Posted: 2009-07-09 11:22 AM
Hi Ralph,
my congrats on winning the PoM award in a very hard competition! Hat sich das verregnete Wochenende doch gelohnt! ;-) It's the month of great talented friends: you, Eire, Tony, Geri.
I like your pic very much -
liebe Gruesse - Petra
Posted: 2009-06-23 03:23 AM
Ralph,
Thank you for your note! Thailand was AMAZING! I would go back in a heartbeat! We went up from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by car and then did the hiking trek up around Mae Hong Son. As beautiful as the ruins were, I think I liked the North the best. The mountains were just glorious!
I enjoyed the pics you posted today! I remember my Mother telling me as a child that some people were ocean people and some people were mountain people. As much as I love to dive, I literally feel my soul lift when I am driving up to the Sierras!
Posted: 2009-06-22 06:36 PM
Ach, ihr Armen! Man glaubt es nicht, wenn man dieses strahlende Photo sieht. Das mit den Mittsommerfeuern muss bei gutem Wetter ein umwerfendes Erlebnis sein. Hoffe, ihr kommt ohne Erkältung davon! ;-)
Liebe Grüße - Petra
Petra says that you are currently in Beijing. I was wondering if you were in a position to provide any news on the trips to the Great Wall. I am hearing that there is a new train service running from the Beijing North Station to Badaling, and that this part of the Wall is open from 06:30 a.m. I wanted to go to Simatai and trek towards Jinshanling, but I am hearing reports that sections of the wall are closed (after tower 12 from Simatai). I would be interested to go as early as possible, right at the time of opening... I am thinking of doing two trips - one to Badaling, and another somewhere else, perhaps Mutianyu or Simatai, if the latter is not closed.
If I use two days for the Wall, I will have a day for Beijing and I am not sure this would be enough... Of course, I will have the evenings when I come back from the Wall, and an early morning on the day of my departure to Frankfurt (10:30 am flight).
