Today was a pretty long day for me, guest blogger. Whilst Ben and Deb lounged comfortably in bed, I was crammed into a packed airplane with no leg room, next to a woman whose hand sanitizer literally stank so much it roused me from slumber, and in a seat that in fantastic fashion reclined without actually reclining. Today started yesterday at 8pm in Sydney.
A short trip through quarantine, customs, baggage claim, and grabbing a Chinese SIM card, I was on the taxi to the apartment. Except the taxi driver didn’t know where the apartment was (to be fair, Beijing is big). He didn’t speak any English, and my Mandarin is worse than a 3 year old child’s. So we wandered a bit. Three cell phone calls to the hotel/apartment later, we find out we were exactly 1 (one as in uno) block away. ‘Nuff whining.
I greet Ben and Deb with presents from my travels abroad. I was in Sydney exactly 1 day after they left, so of course they needed a souvenir…
In exemplary mooch fashion, I proceed to sleep on their couch for two hours before we head out to a late lunch. Benjie wanted to go get breakfast right when I got there. We left for lunch multiple hours after I arrived. Poor Benjie.
China’s consumerist industry is well protected from natural disaster and foreign bombardment. We visited the Beijing under Beijing. An underground mall stretching however many city blocks in all directions. At least two floors below ground.
The best named shop? Pirate Ship. Sells jewelry, and not that refined stuff. You can guess what it sells.
The craziest store? Carrefour. Its the Ranch 99 plus Wal-Mart. There are cheap bicycles right were we walk in. A quick ride up the conveyor belt to the next floor (think escalator sans steps) and we are in a bustling food market. I now understand that all those people in Ranch 99 are actually trying to give you personal space. And they are showing significant accomplishment.
The best item in Carrefour? An ironing board which Benjie bought to use as a keyboard tray. Why is it the best item? Its description is the title of this post.
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