Ni Hao!
I arrived in Beijing safely and the the accommodation trend continues. This hostel is brand new and very well appointed. There is a great courtyard and I can stretch out my arms in the bathroom. (in the room too for that matter.)
Last night I went on the quest for an ATM. I had planned on paying for the room on my card, but they don't have their machine yet. I gave them almost all of my RMB and was left with less than $5US in my wallet. Hungry, I set out on foot.
Beijing has a public toilet on every block, but NO ATM's to be found. When I did find one, it didn't like my card. The second...no dice. The third...Ha ha! The fourth...Uh oh! Then just when I had given up hope and thought I would have to bust into my emergency travellers check stash, Ureka!
The biggest note in China is the 100RMB which is about $13. So after pulling out 1600RMB, my wallet is thick.
It is amazing how easily my mood swings since I am travelling alone. At the third ATM, I was pretty bummed. When I heard that tick tick tick, of the machine counting my money you would think that I just won the lottery. I was on top of the world and ready to spend my new riches.
I went to the area of Baihai ( a lake) that is surrounded with a hundred or more restaurants and bars. It was fantastic. I ate like a king, then drank like a fish and only spent 130RMB ($17) all night. I am going to have to work harder to spend my money.
After dinner/before becoming a fish, I went into a tea house where I sat and sampled teas with the proprietor. This was a very fun experience.
OK...off to the Forbidden City.
3 comments:
Bei-Jef,
We are there with you in spirit. Each new story is like a chapter in a travel book that I rush online to read. Thanks for sharing your travels and bringing us Asia virtually. Wish we could be there with you physically but know we are there mentally.
Cheers and enjoy.
-Jacques
yo!!!
have you mastered this visual / physical / refleive language yet? i think you could go to the UN when you get back and tell them how travelers can communicate to get their points across... or better yet, write a visual lexicon on whole the hell to order roasted duck in 18 various asian lagnuages. nice.
seriously, this is PHENOMENAL. so glad your'e doing this. you must share photos of all this crazy shit... and draw diagrams of all hotel room and bathroom sizes.
peace.
Ohhh...anxious for the Forbidden City blog.
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