May 27, Beijing: Just Say No

We woke up in the morning a little late and a little, ahem, in pain, from the previous night. We hung around the hostel for a bit in the morning, and Alex and Chris headed off for an ATM. I stuck around on the streets near our hostel and checked out the music shops. I played a few guitars - jamming with a couple locals - and then headed back. I was waiting for Chris and Alex to come back and started to play a guitar in the hostel. One of the small children of the hostel workers - a little girl of no more than 2 - was in the lobby and came up and stood next to me and grinned broadly while I played a few songs until they came back.

Subway, then Subway: We headed down to the more Western part of Beijing, with the goal of hitting up the "Silk Market," one of the knock-off markets selling "Polo" shirts, etc. But first we needed to get there - which meant the subway. The subway system here is not good. We took one stop, realized it was going to take years to get there, and settled for a cab. The cab ride of nearly 20 minutes cost 28 yuan - less than 4 bucks.

I've not mentioned the heat. It is bloody hot; almost 100 degrees every day, if not more. It was 37 degrees Celsius during our first day in the city. The government, for energy consumption reasons, doesn't allow A/C in homes to be switched on unless it is more than 80 degrees or so, thus leaving most buildings with minimal cooling. Oh well, par for the course in an emerging country.

Anyway, we arrived to the Silk Market area, and I saw the first white people I had seen in the city. We stopped at a Subway - western style - for lunch. (to my brother J.T.: it's pronounced Sai-bye-way). We then entered the indoor, 7-floor Silk Market. What followed could only be described as pure mayhem. Stalls upon stalls of goods packed densely inside: polo, tommy, armani, and more: none of it real, but it sure looked like it. See below:


We bought a few things: Alex bought some dress shirts (50 yuan = 6.50 USD) each, and I bought a pair of New Balance running shoes and "Diesel" Jeans tailored to fit for 150 yuan (18 bucks) each. The larger market is in Shanghai, so we'll be buying a suit or other stuff there.

After the shops, we took a taxi to Tianemen Square. Words don't convey what this place is like; it's a huge slab of concrete that spans a larger distance than any such place I've seen, with a significant military presence and the one end holding the entrance to the Forbidden City - the old emperors' home (we're to see it tomorrow). Here's a picture of the gate:

We walked through the square and then into the main area separating the square from the gates to the city. There were many shops offering camera repair and service, and I actually took them up on it - many of you know that the LCD screen on my camera has been broken for some time. They fixed it! perfectly! It costed me 400 yuan (50 bucks). The price quoted me in the US for the repair had been 225 dollars, so I believe I made out with a great deal. Here's a picture of me in the square:


The only bad part of the square was the bombardment from beggars, salesmen, tour guides, vendors, and more. Our motto for the day was Beijing - just say no.

After the square, we picked up an old teacher of Chris' from two summers previous in China and headed out to dinner in another district. We ate the food of the far west region of China; a very Muslim region near the border of Kazakhstan. The food was delicious:

During dinner, there was traditional Muslim entertainment: dancing, music, etc. After dinner, we headed to one of the best bars I have ever been to: serene water falling down stone walls around booths with pillow-laden seating; we took our shoes off and stayed a while. Chris taught us a Chinese drinking game involving dice, which I plan on teaching to people when I get back. My comment last night? "This place would be completely perfect if there was a huge fan blowing to cool us off." And, to much hilarity, Chris pointed directly across the bar, where a huge fan was switched off, and asked for it to be turned on. Beautiful Stuff. Here's a picture from the bar:



After the bar, we headed down the street to a very upscale massage parlor for a traditional Chinese massage. No worries, parents: this place was upscale and very legit. No strange business. We each paid about 18 US dollars for an hour-long massage that was one of the best I've ever had.

We headed home after the massage - it was 1 AM after all, and there was another day ahead of us. Thanks for reading!

Mike