michael_chmilar
In Beijing, Now
I arrived in Beijing this morning at 6:45am, after an overnight train journey. The trip took 11.5 hours. The soft sleeper to Beijing was nicer than the one from Chengdu to Xi'an. This one had an LCD TV screen for each bunk, and you could choose from a number of "channels". One was playing movies in English, so I watched the worst of the Star Wars movies: "Episode One: Jar-Jar Stinks".
The internet cafe I am using has their machines configured so I cannot redirect the browser to "localhost", and thus I cannot run the ssh tunnel to access my blog. I hate it when the system admins are competent! If I could tunnel, I would be able to post a photo-rich entry. As it is, I am posting through flickr, so I can only enclose one photo in the post. The photo is the big countdown board to the Olympics.
I had a nice day, yesterday, going to the museum in Xi'an with Betty. After the museum, we did some shopping. In Xi'an I switched from "scenery mode" to "culture and history mode", so I am not hauling my camera around all day. Because of that, I decided to purchase some sneakers, rather than wear my hiking boots everywhere. It took a while to find a shop that had some shoes in my size. Although 10.5 (US) is one of the most common sizes in North America, it is not common in China. Eventually, we found a nice Li-Ning Super Lightweight sneaker in size 11 (Eur 45). It is nice because it is super lightweight, and will be easy to haul in the pack between cities.
In Beijing, I also went shopping, today. Tiannanmen Square is shutdown because of a China-Africa summit, so there is little to do near the hostel I am staying in.
I need some clothes that are a little more comfortable and "urban" than my outdoor trekking clothes.
I went to a place that has many, many stalls selling clothing and other things. All of the stalls are selling pretty much the same stuff. Nothing is priced, so you have to bargain. After wandering around for a while, seeing what was available, I decided to try to buy a pair of jeans. As with the shoes, the problem is finding jeans that me, since I am tall.
I did find a pair that looked like they would fit. The length was good. However, there is no fitting room, so getting the right waist size is difficult. The size that I usually wear looked too small, so I went for the next size up. I bargained for a price of Y330 (about $42 down from the first asking price of Y780. I think I paid too much, though. Also, the waist is a little big, but I think the next size down would be too small. (I changed into the jeans in a restroom, after I bought them.) So, I needed to buy a belt.
I decided to walk a little more and find a department store (which has fixed, tagged prices). In the department store, "designer" jeans were selling from Y200 up to Y680. The ones I bought were not in the store, but I think they would sell for more than the Y330 I paid. (I still think I paid too much, though.)
In the department store, I looked for a belt, but could not find a cheap one that I liked. Then I headed to the Li-Ning sportswear department, and bought a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and some socks. I bought enough stuff that I qualified for a free pair of fleece gloves, too. Now, I have a complete Li-Ning outfit: shoes, socks, pants, shirt, cap, and gloves.
I headed back to market to find a belt. At least now I knew what the asking price was in the department store, and I got one for Y240 (down from Y680). The guy kept coming down in price because, after initially picking a belt and being told Y680, I kept telling him I just needed a "cheap belt", and maybe he could show me a different belt that was much cheaper. Y240 ($30) is still more than I really wanted to pay. I really wanted to pay $20 for a cheap belt! However, once the vendor thinks you have made a choice, they have a one-track mind, and it was impossible to choose a different belt.
Beijing is quite cold, today. I have to wear my windstopper fleece, long underwear, and gloves, and I still feel chilly.
Tonight, I am going to see a live "Kung-Fu Show". The hostel can also arrange for Beijing Opera, and Acrobats. I will see those on other nights. They also have a "secret great wall" (ie. away from the tourist hordes) tour.
In Beijing, Now
I arrived in Beijing this morning at 6:45am, after an overnight train journey. The trip took 11.5 hours. The soft sleeper to Beijing was nicer than the one from Chengdu to Xi'an. This one had an LCD TV screen for each bunk, and you could choose from a number of "channels". One was playing movies in English, so I watched the worst of the Star Wars movies: "Episode One: Jar-Jar Stinks".
The internet cafe I am using has their machines configured so I cannot redirect the browser to "localhost", and thus I cannot run the ssh tunnel to access my blog. I hate it when the system admins are competent! If I could tunnel, I would be able to post a photo-rich entry. As it is, I am posting through flickr, so I can only enclose one photo in the post. The photo is the big countdown board to the Olympics.
I had a nice day, yesterday, going to the museum in Xi'an with Betty. After the museum, we did some shopping. In Xi'an I switched from "scenery mode" to "culture and history mode", so I am not hauling my camera around all day. Because of that, I decided to purchase some sneakers, rather than wear my hiking boots everywhere. It took a while to find a shop that had some shoes in my size. Although 10.5 (US) is one of the most common sizes in North America, it is not common in China. Eventually, we found a nice Li-Ning Super Lightweight sneaker in size 11 (Eur 45). It is nice because it is super lightweight, and will be easy to haul in the pack between cities.
In Beijing, I also went shopping, today. Tiannanmen Square is shutdown because of a China-Africa summit, so there is little to do near the hostel I am staying in.
I need some clothes that are a little more comfortable and "urban" than my outdoor trekking clothes.
I went to a place that has many, many stalls selling clothing and other things. All of the stalls are selling pretty much the same stuff. Nothing is priced, so you have to bargain. After wandering around for a while, seeing what was available, I decided to try to buy a pair of jeans. As with the shoes, the problem is finding jeans that me, since I am tall.
I did find a pair that looked like they would fit. The length was good. However, there is no fitting room, so getting the right waist size is difficult. The size that I usually wear looked too small, so I went for the next size up. I bargained for a price of Y330 (about $42 down from the first asking price of Y780. I think I paid too much, though. Also, the waist is a little big, but I think the next size down would be too small. (I changed into the jeans in a restroom, after I bought them.) So, I needed to buy a belt.
I decided to walk a little more and find a department store (which has fixed, tagged prices). In the department store, "designer" jeans were selling from Y200 up to Y680. The ones I bought were not in the store, but I think they would sell for more than the Y330 I paid. (I still think I paid too much, though.)
In the department store, I looked for a belt, but could not find a cheap one that I liked. Then I headed to the Li-Ning sportswear department, and bought a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and some socks. I bought enough stuff that I qualified for a free pair of fleece gloves, too. Now, I have a complete Li-Ning outfit: shoes, socks, pants, shirt, cap, and gloves.
I headed back to market to find a belt. At least now I knew what the asking price was in the department store, and I got one for Y240 (down from Y680). The guy kept coming down in price because, after initially picking a belt and being told Y680, I kept telling him I just needed a "cheap belt", and maybe he could show me a different belt that was much cheaper. Y240 ($30) is still more than I really wanted to pay. I really wanted to pay $20 for a cheap belt! However, once the vendor thinks you have made a choice, they have a one-track mind, and it was impossible to choose a different belt.
Beijing is quite cold, today. I have to wear my windstopper fleece, long underwear, and gloves, and I still feel chilly.
Tonight, I am going to see a live "Kung-Fu Show". The hostel can also arrange for Beijing Opera, and Acrobats. I will see those on other nights. They also have a "secret great wall" (ie. away from the tourist hordes) tour.