DATELINE: Xi'an, China 

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Author: Lauren Cohen

It's 11pm here and I'm eating spicy grilled corn on a stick and watching an outdoor karaoke party in front of the Bell Tower. Sounds great, but then again, it's 90 degrees, oppressively humid, and I'm dripping with sweat. Shanghai was sweltering, and Beijing was brutal, but daytime in Xi'an might do me in.

DATELINE: Beijing, China 

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Author: Lauren Cohen

Here I am at the Beijing airport awaiting my flight to Xi'an. I didn't expect to be flying so much, but apparently train tickets are impossible to book. The sleeper seats sell out a week in advance, and I'm not anywhere a week in advance of anything. None of the long-distance ticketing services have turned out to be reliable. Ah well - still haven't given up hope. I don't know what it is that I find so enticing about long-distance train travel, but I know it's something I'd choose to do if given the opportunity. Trying to make the best (read: most fun) of my traveling circumstances, I searched in vain for a bar in the Beijing airport. Ended up buying a beer from a vending machine. China can be a strange place.