My last full day in Beijing, China

After the tourist trappings of yesterday I felt that today I would be best to sort my stuff out for the following trip to India, arrange the last of my flights back to Europe and then catch up on some emails and blogging before it got too much away from me.

Thus it was a quiet morning and afternoon that I spend in Beijing, flicking and searching the internet trying to find better hotel deals, one day tours to Agra and such, with some success and even managed to arrange an airport pickup for my arrival in Delhi, which would be dearly needed with it being an 01:30 landing and having no Indian money to speak of thus far.

Being my last night here I had decided to try and get both my two Beijing friends together and meet each other, however this did not go quite as easily or as smooth as I had intended it to be.

Both of them worked and clocked off at different times, both worked in different parts of the city and knew different areas, so I ended up meeting one first and then waiting for the other to come and find us.

With a lot of confusion on my drivers part, getting us lost twice, I finally managed to pick up my H' and together we headed on over to the Sanlitan area which is one of the best areas for shopping and bar life in the city, grabbing myself a quick subway sandwich to keep me going til we all go together for dinner.

However once we arrived I received a message from V' to say that she was still at work and would be for at least another hour and as I had not eaten so far I suggested that she grab herself a bite to eat and meet up with us as I did not feel I could wait that long for some proper food.

Thus it was that H' and I walked along and found a secluded little Italian restaurant just off the main strip that was a bit more pricey that I had planned, but at least it was warm, quiet and gave us a chance to talk without the hussle and bustle normally found in Beijng.

An hour later we still had not heard back from V' and to complicate matters for me H' now felt a little uncomfortable and sick and requested that we leave as she no longer wanted to stay out much later. I made a decision to let V' know that we were leaving and that instead we could meet up tomorrow lunchtime and just as we were driving away in a taxi she called and said that she was a bit angry as she had rushed to leave work, changed her plans and was almost here now.

So, feeling between a rock and a hard place, I let H' take the taxi and returned on foot back to where I hoped V' would still be waiting for me and as it turned out she was but had not had anything to eat and was eager to find a restaurant close by. Being polite I managed to tuck away a couple of dumplings before I hit critical mass and knew that any more would be a mistake, so let her finish on her own.

It was a slightly uneasy truce for the first half hour, til we got talking properly and thankfully by the time we were ready to leave and heading off to a nearby by for some drinks and good music we were back to being happy friends again.

We found a bar where the music was good but not too loud, the atmosphere and decorations funky and the waiter very friendly who thickly chinese accented english was understandable and his skill at mixing drinks was exemplorary. V' and I chatter away for a couple more hours, getting more relaxed and friendly as the drinks flowed and then without any prompting the waiter asked to show me a magic trick.

Being a lover of magic tricks I was happy to oblige and it was both a real treat and a bit of a let down at the same time when I realised that he was about to show me the exact same trick that my fellow stranded travellers in Fiji had shown me a few months earlier. The advantage that I had hear was that the bar was almost empty so the bar tenders secret assistant could only be one of three people and after being amazed at how how he knew my choice the first two times I narrowed it down to being V', and I guessed more than saw that she was using her bear mat as the tell.

I played along gamely the whole time until they finished when I admitted that I knew how it was done which caused a bit of a laugh, though V' said that she had really planned on keeping me in suspence and email me a few days later to tell me it was her the whole time. Had I realised this was her aim I would have kept quiet, but as it was it just opened up the door to me showing them a few of my own magic tricks, however all the Chinese coins are much smaller than the £2 or 50p coin that I normally use so they were a bit of a flop.

Around 11pm I knew that as I had a long day ahead of me and also V' had work in the morning so I felt it best that I let us both get back before midnight lest we turn into frogs or pumpkins.

More photos of the Forbidden Palace and the White Dagoba

More photos

Day five in Beijing, China and the Great Tea Scam

Although H' had tried to arrange for her friend who didnt work to show me around the city centre, due to her friends laziness even at 10:30am she was still asleep and thus not where we had agreed to meet up near Tian An'men square, so I decided not to wait around any longer and instead went exploring for myself, and it was here that I fell prey to the infamous Tea Scam which goes something like this.

Two young girls see you walking alone in the city centre, near one of the famous landmarks where tourists go, and they say hello in English and ask you about yourself. The ability to speak English well is a dead giveaway of most scams as few people really speak it. The two that came up to me said that they were young teachers from another city and were here on holiday, though strangely they had no cameras to take photos and no maps yet despite being tourists they knew exactly where they wanted to go and how best to get there.

( As I side point, I asked them how they knew where to go and they said that this road was very famous and had been seen many times on the television yet later when I asked both of my friends V' and H' neither had any idea of where it was despite both of them living and working in Beijing !!! )

After a few minutes they say that they plan on going for a drink in the old city district and did you want to join them so that you could talk more and they can practice their English more. I agreed as I had a few minutes spare and then we walked along the road for a few minutes til I suggested that I could try some famous local dumplings, and altough they agreed to come along they did not eat anything or order any drink, which was strange.

Next they said that we should go to try some tea nearby, but instead of taking me to a normal restaurant or coffee shop they took me to a dedicated tea house where without any dialogue between themselves and the shop owner they went right to the back where a thin screen was pulled across to give us some privacy ( why would it be needed for drinking tea ! ) where we then sat down at an ornate wooden table and waited for some drinks.

Instead of having a menu to chose from, the shop girl came down sat with us, taking small cups for each of us and then preparing a glass of hot tea from a container, but it is worth noting that the store girl did not speak any English and so my two new 'friends' were doing all the talking and translating. First one brand and then another were brought out and we tried a few, then some biscuits were handed round and I get the feeling that instead of having some tea we are instead sampling different brands for a potential future purchase.

By the time the forth sample was given to me, I said that we could stop now as I didnt want to try any more, yet they said that 4 is a very bad number and so we should have a fifth at least to end on a good number.

Thinking that tea would be cheap, and only after the two girls had already chosen to also buy a couple of tins full of leaves themselves I selected two small jars of my favourite brands and then waited for the bill.

When the bill came, everything was itemised and it was a shocker, or should have been. Each minute sampling of the tea was 20 yuan, the tray of biscuits was another 60 ( which I had only one of ! ), and my two selected choices were 160 and 180 respectively for a kind of fruit tea and for a lychee tea.

This is when the scam can be seen for its true self, as despite being lowly paid teachers from a poorer city neither of the girls seemed alarmed at the price, which is very odd as a full cup of tea in most places will cost you around 4 and a romantic dinner for two people in a good restaurant will only set you back between 1 - 200, so they should have been very shocked at the price but they never battered an eyelid.

They even offered to pay by credit card as they didnt quite have enough on them for the purchase and so I did the same, fully intending on getting my money back via the credi card company when I get back as this is very definitely a scam and I was being hamstrung as I sat there.

After we bought the tea my two 'new friends' said that they had to go but that we could meet up tomorrow for another chat and we exchanged numbers, ( only when the next day came instead of meeting up with me they sent an apology text to say that they had caught a cold and could not make it, but to go on ahead and enjoy my stay in Beijing. ).

The tips to look out for are a) they spoke english, b) they wanted to go to the old town, c) they were from out of town yet had no camera and needed no map to get around, d) they didnt want to eat or drink anywhere else except where they suggest, e) they didnt seem unfamiliar or unsure of anything that was happening like any normal tourist would be be they chinese or not, f) they encouraged me to have the biscuits and even try one last brand after I said I had had enough and finally g) they did not seem shocked or even surprised at the price despite not having enough money to pay for the tea with notes and thus wiling to pay by credit card - and on a lowly teachers salary too

Any of the above on their own isn't neccessarily a sure sign of a con but when you add them all up there is no doubt in my mind that you are being scammed and you would be wise to politely decline and walk away or if it gets nasty to return the full jars of new tea, accept the bill for the tea you did drink, pay by credit card and then report them to the police as soon as you leave.

It is a shame that there are such scam artists in the world, but then that is all just a part of life I guess.

- - -

I headed on back to the Forbidden Palace and barely five minutes later I was approached by another couple of girls who also just happened to be passing by, saw me and wondered if I wanted to go to share a cup of tea with them in the old city district. Now 100% sure that I was being set up again by the same type of scam I said I would pass and wanted to visit the Palace while the light was perfect for taking photos and yet they seemed very distressed and she said that she really wanted to talk to me. Why would any complete stranger feel the need to really urgently speak to me, when they know nothing about me, clearly for no good reason if you ask me.

The entrance was 40 yuan and if I wanted to get an audio guide I could pay another 40 plus the deposit of 100, yet I felt that I could make my way around the place on my own and that I needed no guide to help me take some good photos.

After the square and the palace I wandered down to see the White Dagoba in Beihai park which was very cool and I took some lovely photos there. I guess that if it was sunnier I might have enjoyed it more, but it was still a little bit chilly and so I could not laze about by the banks of the lake and enjoy a coffee.

Finally I grabbed a taxi back to meet up with H' where we then went to a very famous local hotpot restarant that is famed for its service as much as its food. It was a little bit pricey ( still not as much as they tea though ! ) for Beijing but the service was top class, even sending one of their staff outside to buy me an icecream for desert even though it wasn't on the menu.

We talked and she agreed totally that the tea scam was bad news and that I should report it, so I knew that my instincts were correct and then as it was still early-ish we headed back for another movie.

Day four in Beijing, China

Day four came and went painfully slow as H' has just bought herself a new place and it is still being remodelled so we had to take a trip to buy a few bits for the house and then travel to meet the builders to ensure that they understood the plan well.

What should have taken no more than an hour stretched to be over five hours as the builders needed their hands held over every minor detail and then measured and remeasured every wall and angle for no reason that I could make out, as they were not taking any notes of the dimensions.

By the end of the day we were both exhausted from standing and talking, or rather H' was and I was exhasuted through standing around and listening to them all chatter away, and so we just grabbed a quick KFC meal from the corner of her apartment block before we watched a DVD movie and then it was once again sleepy time, her for work next morning and me for my trip to the Forbidden Palace and as many other places as I could visit during the day before meeting up with H' again in the evening.

Day three in Beijing, China

I am lucky enough to have two good friends in Beijing and it was my plan to meet one of them early today, being a Saturday and spend the day together, however she had a few things she wanted to do today and so in the end I had to make plans or myself during the day and agree to meet up with her in the early evening.

For the mid afternoon I decided to take a visit to the Lama Temple, almost next door to my hostel and a mere 40 yuan entrance fee to see some great exhibits and temples that were built and dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism, rather than Chinese. I did try to find some postcards that showed some of the amazing ornaments and displays that were on offer but all I could find were photos taken from of the various statues of Buddha and of the temple itself.

I was starting to think that Beijing was a very dangerous place to walk, as everywhere seemed to be polished slate or marble and I was skidding around like a fool on an icerink til I took a glance at the bottoms of my trainers and realised that with all the non stop walking I was doing I had totally worn out the grip and was thus walking on a smooth piece of hardened plastic, thus in need of replacing.

Wiith this in mind I took off next to find a place to buy a cheap pair of trainers, a job easier said that done and not for the first time I realised that Chinaand Beijing particular isnt really that cheap unless you really know where to look or you dont mind rock bottom quality.

My plan to get some trainers came to naught by myself, as I could not find any discount store or market and so it was that my friend V' came to the rescue when we met up a little later on, suggesting that we go to a nearby market mall and it was here that we got me a pair of trainers for 100 yuan and a second speed clip belt for 80 yuan. We also grabbed some socks as the various hotel laundry services have been eating them at an alarming rate and I must have replenished my stock three times since leaving the UK.

After shopping V' and I stopped off to grab a drink in a nearby coffee shop where we were met by her friend and together we spend a nice hour just chatting and slurping on fruit smoothies.

All good things come to an end and I had previously agreed to meet up with my other friend H' tonight, originally thinking that I would have had the whole day to spend with V', so with a fond farewell and a promise to do my best to arrange another meeting before I left I jumped into a cab and drove off into the night.

I was told that no Beijing taxi driver can speak more than a few words, and although at first I doubted this after taking several I now feel that I was not lied to, the logic being that if they could speak fluent English then they could easily get a much better job that being just a taxi driver!

Even with written directions in Chinese it took a few phonecalls from H' before the driver could fix a position on her place and after that we barely had enough time to grab a bite to eat before it was late enough for us both to crash out and get some sleep, with Sunday ahead of us.

A legend of Kung Fu, performance in Beijing, China

With the Danish couple saving us precious time, we left and started coming back before 4pm and I fully expected to have at least an hour back in my hotel before being collected once again for my trip to the Kung Fu, however the tour guide once again screwed me and decided to cut costs by taking me direct to the show and then drop me off, even though the doors didnt open for at least another hour.

The 20 yuan that he gave me for a taxi back to my hostel was barely a recompense for the shoddy treatment I had received during the day and was continuing to have now that it was evening time, and I was just glad that I had not booked any further tours with the same company.

To kill the hour and a half I had been told to go get something to eat in the nearby restaurants, but the only one that I liked the look was also very expensive, so in the end I figured it was better to pick one that I didnt like the look of and just go for something basic like chicken with rice and hope for the best. As it turned out I ended up chatting with a Chinese American who was here during spring break along with some friends and he had just gone off wandering to find something to do while his New York Uni buddies all went off to sample Chinese massages.

He was a nice enough guy, even if he was studying law, but even coming from California he was very laid back and made talking to a little bit lik hard work, so we ate and then parted company, him off exploring and me to my Kung Fu show.

Thankfully I didnt have to wait for very long before the show started, being promptly at 7:30 despite late comers still filtering in to their seats from the back. The place had some very efficient security and anyone trying to use their phone or camera to take pictures got red laser beamed and then repremanded quietly yet with enough force to ensure no one did it twice.

I had hoped for some good Kunf Fu exhibitions, along with board breaking and such, but instead it was more like a cross between an opera / acrobatics troupe and kung fu all in one. 180 yuan got me a ticket near the back, darn that no good tour guide, but it was still close enough to see the action without needing glasses but next time I will buy the ticket myself or specifically request a seat within the first 8 rows, rather than back near the exit.

It was nice to see, but not at all what I was expecting and even ignoring the opera storyline there was far too much acrobatics and too little actual martial arts combat sequences. Had I realised it would be thus I might have not gone but then in the end I was still glad that I had seen it, as now I know what to expect the next time I think of going to see any Shaolin Monk performances or exhibitions.

It finished around 9pm and it was a doddle to get a taxi and find myself back in my hostel with plenty of time to get some sleep for an early start tomorrow.