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I woke at 4:00 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched an Italian game show on TV - pretty sad.

China 2001 - Part Two: Beidaihe

Dougburnett
2003-11-23 19:49:32

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of small dumplings, maybe 10 or 15 of them. "Wow," I thought, "Did I order this too?" I was starting to fill up but, I charged ahead anyway - I didn't want to disappoint my audience. By now all the other diners had left and the kitchen staff had come in to eat - they sat watching me too.

Finally, I was full. I pushed back my plate, finished my beer and jotted a few notes in my journal. Then I figured it was time to go - my waitress was still standing dutifully by while the rest of the staff was eating.

I asked her for my bill and when it arrived, I give her some money. When she brought back my change I decided to give her a tip for being so helpful. I put some money in her hand, but she quickly and decisively put it on the table. It was clear that wasn't the way to show my gratitude.

She picked up my phrase guide and looked through it. Then she pointed to "I want to be your friend." I was touched - and a little embarrassed. I always feel so ill equipped for these displays of spontaneous generosity. I feel I should have something to give in return, so I did what I often do - I got out my business card and gave her one. If you haven't seen one, they are quite attractive with a map of Michigan filled with eight colored bands - one for each of the Booth Newspapers. I also took her picture standing with the waiters. She looked happy and proud. She was indeed my friend.

I got the next bus back to the hotel. In the evening I went out for a beer again, but nothing happened to top my lunch experience.

Beijing, Thursday, September 6

In the morning I took the "hard seat" train back to Beijing. Hard seat in this case meant no air condition - the benches were still padded and seats still reserved. I was sitting across the aisle from a German couple and we started talking about our travels. Pretty soon a young Chinese woman sitting behind us joined in - she wanted to practice her English.

Somewhere in the conversation I got out my phrase guide and the Chinese girl started reading through it. From there she started trying to teach me Chinese. "Repeat after me," she commanded and then read some Chinese phrases. A small crowd collected to watch the fun - they seemed to love hearing me slaughter Chinese. There are some particularly hard sounds to make and she drilled me over and over on these.

The train seemed to stop at every little station and as the day progressed it grew hotter and hotter in the car. Finally after four long hours we arrived in Beijing. It was blistering hot outside as I went looking for a taxi. I tried two different taxi queues with no luck. The drivers just looked at my map and shook their heads no - I have no idea why. Hot and sweating, I finally found a woman driver who took me to the Lu Song Yuan - see why I prefer women drivers? I gave her a big tip in appreciation, but I doubt she understood why.

In the afternoon I cashed some traveler’s checks and then headed over to Liulichang Street. It's a little southwest of Tiananmen Square and is a lot like the Ancient Culture Street in Tianjin - pedestrian-only and lined with restored buildings selling tourist goods. While completely a creation for the tourists, there are many very interesting shops to visit and I found the clerks were always willing to spend a little time talking.

After dinner I went out and bought a few things for my trip to western China the next morning.

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