October 3rd, 2005 Well, I left for Beijing yesterday. Immediately after my cab arrived at the train station, even before I was able to pay the driver, a child opened the door and begged me for money. If it had been an adult, I would have told him to fuck off, and I still nearly told the poor kid to fuck off. I sympathize with their plight and their property, but I don’t appreciate being looked upon as a meal ticket, or money resource just because I’m a foreigner……. I’m usually generous, but I’m starting to feel that I may be less so in the future……. Anyway, the train ride was neat. I’ve been in a train, bet they only had seats, this is the first one with sleeping cabins. They weren’t luxurious or anything, but was nice to not have to try and sleep while sitting up. It was night during the train ride, so I didn’t get to see much scenery along the way, but it was nice ride. In the dining cart, I ran into some other foreigners who invited me to join them. One was a Belgian business man, and what appeared to be his female Chinese partner, not entirely sure if it was business or otherwise. There was also another American, who as chance would have it, was also teaching English in Suzhou. I had a few beers and smoked a few cigarettes, and had a good conversation about China, the US and various other random topics. A security guard forgot his hat in the cabin, so naturally we all took pictures wearing it….. and the next morning I remembered why I had decided to take a break from drinking and smoking in the first place. Once every 6 months is too often, I think I’ve quit for good this time. The next morning I arrived at my hotel, the Gloria Plaza, a 4-star hotel that I’m paying less than $50 a night for. In the morning I slept off my hangover (from 3 ½ beers! I am such a light weight) then in the afternoon I went and talked to the travel agent. Tomorrow, I’m going to the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Then on Wednesday I’m going to the Great Wall and the Ming Tomb. Then, Wednesday night I’ve arranged to see a Shoalin Monk kung fu performance. But, this afternoon, I took a tour of the Hutongs by Pedicab. In the older version of the Pedicab, the driver would actually pick up the cart and carry it behind his back. In the updated version, the driver has a bicycle with which to carry passengers. The Hutongs are the underdeveloped areas of Beijing. Ten years ago, 90% of the people in Beijing lived in Hutongs, now it’s only 10%. Many of them have been torn down to make way for high rise apartment complexes (which is where 90% of the people live now) and office building, frequently without the consent of the former occupants (the government apparently just posts a note on their door telling them they have 30 days to vacate, nice of them eh?). However, many of them have great historical significance and are preserved for that reason. My guide for the tour was a sweet little Chinese girl fresh out of college named Allen (or Alley). It was set up for tourists, but it wasn’t very touristy, there was no one trying to sell me jade or silk or anything like that, and I did get to actually see a poorer, underdeveloped part of the city. Some of the building apparently were over 150 years and dated to the feudal times. There were still rock markers at the base of the doors signifying that back during the Qing dynasty, they had been the residencies of high ranking military officials or court scholars. But, now they were local residences for ordinary people. There was also a retired couple that had opened their home to let tourists have look. It was small, definitely very cozy, but still quite nice. I got se see their living and bed room (the bed room had barely enough room for the bed and dressers) as well as their kitchen and coal burning stove. Apparently the main source of heating here is coal burning stoves that heat water which is then pumped through the house. They also had their toilet, because the previous owner was the manager of the post office, and had been quite wealthy. I have noticed a lot of public toilets along the street, both in Beijing and in Suzhou, and though it was so that passersby would go there instead of on the street (which I have also seen) . But it turns out that except for the wealthier residents, none of the older neighborhood have indoor plumbing, and must rely on the public toilet since they do not have one in their homes. Plumbing and your own, personal, toilet is just one of those thing you take for granted. Its quite eye-opening to see people live (quite happily as near as I can tell) without some of the luxuries we all take as necessities. After dinner, I went to the silk market, just to check it out. It turned out to be a large, 3 story store with much more than just silk. I just walked though looking at what was available, and of course, encountered the standard Asian salesperson who aggressively hound you to buy their stuff. I just made sure to avoid eye contact and walk quickly. But I did end up getting a silk scroll with a traditional Chinese painting on it. I haggled the price down from Y120, to Y100, and probably could have gotten it lower if I had been more aggressive, but well, that’s still $12.50 for something I’d pay at least $50 for in the states. It’s such a low price to begin with, its hard to then demand a lower price, but that’s just how things are done around here. Also, while I was looking at the paintings, one of the saleswomen accused me of being handsome, which just struck me as coming out of nowhere, though its not the first time it has happened. Well, tomorrow its off to the Forbidden City, the former seat of power in China.