musings by tyler o'neil

This weekend we decided to take a short road trip to Belgium. We were able to stay at Elgin’s friends’ house and, through the course of the weekend, we got to see some beautiful portions of the country.

Our first day we traveled to Gent to see Gentse Feesten. Although we weren’t entirely sure of what they were celebrating (it has something to do with nooses, the Spanish, etc.) we did understand the medium of celebration: music and beer.

Our canal boat ride was a perfect illustration of the festival. For six Euros we got a 40-minute boat ride past beautiful castles and a live concert. Oh, and each ticket came with a complimentary beer.

The next day we drove an hour to one of the closer beaches. Once the sun finally emerged from the clouds it turned into a lovely day full of Frisbee and swimming.

Here are a few of the images I took while in Belgium.

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For a mere 50 RMB you can take the express route down the Mutianyu portion of the Great Wall of China. At times Katie and I were clipping along at 30 miles an hour down the mountain on wheeled toboggans.

Katie and I only had four days in Beijing, but in that time we saw so much! Here is a little photo tour of our adventure.

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I would come back just for the Great Wall.

Well, Katie and I are in the Beijing airport, waiting to begin our journey westward to Amsterdam.

After nearly two months of work and play I’m leaving China, and I’m not very sad about it. That’s not to say I won’t miss it, or that I didn’t have fun. I will and I did. Instead I’m excited to start this next leg of my epic summer. I’m hours away from meeting up with my buddy Elgin. I’m going to get another passport stamp. Holland has so many great things to offer, not the least of which is cold, dark beer.

And, perhaps most importantly, I’ve become addicted to China and she will not be able to keep me away.

So, with the Chinese Internet spy bots looking over my shoulder (fyi, I had to scan my passport to gain access to the wifi…) I declare I will return. I can’t wait for my next amazing adventure in China.

People always talk about the bathrooms on Chinese trains and how they are just holes in the floor; they transform pooping into an adrenaline-filled adventure with your checks hovering a few feet above the tracks as you fly by at 100 kph. I thought it was a myth…

Our sleeper train from Nanjing to Beijing was an experience in every sense of the word, but it’s only part of the major adventure I’ve experienced over the last few days.
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The Great Firewall has caused a number of problems for me in the last few weeks, but I got a taste of home-borne internet problems today when Drake’s notoriously problematic blueView decided to spaz out.

It's just like I'm back in Des Moines...