I simply miss China. Even without the olympics, I think I would have still fallen head-over-heels with it. Getting back to Beijing is enough...

I miss its hutongs and lively streets...

I miss the sea of faces... a billion and a half of humanity...

I miss street culture and the beat of China's youth...

I miss its mad rush to modernity and its priceless heritage...

I miss seeing nostalgia creep in like yesterday's papers...

I miss its daring contrasts...

I miss its love affair with its poetic past, its aching history...

I miss the vulgarity of its authority...

And I miss the rhum ice cream in this cafe! Yum!

I have almost a million photos of China awaiting to be uploaded, so it will be a hundred years of posts like this!