We planned on taking an overnight train from Zengzhou to Beijing, but every one of the dozens of trains leaving that night were sold out. We bought plane tickets and stayed the night in a Zengzhou hotel instead. Now, read that sentence over. Easy, right? NOT IN CHINA! Those two tasks took nearly three hours to complete because no one takes credit cards, ATMs don't work and most hotels are uninhabitable. This is a "small town" of 2 million. By the time we checked into a decent hotel (actually it was kind of fancy, it was the only one where the hallways didn't smell like urine or wasn't covered in phlegm) we were exhausted. I was looking forward to a big city again.
The very friendly, cute and affordable Red House Hotel. It was in walking distance to the cool nightlife area.
Our hotel in Beijing was an utterly charming apartment-like room. The city was definitely urban, but felt much more cosmopolitan than Shanghai. I think it was the older, more historic buildings and the cafe-like restaurants that lined the street. We were scheduled to meet friends there. My friend Linda and her family live there as expats. They live in a suburban community that's built especially for foreign expats and modeled after California-style McMansions. The neighborhoods themselves are actually named Irvine, Sonoma, Yosemite, Orange County, etc. The schools are incredible (and expensive), but they only allow those with foreign-passports to enter (!). The whole expat lifestyle fascinated me. Most of the people who live in these neighborhoods had drivers or use taxis, so they were pretty far removed from the average everyday China. I was stunned that wives who didn't work had nannies and maids, sometimes two of each. It sounded great, but I really wanted to know if they liked living there and to my surprise, they didn't--and they did. No one really loved living there. They all disliked the Chinese mentality (and this is coming from Chinese-Americans!). So I wasn't overly sensitive after all. I really appreciated seeing another side of China that travelers don't normally get to see.
Taia on the left and friend at home playing dress-up. Taia was the ring-bearer with the big personality at our wedding.
Me and Linda at the China World Tower ice-skating rink. It was nearly midnight and construction just began their shift.
I was feeling under the weather, so we stopped at a Subway sandwich store for soup and kicks. Oh and it was about 2 degrees centigrade outside.
We saw this sad old bike locked up as if someone was going to steal it in the hutong area comprised of old houses in small alleys.
Oh look, no exploding cars allowed here, you got that?
Me at Tiananmen Square doing my best Tuesday Weld in the freezing cold.
Mick and Marek walking through the Wanfujing shopping district. By some wacky good fortune, we met up with Marek who was in Beijing for the auto show. We spent our time visiting tourist spots. The funny thing about Beijing is that its blocks are enormous. Something that looks like it's only five blocks away on a map could be miles away. My little stroll down to the corner market would take 30 minutes one-way.
Me and Mick in the Forbidden City. I expected something much grander, but the whole complex looked barren and desolate.
A photographer really, really wanted to take Marek's picture for some reason. He took about 50 shots and made Marek turn this way and that.
Mick on the way up to the Great Wall.
Me and Mick posing at the Wall.
Here's Mick climbing the wall. He broke off a piece of it. I thought I would make an animated gif so that it would repeat over and over forever. You're welcome!
Mick and Marek at the Wall.
Poor English or excellent Chinglish. Of course, Mick violated the rule.
Me again. Are you sick of Great Wall pictures yet?
Mick on the Wall yet again!
12:31 AM // Thursday December 21, 2006 // permalink
