Anecdotal Life

My first full day in Beijng, July 2, I pulled out my map, and headed to a local park, Rutan Park. It was a couple miles south of my hotel, and instead of getting a taxi, I walked.

On my way there, I walked through the small little alleys and streets (hutongs). Everyone was friendly, but is was not clean. More than just dust, sanitation was poor, and I watched my step to avoid anything liquid. After walking for an hour, I realized I had been walking in the wrong direction. That sucked. It sucked more, because the map I had did not extend to the streets I was know walking.

Taking a guess, I turned and headed a new direction. After 20 minutes or so, I was able to match a street sign with my map, and I was on my way. It turned out I was walking due west, instead of due south, after I got turned around in one of the alleys.

When I made it to Rutan Park, I was glad I made the walk. It was a large park, not Central Park large, but large enough that it had different areas that a few minutes walk. I wandered around, and was pleasantly surprised by the activity in the park. Kids were playing ping pong, the elderly were playing cards, and families were feeding bread to koi in the pond. I left the park after a couple hours, sopping wet from sweat and exhausted from the heat. I went home to shower and nap.

When I woke, I was starving. Dan and Garner, two classmates from Duke who had just left Beijing, suggested I check out the Nanluogu Xiang neighborhood. I fired up Trip Advisor to search for bars in Nanluogu Xiang. One review caught my eye: Mao Mao Chong. It was a small pizza restaurant down one of the hutongs. I decided to go, and that was the right choice.

Mao Mao Chong was amazing. First, the pizza was delicious. Personal sized, with creative toppings. Second, the bar was phenomenal. The cocktails rival U.S. speakeasies, like Violet Hour in Chicago. They had bourbons infused with local herbs, great bitters. Just awesome. Lastly, the people. Mao Mao Chong is owned by a native from mainland China and an Aussie. As such, most of the patrons were ex-pats, which gave me a great opportunity to find out what to do and see, and ask questions I had, like is the ice safe.

If I ever go back to Beijing, Mao Mao Chong will be my first stop.

I’ve been in Beijing for all of 16 hours now. It’s about 10:45a, and I’m staying in the Swissotel. It is a fine hotel. The rooms are quite nice. The only two things that frustrate me are the nickel-and-dime policy for everything, including Internet (Ethernet or WiFi), and non-potable water. I guess I don’t understand how the water infrastructure worldwide does not provide tap drinking water in large cities.

Outside of that, it is foggy and muggy. Imagine a morning fog in San Francisco combined with the heat and humidity of a hot Cincinnati day. C’est la vie. Today I think I am going to explore Silk Road and the Olympic park area, like the Bird’s Nest.

night.

(View of East Ring 2 from the Executive Lounge at the Swissotel)

While waiting for my delayed flight from SFO, I met a Boston University college student who grew up in China. He and his friend, Jeff from NYU, and I are going to a non-touristy area of The Great Wall on Sunday, and maybe out to some bars at night. Monday I want to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

I left San Francisco at about 6:10pm ET and will arrive in Beijing at about 5:10pm (the following day) China Standard Time. The weird thing about this, when traveling from west to east over this distance, is that the Sun will shine on the plane during the entire trip. It reminds me of astronauts that see the sun rise and set a dozen or more times in a 24-hour period.

Another flight I thought about taking leaves Washington, D.C., Dulles and arrives in Beijing 12 hours later. Coincidentally, Eastern Time is 12 hours earlier than China Standard Time. On this flight, you precisely chase the Sun. Neat.

I began my trip to Southeast Asia today. The trip will last from June 30 through July 20, and will include Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Damui, and Singapore. I woke up early this morning to catch a flight from PHL -> SFO -> PEK. The flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco was unremarkable, and I was able to get some sleep.

Once in SFO, I made my way to the International Terminal. Wow, there are a so many _good_ duty-free shops. I was tempted to buy a few things, but decided to resist tempatation. I then befriended a young Army soldier. He just finished his holiday at home in Hawaii, and is flying back to Germany before departing for Afghanistan. We went to a Japanese restaurant in the airport, it the sashimi and sushi were delicious. I forgot how good West Coast sushi was. I then headed to my gate to find that the flight was delayed.

Ugh. At least it allows me time to charge my devices. But with the delay, chances are slimmer that I will be able to meet up with my friends Dan and Garner in the Beijing airport. I am just beginning my trip; they will be ending theirs. The gate agent just announced that we will be departing in 55 minutes, meaning will board in 25. Thank goodness for an Economy Plus aisle seat. Too bad I’m not in Business class; then I would have a power adapter.

Now let’s just hope I don’t get lost from the airport to my hotel. Even if I do, I can’t wait to get there.