Beijing again
My second trip to Beijing was originally planned for the end of September, but was pushed back two weeks, largely (I believe) because of activities associated with the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of The People’s Republic, on 1st October. This was just as well as I’ve read reports that whole suburbs were closed down and residents were prevented from entering their houses to ensure the secrecy of the preparations.
Everything was back to normal by the time we arrived on Monday 19th, in time for two days of meetings, the details of which I won’t bore you with. I will say however that our hosts were very generous and gracious and made us feel genuinely welcome. As is the way in these parts, they gave us lovely gifts – framed shadow puppets – which they’d even gone to the trouble of engraving with their company name. The gifts we’d brought with us were rather pathetic by comparison, and I therefore found myself in what may be one of the most expensive supermarkets in the world, buying outrageously overpriced bottles of reasonably decent Australian wine, to make up the difference.
To give you an idea of just how expensive this place is, this can of basic Gillette shaving foam was priced at 184 Yuan. At about 6 Yuan to the Aussie, that’s a $30 can of shaving foam. Aye Carumba!
$30 shaving foam!!!
I suppose they have to charge those sorts of prices as they had about 40 staff on the floor of what is not a particularly large store. Many of these were tasked with standing at the end of a specified aisle, presumably to assist shoppers. They were however curiously inattentive when I actually wanted some help finding a particular bottle of wine, but were only too quick to react when I pulled my camera out to take a photo of them standing around doing nothing.
This was the ritzy, embassy-ridden part of Beijing though, just across from the Sheraton Hotel, where we were staying, and next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. Another clue about the nature of this part of town are the dozens of pimps that line the street of an evening, handing out pictures of their girls (I’m sure there were boys too but I wasn’t offered any). After four nights, I think I had the whole set.
Canal by the Beijing Sheraton at night
Mornings in this part of town are a much more civilised affair though. It hadn’t taken me long (about a quarter of a second in fact, once I’d seen the 227 Yuan price tag) to decide that I would not be eating at the hotel, so I spent my time sampling the breakfast delights on offer down by the canal. My favourite was an egg cooked in a pancake sort of thing, served with chilli sauce and lettuce. There were plenty of other options too, all of which were tasty and none of which cost more than 2 Yuan. Take that, Sheraton!
Canal by the Beijing Sheraton by day
