Lone Five Star State
Have been out-of-the-loop awhile thanks to a wee trip to Beijing, no less. Volunteered myself for a bit of international diplomacy, ended up giving a speech and being filmed, and thankfully did not trigger world war three... I must admit, I have some amazing experiences, and am very lucky with my work. Wish I had an opportunity to share these great times with someone, though :-(
I ended up staying in a five star hotel for a couple of days (unintended bonus of being double booked). Brillig. I will almost certainly never stay in such luxury again, unless that rich husband I'm destined to have, appears from the mist, and sweeps me off my feet (hmmmmm).
Beijing makes London look like a fragrant oasis of calm and beauty. Cut through-and-through with multi-lane roads, barely an historic building in sight, and an ever-present acrid smell in the air, it was a little chaotic but never less than interesting. The shopping is cheap but you have to be able to cope with people hawking stuff at every corner, and shouting in your ear constantly. "Hey beautiful lady, you want a bag??? Cheap price, lady, nice bag!!". I could have come home armed with every knock-off and delightful thing I ever dreamed off, but got so exhausted by the shouting, haggling, and pressure, that I returned with next to nothing instead. Got a nice hat, which sadly got a bit mangled on the journey back, and some bright yellow silk, though.
The Forbidden City, however, comes strongly recommended. A day, at least, is needed to wander through the vast grounds and palaces. The Emperor undoubtedly had it good. He practically had a palace (laced in gold) for every mood he found himself in. "Hmmm, I'm feeling a little bit hungry, I think I'll go and lay down in the "Temple of Contemplating How Many Courses I will Have in my Next Meal" and be fed grapes by ten eunuchs wearing hats made out of pearl".
Meant to go to the Great Wall (which is said to take your breath away) but sadly the jet lag did for me, and I slept in too late, on the day I intended to go. Boooo. Still can't complain, was a most interesting trip.... my stomach even survived the frankly VILE food that was on offer. Found a veggie restaurant that served all kinds of fake meat, all of which tasted like deep-fried cardboard, and was served lunch by my hosts, and was too polite not to eat the offal(???), jellied eels(????) and brains(????) that they threw heartily onto my plate. At one point, the director said "Have more, otherwise when you get back to England, you will be too thin, and they will think we haven't fed you enough". Bless. Cue a desperate attempt to stop the gag reflex.
Anyways better go. Work to do and all that!! Might post some photos if I can get my IT geek head on....
I ended up staying in a five star hotel for a couple of days (unintended bonus of being double booked). Brillig. I will almost certainly never stay in such luxury again, unless that rich husband I'm destined to have, appears from the mist, and sweeps me off my feet (hmmmmm).
Beijing makes London look like a fragrant oasis of calm and beauty. Cut through-and-through with multi-lane roads, barely an historic building in sight, and an ever-present acrid smell in the air, it was a little chaotic but never less than interesting. The shopping is cheap but you have to be able to cope with people hawking stuff at every corner, and shouting in your ear constantly. "Hey beautiful lady, you want a bag??? Cheap price, lady, nice bag!!". I could have come home armed with every knock-off and delightful thing I ever dreamed off, but got so exhausted by the shouting, haggling, and pressure, that I returned with next to nothing instead. Got a nice hat, which sadly got a bit mangled on the journey back, and some bright yellow silk, though.
The Forbidden City, however, comes strongly recommended. A day, at least, is needed to wander through the vast grounds and palaces. The Emperor undoubtedly had it good. He practically had a palace (laced in gold) for every mood he found himself in. "Hmmm, I'm feeling a little bit hungry, I think I'll go and lay down in the "Temple of Contemplating How Many Courses I will Have in my Next Meal" and be fed grapes by ten eunuchs wearing hats made out of pearl".
Meant to go to the Great Wall (which is said to take your breath away) but sadly the jet lag did for me, and I slept in too late, on the day I intended to go. Boooo. Still can't complain, was a most interesting trip.... my stomach even survived the frankly VILE food that was on offer. Found a veggie restaurant that served all kinds of fake meat, all of which tasted like deep-fried cardboard, and was served lunch by my hosts, and was too polite not to eat the offal(???), jellied eels(????) and brains(????) that they threw heartily onto my plate. At one point, the director said "Have more, otherwise when you get back to England, you will be too thin, and they will think we haven't fed you enough". Bless. Cue a desperate attempt to stop the gag reflex.
Anyways better go. Work to do and all that!! Might post some photos if I can get my IT geek head on....
posted by TheMightyDing at 15:57
2 Comments:
Wow- Beijing? What did you have to talk about? Was it some sort of international symposium type thing about donors or summat?
I am always somewhat scared of going to a country where I cannot read the alphabet- Russia, China, Japan. I would like to go to Japan; I think there's enough English signage for me to cope even if the language is a little impenetrable.
I guess most cities in China are similar- There's all the hoo-ha about the Olympic athletes possibly keeling over due to the shocking air quality out there.
I like the idea of constructing rooms and buildings for super-specific purposes. I think I would have a room for putting my socks on and perhaps a room for post-shower drying. But those aren't really crazy enough I guess... Well done on eating the anonymous food stuffs- I'm not sure what's worse, knowing what scariness you're stuffing down your gob or guessing what it is. Ik.
What shade of yellow is your silk? Pale clouded yellow or bright canary? I think that's kinda romantic buying a length of material in a far-off locale- Are you going to make anything with it or just display it?
I can empathise with the wanting to share the experience with someone. As we both know having someone does not mean you are any more complete as a human being but things are definitely more fun and interesting when you've a partner in crime. Le sigh.
I had to pick up some human goo, for the first time (from China) hence the hoo-hah.
Beijing is busy busy busy, and the air quality isn't brilliant. But you probably wouldn't notice too much, unless you were asmatic or summit, and by the slight pong that is constantly in the air. It seemed worst out by the airport where there was a proper pea-souper of a smog over the planes...
To be honest, wish I'd done more shopping as it was cheap as chips, but the constant harrassment from the hawkers just put me off. The silk was sort of goldy-yellow, but I only kept a small strip, giving the rest to one of my embroidery ladies (as she'd just given me a lace cushion).
Yea, can't help feeling a bit maudlin about my lack of "sharing". Enjoyed the five-star lifestyle a lot, but would have been most pleasant to lap it up with someone else. Still, if those darned fellas aren't interested, nowt I can do about it!
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