It just hit me that I'm flying to Beijing tomorrow. I bought the tickets, got the visa, talked to Tyler and his friends about everything, but I've been so distracted by other things that the trip didn't seem real until I was packing today.

I fly into Dubai tomorrow night, spend the night in the airport/cave and get a hotel room (or follow Aubergine's advice and explore the city's party scene), then Dubai to Beijing the next morning. I'll be the last to arrive--Tyler's getting there tomorrow, his brother Alex arrives a few hours before me, Ward's already there (he's been dealing with all the Tibet logistics), and the other two get in around the same time as Tyler.

We're taking the train to Tibet on the 7th, spending a couple days in Lhasa, then hiking to Everest base camp. After that, the group might split in two, depending on what people want to do and how much money we want to spend, then we're flying back to Beijing in time for Alex and me to catch flights out on the 25th. I'm glad the trip will start with a couple days on the train--it'll be nice to relax, catch up with Tyler, and watch the world go by.