Beijing Highlights Thus Far

Trivia - Tuesday headed out with some kids to trivia which was a blast even though we sucked as usual. The duck taped hamsters team name has now officially made it around the world. All who are privy will be honored. Saw the embassy on the way down as well as the downtown which isn't so impressive since there are 30-40 story buildings everywhere. Had a burger for the first time in a month and a half i suppose and was of course disappointed. Don't try to bring your foods to the new land.

Summer Palace - This place is pretty special. I think it was the palace of many dynasties once the capital was moved from Xian. It was all destroyed by Anglo-French forces in the late 1800s but they are working their asses off to make it as nice as it was then in time for the Olympics. Everything is getting a fresh coat of paint to make up for all the years without. Really takes away from the history of the place if you ask me but believe it or not the Party did not. Hung out with Mike and Alex a chick from NY that goes to school in W Mass. She doesn't go to Pierce either so we recruited her for hanging out with the "cool kids." The palace is on a beautiful lake drifting into the foothills of some sort of mountain. Typical tourist place but beautiful.

Sunlitun Clothing Market - Smaller (they say) version of the silk market but with slightly more respectful vendors and a few more tailors. Some of those in my cohort headed out to get suits made on Tuesday but of course I, being an outcast, was not invited. Headed over with them this second time though when they were getting their suits fitted to try and pick a few out for myself. This place is way rad and you can get anything you want: jewelry, paintings, luggage, shoes, shirts, etc and all brand name. Or so they say. Picked out some cloth for the suits i wanted and of course it is all the finest cashmere or wool blend and after doing so picked out some cloth for some shirts. In the end got 4 suits and 11 shirts for a little under $500. Seems odd to be spending money i don't have but having hand tailored suits and shirts for the price of one off the rack back home was an opportunity not to be missed. Took Haruna, Mike, and Alex back for the fitting before leaving for Xian and we all quite agreed that they were nice. Time will tell.

Great Wall - Saturday the whole lot of us headed up to the Wall at the Simatai section which is about 3 hours out of Beijing. Got to say the thing is as amazing as you would ever imagine. Not being wimps Mike, Alex, Denise and friend, and I decided to walk it. The others simply rode a cable car up. Seems like such a waste to be at one of the wonders of the world and be afraid to take advantage of being there. Tons of pics and tons of people but the most annoying are the ladies who "farm and make souvenirs" and then end up walking with you and try to sell post cards. Everyone has got to get theirs but annoying nonetheless. Trip down consisted of sore knees, almost falling on my face one hundred times, and a zip line over the lake to the bottom. Was pretty BA but not so fast (to quote Haruna). Was really quite a peaceful ride but funny to see Castor, a Venezuelan practicing attorney in our classes, do it because he was kind of freaked out. Yes, it certainly is Great.

Forbidden Palace/Tienanmen/Silk Market - This was our Sunday adventure and it turned out to be a pretty exciting day with Mike and Haruna. Cool beans. Started off at forbidden city and tried to get the student discounts but without the china student passport looking thing it wasn't happening. Mike's in line and getting pushed out of the way by some lady so i kind of nudge her off and she goes nuts. Luckily i don't understand Mandarin so it didn't mean too much to me. That's the most irritating thing though: the fact that the people here just don't understand or care about order or queuing or anything along those lines. Silly. Once inside we wandered around looking at old thrones and more traditional buildings. Nothing too amazing until we found an air conditioned museum with nice art but the highlight was the temperature. Got dragged into an art studio by a student from Mongolia and she was nice and explained to us all the differences in the art and what it all meant but in the end another tourist trap selling stuff that you can find anywhere for 3 times the price. Luckily she said she would give us a special friend discount which is always encouraging.

Tienanmen Square was quite what i expected - a vast concrete square with some Chinese flags. Wandering out of the Forbidden City we had no idea if we were headed the right way so we kept walking and all of a sudden popped out under a picture of Mao. Found the big flags, government buildings, and his tomb. Walked around a bit, learned its the biggest city center square in the world and found a cab to the silk market. Wanted to come back for the flag lowering but didn't make it because we were bargaining too hard.

Silk Market was also quite a place but since being at the other clothing market i was slightly prepared even though i didn't do much bargaining there. Worst part was the cab ride over which should have been 10 yuan but he charged us 30 for what seemed like no reason. None of us knew enough Chinese to know what the hell was going on but to show him i meant business i wrote down his license and tag numbers. I don't think he cared and have since realized that none of the pictures in the cabs match the drivers. Pictures of women with men driving and pictures of fat guys with skinny ones driving. Quite a system. Anyway, made it after grudgingly (throwing) paying him. Entered and started what was to become 3-4 hours of intensity. We all had goals of what we needed and then all decided to buy much more. Ended up with an Omega watch, True Religion jeans, 10 pairs of CK boxers, 18 Zegna, Boss, Burberry, and Hermes, Sony headphones, and a battery charger all for about $100. Not too bad i don't think. Interesting we are studying IP and the enforcement of trademark infringement. Hmm. Oh well it's all part of the experience. Haruna caught on quickly after first being blown away by how much they were asking. Typically they ask a ton and you counter with about 10% of what they say and end up at about 20% of the initial. This has been my experience and once learned H took the philosophy and ran getting much better than i and getting 2 earring for the price bargained for 1 and a Japan jersey for less than $4. Mike broke a sales lady's heart by offering her too low of a price so i had to tell her she broke mine by asking that price. Hitting up the ATM is always bad when shopping but it was needed and even though no CCCP shirt was bought we still know it is there. Oh yes we will be back and with a vengeance.

Ho Hai - I guess that's how it's spelled, not really sure. What i do know is that i ate shrimp with their shells and legs on. We luckily took the time to take the heads off. Interesting thing is is that they aren't at all bad. Just adds a little crunch and a little extra flavor. Ate at a fairly nice restaurant in this uber hip little part of Beijing set on a pond with paddle boats and floating candles. Found out after dinner that they have these outdoor dance floors everywhere and anyone who can do the hustle or the 2-step or any dance that i don't know is encouraged to take advantage. Pretty nice so Alex and Channing did. I think it got them a little too in the mood for dancing because after walking past 50 cool bars with free foosball, big screen tvs, and pitchers of beer we somehow decided to go to some salsa club off Wangfujen. Don't really know how to spell anything so if i am wrong please just tell me and i will soon correct it. Made it to the place after an impressive sculpture display down this trendy (Bally, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc) street. However, during the day they serve anything you want on a stick including the likes of scorpion and beetle. Made it to Havana Lights and expected a few people there but found nobody and no cheap drinks. Had a crappy margarita and others had equally crappy mojitos. Danced a little with Channing leading the way and teaching us all a little bit. Unfortunately I did not take it seriously enough and remember nothing. Whoever my future girlfriend is is probably already disappointed.

World Cup - It comes on at 10p, 12, and 3a here so have seen some decent games. Lovin it going to the bars or outside spaces to watch it. Seems the Chinese love it, perhaps more than Americans. Have taken to watching the first and most of the second before retiring and having my door knocked at 5am. Cool stuff. Sucks about the US not winning a game. That's what happens in the Group of Death i suppose.

He Jia - This is our hotel with the cute housekeepers, cold AC, bathrooms with a window to watch TV, free toothbrushes and combs, a hand shower, and free breakfast all for less than half of that damn Xi Jao. About the breakfast, it's not delicious after about 2 days. It consists of about 5 different pickled veggies, fresh tomatoes, rice and eggs, 3 kinds of bread - chewy rolls, tortilla like, and chewy cornbread, and 3 kinds of soup - hot soy milk, rice soup, and grits soup. My typical brekky ends up being one of the veggies, some tomatoes, a tortilla slice, and some warm milk. Gets old but its food i guess. One count where Xi Jao wins. Bought some Cheerios though so those are kickin, even with the warm milk.