August 28, 2009 – Day 246 – Beijing, China

A typical day in Beijing consists of copious amounts of smog so thick it looks like you can slice the air with a smooth karate chop. Today was an inordinantly lucky day for us: the sun was shining! Since Lin was feeling a bit better from an attack of yak flu, we spent the day between 3 very lovely parks (Bei Hai, Zhongshan and the last one we can’t remember the name).

Looking down upon the Forbidden City

It was a long, tiring day as you can certainly imagine—going from park bench to bench, sipping cool drinks in the shade, leaning over the railing gazing into the lake, you know, a plain ol’ tough day.

Lilly in the pond

In the park

By the time we returned “home” late in the afternoon, we were so spent we could do little more than enjoy an American-sized meal (a rarity in China!) and a delicious pint. Ahh, the days we live in…

Disclaimer: Don’t panic! There is no such thing as “Yak flu” (we are pretty sure). But just in case there is, you should be sure to fully sanitize any Yaks in your immediate area. While not fully tested, washing the Yak in Herbal Essence shampoo seems to work well while also giving it the “fresh from the salon” look.