BEIJING TIP: Do squats!

Beijingers love to squat. They squat on the toilet, squat in the street, squat in the subway, squat while smoking, squat at the bus stop, squat....well u get the idea. For a newbie, so much squatting will put extensive strain on your quadriceps. So practice those squats!

Squatter spotted beside the entrance to the Temple of Heaven

Sanlitun 三里屯

Here are some pics I took my 2nd day in Beijing of Sanlitun 三里屯 - a shopping / bar / restaurant district on the east side. I can actually cycle there in about 5min.

This massive adidas is the 1st shop u see coming from the main street. This is the biggest adidas store in the world!

Here is a huge UNIQLO building next to adidas. I quite like the patterns of the windows (that fool in the corner is Denis). When shopping at UNIQLO, keep in mind that the quality of clothes in UNIQLO Japan is much higher than in UNIQLO elsewhere as the Japanese like to keep the best fabric for themselves.

What a pain to keep those windows clean!

Another building similar style to Uniqlo, i like the trees, but not sure what is inside.

Further north is a VW showroom. Here we saw some zippy paintjobs for the olympics.

Best of Beijing: Panty-hose socks

Beijing ladies hate that barefoot feeling, so what do they wear before they put on those heels? Panty-hose socks = Denis' favorite thing in Beijing! 

Seen prancing around in Beihai Park 北海公園....Sexaaay!

BEIJING TIP: Buy a rain poncho the same day u buy a bike!

Today it started pouring while Denis and I were out biking around 798 (pics to come later). We waited inside for about 1hr and the rain still kept coming down. As it was getting late, we had to bike home in the rain, in our shorts, t-shirt & sandals (abt 30min). 

Everyone else biking was wearing big ponchos that covered most of the body and bike (they come in red, yellow, blue or grey). Apparently you can buy them in the supermarket, too bad for us, there were no supermarkets on the way back home.

BJ TIP: buy a rain poncho from the supermarket!!!

update: rain poncho costs 36RMB at Lotus in Wudaokou

update: 1st post about 798

Paralympics - Water Cube

More pics at Olympic Park, this time of the water cube, what a cool structure! i will have to explore the inside later.

Paralympics - Bird's Nest

This past monday I went to see athletics at the Paralympics. Booked tickets online for just 50RMB. Here are some obligatory pics from my visit to the Nest:

Young olympic supporters must keep their energy up!

香港加油！！Yes a HK athlete actually won gold in athletics!

Funky guitar dude and Peking Duck

Last night my cousin (who just arrived on tuesday) wanted to welcome himself to Beijing with a Peking Duck dinner. Luckily I had brought my trusty food guide and lo-and-behold there was a famous duck joint just south of Wang Fu Jing 王府井 area - Liqun Roast Duck 利群烤鴨店.

Just outside on the corner of the restaurant was an old dude singing traditional songs and playing on a weird looking instrument. 

Closer inspection revealed that it was basically a lie-flat guitar (which he later told us he bought in Shanghai). It was kind of funky as the frets had keys on them which were labeled in their respective notes.

Anyway, after hanging out there for a while, we went into the restaurant. It is actually a very famous place as the walls were filled with pictures of movie stars, singers, politicians eating there. Finally we got our Liqun Peking Duck! Ended up paying 117RMB per person.

BEIJING TIP: Be proactive when purchasing electricity

Last night I was blogging, Denis was ironing and watching TV and we had the air con on full blast and all the lights on. Suddenly we were drenched in darkness! Denis had forgot to pay his electric bill -_-

After a trip to the property management office, we find out that over here, electricity use is not billed to you, it must be bought beforehand. 

Denis apparently has an electricity card with which he was supposed to take to the bank and buy units of electricity with. The card is then inserted into the electricity box next to the back stairwell and then however many units of electricity you bought is then allocated to your flat. But the thing is, none of the tenants have direct access to the electricity box which displays how much electricity you have left, only property management has access. So you cannot know easily how much credit you have left....over complication in China makes for interesting situations. 

Zero electricity credit at night is not a good position to be in. Luckily we were able to buy a few units from the convenience store downstairs. 

Moral of the story - be proactive when living in China!

Cool bar at Emperor hotel

There is a great bar/restaurant on rooftop of Emperor Hotel overlooking the Forbidden City 故宮. They do some nice cocktail drinks with rice wine that are quite tasty.  At night the rooftops of the Forbidden City buildings light up and you can see them from this bar! Great drinks/dinner/date spot. The layout sort of reminds me of the bar on top of Banyan tree in Bangkok. Thanks to Frances for showing me this elegant place! 

Lunch for 14yuan

Here's what I had for lunch the other day. Noodles 炸獎麵 + dumplings + tea = 14 yuan! Taste was good and i couldn't even finish it all!

Got a new ride!

Purchased at Carrefour for 368 yuan + 10 for the lock. I decided not to get the basket attachment that Denis got as it didn't come in baby blue. Carrefour has a HUGE bike section. They have normal bikes, mini-bikes that fold up, hybrid bikes that run on battery or pedal and scooters.

It was an entertaining experience, picked the bikes by testing them out in the clothing section (next to the bike section). Then going downstairs to pay (as the upstairs cashier cannot process foreign credit cards. Then go pack up to pickup the bikes. Then riding them down through the groceries section and out the exit!

Here's a pic of our bikes with a local gal....

not quite what we had in mind....

the future of China

the future of China is....cabin crew???
(seen in Wudaokou 五道口)

impressive architecture

Yesterday i was walking around Guomao 國貿 district. Guomao is one of the central business districts in Beijing and is full of brand new mega-buildings. In comparison to HK, Beijing's buildings are architecturally more impressive both in variety and design. Of course it also has to do with the fact that land in Beijing is cheap compared to HK. Therefore, buildings can be spaced out much more and therefore, the viewer's focus is drawn to the building itself.

One particularly impressive skyscraper is the newly built CCTV HQ. Check the pics...i was especially interested in the window washers, what a difficult job they have!

i am a refugee

I have now assumed the title of refugee. My sponsor Denis has kindly sheltered me in his ultra modern studio apartment in 東直門. It is equipped with a super strong microwave and a cannot-close-the-door bathroom.

I sleep on the windowsill with a nice view overlooking a backyard full of buildings....things could be worse. Denis is sleeping now as he is sick...i hope he gets well soon.

Shenzhen Airlines

In my previous live I worked for an airline. Therefore, from then on, everytime I try a new airline, I can't help but analyze various things such as the inside of the plane, the seats, IFE, service, food, etc.

On my flight to Beijing I took Shenzhen Airlines (SZ) because of the cheap airfare. If you are wondering on the ticket price you can check Ctrip. The aircraft was a basic A320 and interior pretty std for Chinese airline - as in not particularly nice. However I was pleasantly surprised by the service, the cabin crew was polite and patient and they even did a dance with their hands while the official SZ video played!

Surprisingly, the best thing about the flight was the food! I had beef rice...although the presentation was a lacking (as expected) the beef was very soft and the sauce was a bit sweet and very tasty to mix with the rice. It also came with a side of edamame beans, pack of pickled veggies and a mandarin orange.

I am now impressed with the caterer at SZ airport. 

errands are like rats

ok finished a marathon session of errands today....and new ones kept popping up while i was doing the ones on my list! errands are like rats!

now i gotta get some grub and drinks with friends b4 getting back to the packing...

neverending errands

u don't stop, no u don't stop uh huh uh huh.....friggin errands never get done! i still have boatload of stuff to do tmr before i takeoff on thursday:

1. Buy asthma inhaler from doctor
2. Bring tennis racket to Joyce
3. Meet office manager
4. Buy insurance
5. Sort out yuan situation
6. Pack!

Packing blows

Packing for Beijing is a bitch....the weather btwn Sep - Dec will be quite cold i think. sweaters & long underwear is the way to go i think....i also think i need a bigger suitcase for all these bulky items...

test

testing from Hong Kong