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May 10, 2009
Sunday
Authored by John
Sunday morning we woke up and were a bit exhausted from the weekend. I first emailed my little bro to tell him Happy Birthday, it was his 20th birthday, then we both emailed our mothers for Mothers Day. We missed breakfast(it ends around 10am) and went to eat at the Bridge Cafe below our hotel. They had an American breakfast - eggs, home fries, bacon/sausage, pancakes, and OJ; all for about 5$ and it was excellent. It actually tasted like American food! Well, the owner gave a guest speech on Tuesday (from Grand Rapids, MI) and is the reason that the food is made for the western palate. Afterward, we got together with a few people on the trip and went to Wang Fu Jin - an enormous mall surrounded by a square mile or 2 of outdoor shopping and other interesting attractions - more on that later.
We started by going into the Nike outlet, which there were about 10 of along the strip. They have tons of stores which are popular in the US, and the focal point is the mall, which is 6 stories tall and contains tons of stores, department stores, domestic and imported goods, and even a grocery store in the basement. Plus, it had four places that China absolutely loves: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks. There were tons of these restaurants lining the streets, and we decided to give it a try... a quazi cultural experience in itself. The popcorn chicken was actually very good. It was a little spicier and had more breading (yes, that is possible) than in the US, but otherwise it was pretty similar. GREAT SUCCESS!
Then, we all ventured into the lions den. Though not as bad as the Silk Market, the outdoor food market at Wang Fu Jin was extraordinarily shocking and odd. From the moment we walked in, obviously there were people haggling us, trying to make us buy things from their stands (which offered pretty much the same thing as the guy next to them).
One of the first things we saw were different pieces of meat on a stick. "Skewers," we thought, "those look tasty!" WRONG. WRONG. We walked up to them and realized that some of the meat on the skewers were scorpions. And the worst part about it... they were STILL ALIVE!!! They were wiggling on the sticks and it was fairly disturbing. Needless to say, none of us tried the delicacy.
After Wang Fu Jin, we ended up separating. JM and I went to the Silk Market (I had to pick up my last 2 custom shirts) and it looked like it was pretty close on the map. WRONG. WRONG. haha it ended up being an hour hike from the mall center and there were a few women who stopped us on the street claiming to be English teachers.. which might have been true, but we took the more cynical approach (they were probably prostitutes). Also, a feral child who was super dirty ran after us and followed us for a while, trying to reach into our pockets to take money. We ended up throwing him over a fence. Finally we got to the Silk Market, I picked up my shirts, and we started our next adventure, the Beijing Subway.
We were worried because of the stories we heard from others describing the Subway experience in China. With around 15 million people in Beijing, we knew it would be a bit crowded. But after we made our way to the station and paid our 2 yuan (about 30 cents), it ended up being very easy. It was a fairly new subway, and when we were riding, there was a screen to tell us where we were on the route. We had to change subways twice, but each time, they pointed us in the right direction and had English writing as well. It took about 45 minutes to get home, comparable to how long it took to take a Taxi, and cost us a total of 4 yuan compared to about 70-80 yuan. :)
Sunday night, we ate at hot pot for the second time. There were 5 of us, and it was relaxing and fun. For those who don't know, each person gets their own broth in a pot which is heated by a fire. Then, we ordered raw beef, chicken, and vegetables to put in the broth so that they cook, and then they have many sauces to dip the meat into. We went back to the hotel after and both fell asleep at about 10pm.
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Posted by jfavorit at May 10, 2009 01:29 AM