it in beijing. there were english speakers and foreigners! i had a great time trying on clothes that definitely were not meant for my germanic heritage.
this is the view from the office looking towards the city center. i'm in the central business district, otherwise everything is pretty flat. and it actually looks pretty nice in the picture, usually it seems more smoggy and there is no pretty sunset. frankly, i can't tell the difference between a 'clear' day and a cloudy day. today its cloudy because there was some rain.
this is the view from my desk when i look outside. i get really nervous for a split second because i always think that there's nothing out there except the other building and the white is going to swallow us up
i found another shopping mall last night! i seem to have a fine homing mechanism :)
here's a guard outside an embassy. at first i didn't get why everything was fenced and barb-wired and there were so many guards. i think i'm losing it, must be the air.
more singing and dancing

work and then some

this old man is doing this every morning.
if you look real hard, you can see two games of table tennis and a bunch of people exercising. in all the parks i've been to so far they have these exercise contraptions and people use them! most of them i can't tell how to use but some are like ellipticals.
this is the lobby of the building i work in. i'm on the 27th floor and getting into the elevators is always a close encounter.
here is the entrance to the free park that i walk by every morning.
dinner last night. this cost 1yuan or less than 20cents.
some of the free park at night
another view of the park at night
this is just the street i walk on to get back to the hotel. i go a block out of my way because its not on the main drag with all the cars but is where all the shops are. the store with the red awning is the awesome chinese restaurant i've gone to a few times.
just looking across an intersection.

for your enjoyment

building that was burned up by fireworks on opening day.
best engrish yet
chaoyang park - ride thingamabob

chaoyang park - looking across a waterway
chaoyang park - random crane they left in the middle of the park
chaoyang park - water park
chaoyang park - lake area, there are boat to rent
chaoyang park - this was one of my favorite areas of the park
this one is for mom, since i know she loves streets in disrepair :)
some random empty canal while walking around
view outside my hotel window
main street, surprisingly uncrowded. mind that this shows only about 1/4 of the street
there's the toilet. and the shower! apparently this is the norm in chinese hotels
catching goldfish at chaoyang park. this was probably one of my favorite finds. the park is huge (more pics above) and i had to pay 5 yuan to get in. it also housed the olympic volleyball court, a water park, and amusement area for children (where this pic was taken).