24 Hours in Beijing
I don't have my point-and-shoot camera anymore as it no longer works after having dropped it during my bus ride in Korea. It looked like it might rain so I left my Nikon at the hotel. Computers and cameras here are almost double the price. Here are some random notes on Beijing for the last 24 hours.
- I wanted to have a nice cocktail after having worked like a dog for three solid days being holed up in my Hilton. I had read about this place called The Ultralounge which is supposed to be this chilled out laid back place that mixes great drinks. I took a taxi there and it ended up being this noisy dance club that looked like the inside of a spaceship. As soon as my Long Island Ice Tea was done, I bolted.
- There is a funky cocktail lounge decorated with Faux Fur and neon on the second floor of my Hilton so I decided to go there. The patrons were outnumbered by the hookers. While sipping on my Lychee Martini I had two ladies ask me if I was looking for company.
- I had a one hour full-body Chinese massage at a classy place for $25. They even massaged my ears which was really enjoyable. I had a choice between a Japanese massage and a Chinese massage. They said the Chinese massage is gentle but I felt a bit beat up afterwards. The Japanese massage is very rough and they work you over on a hard floor. No thanks.
- I walked into a traditional Chinese tea house and had a full tea ceremony. I had seven pots of Kung-fu Oolong tea which was delightful. I had some Beijing tea cakes which had strange fillings like lotus seed paste, black sesame along with some candied figs.
- I passed by a block full of street food vendors that were grilling their wares. Starfish on a stick, silk worm larvae, and pigs liver were for sale. I tried some grilled snake which was horrible and a couple of large prawns that looked more like giant cockroaches. I proceeded to have something a little bit safer, fried wontons and a beer and later a roast pork sandwich. All of that was less than $10.
- Approaced by more Chinese girls as I am walking around at night. They tell me they are nice girls and not hookers and follow me. They end up watching me eat some local food at an outdoor ramshackle food stall. I could hardly eat any of the three dishes as they tasted pretty bad. Even they would not normally eat them. I kept expecting them to ask me for something as white people like me in Asia are often treated like a walking ATM. The one girl gave me her number as we left. Maybe she wasn't a hooker afterall? I liked her friend more. Things are getting too complicated.
- There are free DVDs in the hotel so I am going to kick back and relax by watching the soothing Kung-Fu classic, "Enter the Dragon".
- I wanted to have a nice cocktail after having worked like a dog for three solid days being holed up in my Hilton. I had read about this place called The Ultralounge which is supposed to be this chilled out laid back place that mixes great drinks. I took a taxi there and it ended up being this noisy dance club that looked like the inside of a spaceship. As soon as my Long Island Ice Tea was done, I bolted.
- There is a funky cocktail lounge decorated with Faux Fur and neon on the second floor of my Hilton so I decided to go there. The patrons were outnumbered by the hookers. While sipping on my Lychee Martini I had two ladies ask me if I was looking for company.
- I had a one hour full-body Chinese massage at a classy place for $25. They even massaged my ears which was really enjoyable. I had a choice between a Japanese massage and a Chinese massage. They said the Chinese massage is gentle but I felt a bit beat up afterwards. The Japanese massage is very rough and they work you over on a hard floor. No thanks.
- I walked into a traditional Chinese tea house and had a full tea ceremony. I had seven pots of Kung-fu Oolong tea which was delightful. I had some Beijing tea cakes which had strange fillings like lotus seed paste, black sesame along with some candied figs.
- I passed by a block full of street food vendors that were grilling their wares. Starfish on a stick, silk worm larvae, and pigs liver were for sale. I tried some grilled snake which was horrible and a couple of large prawns that looked more like giant cockroaches. I proceeded to have something a little bit safer, fried wontons and a beer and later a roast pork sandwich. All of that was less than $10.
- Approaced by more Chinese girls as I am walking around at night. They tell me they are nice girls and not hookers and follow me. They end up watching me eat some local food at an outdoor ramshackle food stall. I could hardly eat any of the three dishes as they tasted pretty bad. Even they would not normally eat them. I kept expecting them to ask me for something as white people like me in Asia are often treated like a walking ATM. The one girl gave me her number as we left. Maybe she wasn't a hooker afterall? I liked her friend more. Things are getting too complicated.
- There are free DVDs in the hotel so I am going to kick back and relax by watching the soothing Kung-Fu classic, "Enter the Dragon".
posted by Dean Hannas at
9:25 AM
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