The municipal government has dedicated the 11th of each month as queuing day. It is an attempt to improve etiquette in before the Olympics in 2008. Below is an article from the China Daily with more information.
We stayed in Bangkok for two nights downtown on the Chao Praya River. We stayed at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. It was really a very nice hotel with a great spa and restaurants that you could eat inside or outside next to the River. The hotel was even nice enough to upgrade us to a small suite.
Definitely a different feel than Phuket. Bangkok is a busy bustling city with tuk-tuks, (little open air, roofed, 3-wheel motorcycles with a bench for 3 passengers); river boats of all sizes; taxis; tour buses, etc. We took regular old taxis everywhere as it was a humid 95 degrees. Can't imagine what summer might be like.............
BF had heard from other expats that stainless steel dinnerware was a great deal in Thailand. We decided to go to two large markets to look at this and any other unique items. We visited one market in the evening (Patpong night market). The market was next to a Muy Thai boxing ring (you could hear the noise coming from the tent). There were all sorts of eating establishments, shops, a large ferris wheel, a live performance stage, etc. All the Beijing shopping was good preparation for us (including knowing when to get out of a taxi when you are about to get ripped off).
On Saturday morning we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market is 35 acres and has over 15,000 stores (stalls). We found a really nice cutlery store after a couple of hours of wandering. We thought the Dirt Market in Beijing was large. This was even bigger and it was overwhelming at times. 
Thailand has really been great. The first two days were sunny in the morning and then without fail it would rain in the early afternoon. Fortunately, we were eating at a quaint Thai restaurant on the beach near the hotel each time. Then it would clear up for us to go on the beach again. 
We are sitting on a beach right in front of a little make shift bar which serves topical drinks and we can play games like Jenga. 
Even though we have an umbrella on the beach, without fail the sun is finding skin which we either missed with the SPF 55 or the water has washed away. I hate having the tops of my feet burned but that is what has happened (makes for tough walking with shoes). The sun has found exposed spots on AF and BF like on the face or shoulders. One place that I have a hard time with is on top of my bald head. So AF bought me a "rag" for my head. Hopefully today we will do a better job of screening the sun.
We left for Thailand the morning of New Year's Eve (Feb 17). The roads in Beijing were empty early in the morning with the exception near the airport on the airport expressway. We went through the usual angst of getting boarding passes, all the forms, passport control, security, etc. The flight from Beijing to Bangkok is a little over 5 hours.
Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year for the Chinese. It is a big family celebration in which people make every attempt to go home to celebrate with their parents and family. It is a difficult time for the transportation industry especially the rail system. This is the only time that the migrant workers get to go home and they wait in long lines to try and get a train ticket home. They are not always successful in getting a ticket even after waiting in lines that could take 1-2 days.
Fireworks can be heard near our apartment building for the last month. The last couple of days have been more intense. Fireworks just recently went on sale in the city and were legal to light within the 5th ring road.
The New Year is also called the Spring Festival. This is the time when spring officially begins according to the lunar calendar. It has actually been warm weather the last couple of weeks. We had a day where it got to 16C. 
President Hu extends Spring Festival greetings:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/17/content_811566.htm
On Friday, AF got word from St. Andrews that she has an unconditional offer to attend school . This has been her number one choice but still needs to contemplate her choices. Needless to say she was in a good mood over the weekend and was soliciting advice. Choices, choices, choices (at least there are good ones) . . . . . . . . .
I had another opportunity to go skiing in China on Saturday. I went with co-workers to a resort called Nanshan. It is one of the closer resorts to Beijing (less than an hour from Shunyi suburbs where many expats live in housing compounds).
Nanshan had an advanced slope, a tethered hang glider ride, and an alpine slide. The runs were shorter than the previous resort I went to. They also had a nice deck to eat meat on a stick and beer. They had chicken liver, squid, chicken legs, beef, etc that were barbecued with a nice spicy dry rub.
The snow was very fast and icy at 8:30 but it loosened up with sun beating down on it. The lines were shorter than normal even after lunch. We are speculating that it is due to the Chinese New Year which starts next week. To ski and rent equipment it costs 190RMB (roughly $25). Not bad. This is a great place to teach kids to ski at a very reasonable price.
BF has been scouring the art scene in Beijing with some knowledgeable expats. She has been to several. She has been making some purchases along the way. The art is so varied and finding something that she truly likes has been a little difficult. She is making good headway.
Last weekend we went with another expat couple to a community center that had three artists featured. The exhibit was scouted out the previous day and it was time to make some purchase decisions. The genre of art was called folk art. There was an artist who created block prints with a Cultural Revolution theme, a colored folk painting artist named Wang Xingke, and a paper cutting artist. 
We bought a framed watercolor folk painting and a block print on Sunday. BF went back on Thursday to get a collectible book from Wang Xingke and one more art piece. HE is from a small village from the Shaanxi province. We visited there in the Fall to see the Terracotta soldiers in Xi'an.
Some say we are creatures of habit, some more than others. Some of seem to have developed a certain rhythm or ritual on the weekends when everyone is in town (no market research trips across China or folks travelling back to the US).
It begins with Friday evenings going to a Belgian restaurant which seems to have the best steaks in the city. Often we actually opt for the Beef Stew with french fries and and endive salad. They know us well enough that we seem to get complimentary after dinner drinks out of nowhere. We then will either proceed to a bar, shopping at a market for DVDs or better yet the Foot Massage.
The foot massage is another great social experience. It is a good place to talk and drink (tea or beer) . The actual foot massage is not as I thought it would be. It begins with dipping your feet into a scalding concoction of who knows what type of herbs. Some of us require more cold water to be added to the bucket. Regardless our feet come out more tender and a nice shade of pink. Next the young rural migrant girls begin to "massage" your feet. Part of the massage entails "knuckling" the bottom arches of your feet with great pain. The girls like to see the expression on your face to determine if they are doing it hard enough. The 110 minute experience also includes a massage of each of your legs up to your hip (which is highly ticklish to some) and then a shoulder massage.
On Saturday's it seems that there are two activities to choose from. One is shopping and the other for now is snow skiing. Take your pick.......................
Then on Sundays for lunch we go to an all you can eat Japanese restaurant for $13. We gorge on sashimi, sushi, California rolls, a special fried rice dish, etc. Then it is off to wherever to complete the weekend.
One of the current hot debates in Beijing is the Starbuck's at the Forbidden City. This has been going on for some time. Here is a synopsis from the People's Daily.
Debate: Should Starbucks be removed from the Forbidden City?
"Why Starbucks Needs to Get Out of the Forbidden City? was title of a blog article written by Rui Chenggang, an anchorman on CCTV's English channel. The article has sparked another round of hot debate on whether the American coffee chain should be removed from one of the most important landmarks of Chinese civilization.
Anchorman: this is trampling on Chinese culture
Perhaps it is acceptable to have a Starbucks outlet near the Forbidden City, Rui wrote in his article, but it is obscene to have it within the City where it will be remembered by visitors as part of this historic Chinese site.
He argues that the coffee shop, a symbol of popular culture in America and western countries as a whole, doesn't blend in at the Forbidden City. He goes so far as to call it "visual pollution?
"It is not globalizing; it is trampling on Chinese culture", he said.
His blog recorded 530,000 hits and comments have flooded the Web. Many have called the outlet a "disgrace" and the Palace Museum, the administrative organ of the Forbidden City, a "slave to money", according to Tuesday's China Daily.
Museum spokesman: we will stick to principles of conservation
The Museum's spokesman Feng Nai'en responded to the accusation in an interview with the Beijing Morning Post. He said that the museum was in discussions with Starbucks to find a proper solution, with the outcome to be decided by mid-year at the very latest.
Rent money from the coffee chain, as from other shops, is part of the museum's business earnings, said Feng, adding that when the commercial benefits clash with conservation the museum gives priority to the latter.
As early as 2005, the museum began to reconsider the layout and appearance of shops within the Forbidden City, wanting them to blend in better with the surroundings, Feng told the reporter.
Liu Rong, director of the Department of Policies, Laws and Regulations under the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said in an interview that certain commercial operation were permitted by cultural relic organizations as they must also cater to tourists. However, priority must given to the proper preservation of cultural relics, including the overall image of each site.
Media: unwise to become slave to profit
Magnificent and imposing, the Forbidden City is a manifestation of traditional Chinese culture at its peak, and a Starbucks outlet from across the Pacific looks simply out of place there, wrote Lin Jinfang, a teacher from Jiangxi University, in an article published by Beijing Youth Daily, on January 17.
Another article on Xinhua Net voiced the opinion that the Forbidden City, as one of the most vivid symbols of the thousands of years of Chinese culture, should not be so insulted, especially not for the sake of making money.
On the same day, however, Beijing Youth Daily ran another article by Zhu Shugu, in which a civil servant from Sichuan argued that tourist facilities and cultural relics should not be lumped together. But, he said, "if we remove all tourist facilities related to western culture for the sake of 'original flavor' then we would certainly have to expel more than Starbucks."
Net voices: looking forward to an intact, harmonious Forbidden City
Most netizens who posted their comments were against commercial facilities in the Forbidden City.
A netizen calling himself JS wrote: "The picture of the Starbucks in the Forbidden City looks really awkward. There can be cultural exchanges. But blending everything together so crudely will only change the original 'flavor.'
Another netizen wrote that "we hope cultural relics will not be confused with business opportunities."
Liuqiu Luwei, a noted anchorwoman with Hong Kong's Phoenix TV, also waded into the debate, voicing her opinion on her blog. Both Chinese and foreign nationals hope for a harmonious, beautiful and intact Forbidden City, rather than a place distorted by commercial boards or shops, she said.
"But who should be the one to ensure that? " she asked. "Even if Starbucks is pressured to relocate, something else inappropriate may appear."
By People's Daily Online
Being in a foreign country you are faced with things that just seem to be strange or just simply odd from our perspectives. There are some really good stories that come out of China that I will share with you occasionally. Our daily English language paper (actual newspaper that I get in the morning and read on the way to work) has a section called "China Scene" that has great local obscure stories.
Sometimes stories end up in the international news services too. The one below is from Reuters:
Chinese Airline Fined for Selling 13 Cent Tickets
Monday , December 18, 2006
Reuters
BEIJING — Chinese authorities have fined a low-cost airline almost $20,000 for selling tickets for 13 U.S. cents in a promotion, saying they broke national pricing rules, a newspaper said on Monday.
Spring Airlines, set up last year by travel agent China Spring International, sold more than 400 tickets on a new route between Shanghai and the northern city of Jinan for just 1 yuan ($0.13), the Beijing Times said.
But that went against a 2004 rule — designed to help carriers' bottom lines after a vicious price war — that the maximum discount an airline can offer is 45 percent off a government-set base price, the report added.
A standard one-way ticket between Shanghai and Jinan costs 760 yuan ($97.10), excluding tax and fuel surcharge.
The Jinan government said it would fine Spring Airlines' local travel agent branch 150,000 yuan ($19,160) as a punishment, though the company denies wrongdoing and will appeal, the newspaper said.
The case underscores the difficulty facing Chinese low-cost airlines, which are trying to model themselves on the likes of Ireland's Ryanair in bringing cheap no-frills travel to the world's most populous nation.
China's airline industry is dominated by three main state-run carriers, with which a clutch of low-cost airlines are trying to compete. ($1=7.827 Yuan)
Then there are stories that we encounter in our everyday life. Here is an interesting sign in the suburbs of Beijing:
