The Chinese Government Has Read This Post
Greetings everyone! I made it to Beijing China! This place is absolutely insane, and I can't wait to tell you about it. Like always, I'll start from the beginning...
After my last post from Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia I had the rest of the afternoon, and one night before I boarded an early morning train to Beijing to complete my ride on the trans-mongolian railway. As with all the cities our group has visited, we had an optional group dinner that night which was to consist of "traditional mongolian food". Note the quotation marks. I dutifully showed up outside the Ulaan Baatar post office and waited for my group. After a 15 minute cab ride (that cost 750 Tugrugs = $0.60) we arrived - at the BD's Mongolian Barbeque! Traditional mongolian food my ass! We had one these places in Cleveland!
For those that don't know, what is called Mongolian Barbeque in America is a restaurant where you go and pick out from a bar a selection of raw meats, vegetables, and sauces which are then stir fried on a big round grill. The story goes that they invented this form of restaurant in American and exported it to Mongolia. Don't worry, I even have a great picture of me in front of the building!
The next morning we got on our train bound for Beijing. late in the evening we left the mongolian steppe and entered the Gobi Desert. The Gobi only looks like desert (lots of sand) for a little portion, but that little portion was enough to kick up enough dust to cover everything in our cabin (including us while we slept) with a thin coating of dust. After cleaning that off the next morning we began to approach Beijing, by crossing over mountains on which the Great Wall is built. We got some really spectacular shots of the wall as we came through, which is good since I won't have a chance to go hiking on it.
We arrived in Beijing at 2:30 in the afternoon and had to then transfer to our hotel. Since there was money left over in our communal tipping kitty we decided to take cabs rather than the metro - this is where thigns get crazy. I never imagined there would be so much traffic in Beijing. The idea of a city of 10 million bicycles is long overdue as there are many more cars than bikes, and a constant cloud of smog overhangs the city. You can't even see the sun through it, which is really disgusting.
After we got to our hotel, we went as a group to go get cash from the ATM. On the way it started to pour out, and I not only got soaked, but my bag collected a puddle of water (I thought it was waterproof). The real bummer was that this meant the end of the camera my father generously lent me for the trip. Fortunately my travel documents remained dry in their plastic folder (train and plain tickets). Feeling very bummed about the loss of photo capabilities (fortunately my photos are backed up on my ipod, so I still have them) I decided to go to the group dinner, in what was our last night together as a group.
This is where I had the best meal of my life. All 13 of us went to a very nice Chinese restaurant where we were served family style to an onslaught of traiditional Beijing and Sichuan style cuisine. We even had Peking Duck, which was simply amazing! I ate so much that I had trouble moving when I got up, and fell asleep in the cab on the ride home. The most amazing part was that the total food bill (minus drinks) for all 13 of us came to $70!! This meal would have easily cost $500 in Boston or New York.
When I got up this morning things looked a lot worse - I in fact have a fever and feel really sick. After breakfast I went over to the Peark Market with Thomas and Roch (the two Belgian guys from my tour group) to buy a new camera. This place is four floors of real and knockoff electronics (just about all real, actually), pearls, clothing, shoes, handbags and a really impresssive food market in the basement.
I found a camera I liked, and that worked with my ipod downloading kit and haggled for the price. It was really fun to be involved in the back and forth, even if I wasn't too good at it! I got the camera, memory card, and carrying case for a really good price, and then proceeded to buy a few gifts for people when I get home. I'd love to tell you what they were, but I can't ruin the suprise.
After the pearl market we went back to our hotel, and checked out took a cab to my youth hostel. Thomas and Roch didn't have reservations, but were able to get a room while I checked into my pre-arranged single. For $15 a night, this is the best deal in lodging I've ever found - I even have a private bathroom! After sleeping the afternoon away to try and conquer my sickness I'm now off to get some dinner and hopefully start to feel a little better.
Cheers from China,
Andrew
After my last post from Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia I had the rest of the afternoon, and one night before I boarded an early morning train to Beijing to complete my ride on the trans-mongolian railway. As with all the cities our group has visited, we had an optional group dinner that night which was to consist of "traditional mongolian food". Note the quotation marks. I dutifully showed up outside the Ulaan Baatar post office and waited for my group. After a 15 minute cab ride (that cost 750 Tugrugs = $0.60) we arrived - at the BD's Mongolian Barbeque! Traditional mongolian food my ass! We had one these places in Cleveland!
For those that don't know, what is called Mongolian Barbeque in America is a restaurant where you go and pick out from a bar a selection of raw meats, vegetables, and sauces which are then stir fried on a big round grill. The story goes that they invented this form of restaurant in American and exported it to Mongolia. Don't worry, I even have a great picture of me in front of the building!
The next morning we got on our train bound for Beijing. late in the evening we left the mongolian steppe and entered the Gobi Desert. The Gobi only looks like desert (lots of sand) for a little portion, but that little portion was enough to kick up enough dust to cover everything in our cabin (including us while we slept) with a thin coating of dust. After cleaning that off the next morning we began to approach Beijing, by crossing over mountains on which the Great Wall is built. We got some really spectacular shots of the wall as we came through, which is good since I won't have a chance to go hiking on it.
We arrived in Beijing at 2:30 in the afternoon and had to then transfer to our hotel. Since there was money left over in our communal tipping kitty we decided to take cabs rather than the metro - this is where thigns get crazy. I never imagined there would be so much traffic in Beijing. The idea of a city of 10 million bicycles is long overdue as there are many more cars than bikes, and a constant cloud of smog overhangs the city. You can't even see the sun through it, which is really disgusting.
After we got to our hotel, we went as a group to go get cash from the ATM. On the way it started to pour out, and I not only got soaked, but my bag collected a puddle of water (I thought it was waterproof). The real bummer was that this meant the end of the camera my father generously lent me for the trip. Fortunately my travel documents remained dry in their plastic folder (train and plain tickets). Feeling very bummed about the loss of photo capabilities (fortunately my photos are backed up on my ipod, so I still have them) I decided to go to the group dinner, in what was our last night together as a group.
This is where I had the best meal of my life. All 13 of us went to a very nice Chinese restaurant where we were served family style to an onslaught of traiditional Beijing and Sichuan style cuisine. We even had Peking Duck, which was simply amazing! I ate so much that I had trouble moving when I got up, and fell asleep in the cab on the ride home. The most amazing part was that the total food bill (minus drinks) for all 13 of us came to $70!! This meal would have easily cost $500 in Boston or New York.
When I got up this morning things looked a lot worse - I in fact have a fever and feel really sick. After breakfast I went over to the Peark Market with Thomas and Roch (the two Belgian guys from my tour group) to buy a new camera. This place is four floors of real and knockoff electronics (just about all real, actually), pearls, clothing, shoes, handbags and a really impresssive food market in the basement.
I found a camera I liked, and that worked with my ipod downloading kit and haggled for the price. It was really fun to be involved in the back and forth, even if I wasn't too good at it! I got the camera, memory card, and carrying case for a really good price, and then proceeded to buy a few gifts for people when I get home. I'd love to tell you what they were, but I can't ruin the suprise.
After the pearl market we went back to our hotel, and checked out took a cab to my youth hostel. Thomas and Roch didn't have reservations, but were able to get a room while I checked into my pre-arranged single. For $15 a night, this is the best deal in lodging I've ever found - I even have a private bathroom! After sleeping the afternoon away to try and conquer my sickness I'm now off to get some dinner and hopefully start to feel a little better.
Cheers from China,
Andrew
posted by Andrew at
4:21 AM
2 Comments:
Sorry to hear you're sick- I hope you feel well soon. Your post brings back fond memories of excellenet food in restaurants in China... and how little you had to fork over! It really makes you enjoy the food more, doesn't it? (I think things will be a little bit more expensive once you reach HK, but still nowhere near the US.)
By
Pam, at 11:26 AM
Andrew, I'm dying to know -- did you meet the guy who e-mailed you? You know, the one who told you how you would recognize him and not be taken in by an impostor?
By
ChristineP, at 2:57 PM
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