The Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace is a structure of building located in the center of Beijing, last serving in its role as the center of the Chinese empire in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Amongst traffic jammed streets and smog as thick as gravy, I sat sulking in the back of a crammed Honda Civic stuck on the interstate. My own excitement, that each new destination usually brings, had also evaporated into a thick haze: I was not happy.

In reference to my previous post, the winners have been announced for the Travvies, the best travel blogs on the web.

Ok, so this post is either going to be very well received, or I’m going to get in some serious trouble. Those who know me, know I speak a lot about community, connectedness and getting people together—true? Since I’m thousands of miles away from some of you (and right next door to others), in the name of connectedness, I am going to try something. With the launch of this website, I’ve been getting a lot of emails with updates on the whereabouts of friends new and old. It has been really fun to hear where people are at. And I figure, since we’re all friends—the common characteristic being that you’ve all put up with my stories then and again—I’ll help you all keep track of each other. So, below is a brief summary on the whereabouts of many of you who have sent me any substantial update, I hope I got everyone.