final day -- panda bears and ipods

zoos should be happy places. sadly, beijing's zoo was not. its cement walls and bare floors housed lonely, shivering animals from worldwide, animals longing to be set free from their cold prison. nevertheless, the panda bears were endearing... one even danced for us (see picture); another climbed up one side of a slide and down the other (i guess no one taught him how to use it properly).

we also came upon some frozen looking monkeys (the weather was rainy and chilly), an elegant camel and some other marvelous creatures like giraffes, zebras, and elephants.

the day concluded with our visiting a local market, where we happened upon some wicked deals. trent and i scored some sweet snowboarding gear (SPYDER-brand snowpants/jackets, gortex gloves and goggles -- all for under $150 CDN), a ping-pong paddle for trenton, an IPOD nano for Emily ($30 CDN!) and some Abercrombie and Finch shirts...

China's the place to shop if you're in the neighbourhood. we're now semi-regretting buying our camera in Japan :(

thus concludes the official agenda of our beijing trip... tomorrow we'll be wandering the city solo (without a tour guide); Saturday it's back to Wonju to plan our lessons. thanks for accompanying us on this journey. we hope you enjoyed the experience! with all of our love...