caravan:hills vs mansion:slums

The Huling charity is supported by Intrepid + is a community for people with mental & learning disabilities. Disabled people over here get a very raw deal as they recieve very little assistance or recognition form the authorites (although with the paralympics being over here in a couple of years that will hopefully change). Had lunch & learnt some calligraphy. This was followed by a rickshaw ride which took us through a couple of Hutongs......

Hutong:
Passageway where people live
Mesh of narrow lanes that thread across the city
err......'A disappearing glimpse of a time past'
umm......'The beating heart of a city who's soul is being ripped apart by corporate and political menace'
...........
...........Is slum too harsh a word.....?

Also learnt that I was born in the year of the Dog & Ali is year of the Pig......I dont need to add anything to that......do I?........