Butts, Bellies, & Backpacks

A few interesting little observations:

1) Diapers don't appear to exist in Beijing. If a baby is wearing pants at all, they're wearing chaps--with nothing underneath. This isn't an homage to Western style, babies are just potty-trained from such an early age that they skip the whole diaper thing. According to our friend who lives here and has two babies, the missing material allows a baby and his/her parents to focus on their bits constantly, so they can learn to control their bathroom maneuvers. I wonder what Freud would have to say about that. The downside is that the children tend to pop a squat wherever they feel like it, which can be right in front of you on the sidewalk.

2) Chinese men have a funny habit of pulling their shirts up, exposing their bellies, when it heats up outside. Just sort of funny seeing little pot-bellies poking out everywhere in the middle of the city.

3) Jessica and I have gotten a couple of flattering comments from other travellers we've run into to the effect that we are the lightest packers they've ever seen. Interestingly, each of us thinks we would feel comfortable with even less, especially if we hadn't climbed Mt. Fuji, which had such low temperatures, requiring us to pack winter gear. Our quick-dry gear is so great that we can see how one outfit would be sufficient. In fact, Jessica only has one pair of pants/shorts.