Off to China!

The next morning, I was ready for a short hop to Beijing, China with Asiana Airways. Top notch service! Again, I booked a hotel over the internet. The directions on the website seemed pretty clear. Taxi to the hotel would cost around U$40, whereas the bus is about $0.50. It said take the airport shuttle to the China Art Gallery, then take bus 109 East until a certain station, walk down 100 meters and you can’t miss the hotel. Nothing is ever that simple in China… There was no such thing as a China Art Gallery stop listed on the shuttle itinerary, so I had to figure out where the heck I would go from here… To my amazement, no one at the airport was able to speak English! I finally found someone to translate my questions and was told to take shuttle 3 to the 3rd stop. (Keep in mind I am traveling with close to 80kgs!!! So it’s a big hassle when you’re not sure where you’re going) With 14.5 million inhabitants, you can imagine the sheer size of Beijing!

So I get off where I was told and ask the first person who passes by where the famous Art Gallery is located. He tells me to go North. By miracle, I see the 109 bus line. I ask a few more people, and figure out that I actually have to go West on the line, not East! I get off at the listed stop, and look South, but I cannot see the hotel… Again, in my best body language, I ask people where the hotel is located. An old man with a bike signals me to follow him, so I do. We go into really dodgy dirty little alleyways, and I’m thinking where the h*ll am I going? We cross someone’s yard, and sure enough, there’s the Li Shi hotel! I gratefully thank the kind sir, and check in, sweating all over the counter and floor. Sweat is pouring down my entire body, as it is about 32 Celsius with 100% humidity. Again, the staff at the hotel can hardly speak English. Strangely, my first instinct was to speak Swahili to them… They have a long way to go before the Olympics! I drop my load in the room, and take the most refreshing shower since coming down Kili.

Feeling adventurous, I venture outside without a map or any clue where I am or where I’m going. I am starved as it is closing in on 2pm, so I walk into the first decent-looking restaurant I see. There were no English menus, no pictures, and no other patrons. I simply pointed at a few things at random on the menu, and it turned out to be very good… whatever it was…

I then walked into a China Mobile store to get a Chinese SIM card. (My number is +86 13 135 207 55 184) The system works a little differently here. Not all numbers cost the same, the more 8s in your number, the more expensive. I’ve seen a number with 5 8s at the end, selling for about U$5000! I got a very unlucky (and cheap) number, as it ends with a 4… I told the salesperson that the 4 misfortunes only applied to Chinese people after she insisted that I select another number… (one of my favorite sayings: “It’s unlucky to be superstitious)

I then had Beijing duck dinner with two charming Chinese girls I met at a high-end mall. Great first day!