Finally, Beijing!

This post has been put off long enough (not entirely intentional).  It's time to tell you about our mini-trip to Beijing.

On Thursday morning I woke up not really ready for travel and with a sore throat and stuffy nose.  I have hardly gotten sick at all since coming to China and doesn't it just figure that it happens the day I have to get on a plane.  I had some green tea to soothe my throat and that gave me the shakes so by the time I was packed and ready, I was a bit of a jittery mess.  I was a little worried about making this trip, not for the travelling part but for the passport application.  Obtaining or renewing a passport in Canada is stressful enough when you only have to drive an hour to get to the office.  Now I had to fly to another city to do it with requirements that are more strict.  I'm always afraid I have done some part of it wrong or that the photos will be rejected.  That happened once with Nicholas's application and is the reason I wanted Ryan with me in Beijing.  I even had Tim sign an extra application in case I messed the first one up.  This is the worst part of travelling for me.  Although I love the idea of getting a passport, I really don't enjoy the process.  To make matters worse, I realized before we left that the store that did the photos didn't stamp the backs of them.  

Anyway, Thursday morning I got our laundry done and packed one bag for Ryan and I.  Nicholas was being very cooperative and was actually excited for us to leave since he was going to do some fun stuff with his dad while we were away.  Anna very kindly showed up early to stay with him so I could go back to the photo shop on the way to the airport.  He gave me a big hug and Ryan a high-five and we were off to the store.  When I went in I showed the guy the back of the photo and did a stamping motion which he understood and got a girl there to do it.  That was great except that she didn't do one with the date.  I asked her about it and she indicated that I should write it which I didn't think would be acceptable.  I went out to the van and asked Tian Ye to go back in and ask them if they could do it with a stamp and when he came back they had written it in pen.  Oh well.  I figured if they weren't acceptable I would get them redone in Beijing.

From here we continued on to the airport.  Tian Ye dropped us off and asked me if I was taking the cheap stroller I purchased last week.  I wasn't going to but decided at the last minute that I should.  I was really glad I did, it was more help than hindrance.  Even when Ryan didn't want to ride in it I had a place to drop my backpack.  Although Shenyang Taoxian Airport isn't especially large, I had trouble checking in at first because I was looking for the Air China counter.  After a few minutes I realized that they don't check in by airline but by domestic or international flights.  Once I figured that out it took only a few minutes to get our boarding passes and move through security.    We had some time to kill before our flight so we watched the airplanes landing and taking off then played on the iPods for a bit.  When it was almost time to board the plane one of the agents came over to me and pointed at the stroller.  All she could say was "too big".  I had asked at the ticket counter if I could gate check it and they said that I could but I thought she was telling me that I couldn't take it at all.  I tried to find 'gate check' on my iPod translator but couldn't and all she kept saying was "too big".  Finally she got frustrated and walked away.  She came back a few minutes later with a pink tag that had 'Gate Service' written on it in English and Chinese.  I smiled and said, "Dui," (yes/correct), "gate service!" and she smiled as well.  Perhaps next time she encounters this she will bring the tag with her the first time.  

Soon we made our way to the walkway going to the airplane.  Ryan stopped a few steps in and ran back to the top of the ramp, where there were other people waiting to walk down.  He waited for a second then took off like an athlete in a race.  I followed and only caught up with him at the door to the airplane.

We found our seats and settled in for the flight.  He was extremely well behaved for the entire 1.5 hours and I hope that is an indication of what our 13+ hour flight will be like in November.

We landed in Beijing and made our way through the lovely airport to the exit where we were supposed to meet our driver, Tristan.  Of all the signs people were holding with names on them, I didn't see any with my name on them.  I called Tristan and said he had sent another driver.  Since Ryan was really excited with the fountains they had there I thought I might have missed him so I went back and looked again.  It wasn't long and a man with a big red sign with "Jan" written on it found me.  His name was Raymond and he was going to drive us to the hotel that day and then to the embassy on Friday.  He led us to the parking garage, chatting the whole time about different things.  When we got to the underground parking he said that we should wait by some cars while he pulled his car out, that it was too dangerous for us to get in it where it was parked.  I didn't see the danger but I stayed where he asked.  He got in the car and when he backed out of the spot toward us he ran over two large pylons then into a sign.  I laughed but started to wonder what we were getting into.

Our flight had landed at five o'clock and it was getting close to six when we left the airport.  We quickly got into traffic and I asked how far it was to our hotel.  Thirty kilometers or so.  Two hours later we pulled into the Jianguo Hotel!  It was a ridiculously long drive but again Ryan was good and Raymond, who is the same age as me, was talking almost the whole time.  He would point out various buildings, explain what they were and tell me that they were "very famous".

Outside our hotel there was a fountain so Ryan immediately liked the place.  The lobby was lovely with one lady playing a grand piano and another a violin.  We checked in with a lot of cooing from the ladies on the front desk and made our way to our room on the first floor.  As soon as we walked in I knew we wouldn't be staying.  The room looked nice enough but there was a smell of mildew coming from the bathroom.  I immediately went back to the desk and requested another room and they obliged.  This time we were put on the third floor and although it still had a bit of a smell, it wasn't as bad.  We quickly dropped the backpack and made our way back to the lobby and restaurant.  We sat down at a table where we could see a little pond and fountain area but still hear the piano and violin in the background.  They played familiar music including 'Danny Boy' which is one of my mom's favorite songs.  It made me a little sad until I remembered that I will be seeing her in just two weeks time.

I ordered a steak with rice for Ryan and I to share, a water for me and a glass of yogurt for him.  It was the most expensive yogurt I've ever seen but I guess it was good.  The rib-eye that we got was rather odd.  They served it on grill that was so incredibly hot that the meat and veggies were sizzling and the fat was splattering on my arms and burning me.  I waited a while before trying to take a bite and when I did it burnt my tongue.  I decided to wait longer and in the meantime the steak was becoming charred on the bottom so I flipped it over.  I really thought that for that price I shouldn't have to do the cooking myself.  Eventually I tried the veggies and they too left my mouth sizzling.  When everything finally cooled down enough that I could eat it I discovered that half the meat was actually fat.  The part that wasn't tasted delicious.

Sizzling Steak

After supper, even though it was a little late, we took a stroll along the street in front of our hotel to find some snacks to keep in our room.  We passed an imitation Starbucks and a McDonald's before finding a little store where I ended up only buying bottled water.  I have learned that one of the problems with cutting bread, dairy and potatoes out of your diet is that there isn't a lot of quick food out there to eat.  Maybe that's a good thing though!  On the way back to the hotel we stopped outside the McDonald's where they had a window where you could order McFlurry's.  While I was ordering one for Ryan a woman came up beside me and pulled a wallet out of her purse.  "Yi bai" (100 yuan) she said.  I shook my head no.  She pulled out another.  "Two wallet, yi bai".  Again I said no, I don't want a wallet.  A third one came out of her bag.  Then a fourth.  Every time she pulled one out she said "Yi bai" and every time I shook my head.  She didn't stop until she had seven wallets in her hand, all for 100 yuan.  What in the world would I do with seven cheap, imitation wallets?  Christmas, I suppose.

After that we took Ryan's ice cream and went back to our room to settle in for the night.  It wasn't long and we were sound asleep in the big king size bed.  We had a pleasant sleep and were up early the next morning.  

View from our little balcony:

We went to Imitation Starbucks to get some orange juice and a cookie for Ryan then waited for our driver to pick us up at eight.  Raymond arrived and we headed out for the Canadian embassy.  They opened at 8:30 but would be closing at 11am so I wanted to be there early in case we had to go get photos done again.  It was a bit of a search to find the right gate but after asking around, we made it.

Picture of guys saying, "No pictures!"

The security at the embassy is very tight, for obvious reasons, and I had to had over my cellphone and iPods then go through a metal detector and have my purse scanned.  From there we took an elevator to another floor and a small office area.  There was no waiting and the lady that took the application was very pleasant. She even complimented me on how organized and well prepared the application was as well as how unhappy Ryan looked in his photo.  Everything seemed to be in order though and we were in and out again in about a half hour.  Thank goodness that was over with and I could relax.  

Next we were off to the zoo to finally see some panda bears.  I was pleasantly surprised that the admission to the zoo was only 20 yuan ($3) for me and Ryan was free.  Getting the ticket was a bit tricky since no one actually lined up at the ticket windows.  I got behind some people and a girl eased her way in front of me then another guy just cut right in front of everyone to buy his ticket.  After that I pushed my way in once the people in front of me were done.  I hate doing it but, when in China...

Ah, the panda bears.  They are as beautiful and adorable as I thought they would be.  I'll let the pictures do the talking here.

Aside from the panda bears Ryan wanted to see the tigers and lions so that is what we went to next.  We were lucky to have a beautiful day with blue skies and it was perfect for walking around at the zoo.  The tigers were active and loud and we enjoyed watching them.  Most of the people around us did too, with the exception of those that were too busy watching us instead.  It wasn't much different than in Shenyang and once one family came by and asked if they could take our picture with their son, a bunch of people, mostly young girls, did the same.  We obliged and then went back to looking at the tigers then lions.  I always feel a bit silly and wonder if some people think we might be famous for something other than just being who we are.  I have never wanted to be famous and after experiencing a little bit of celebrity here, I still don't.

As we made our way through the park we saw a few more animals but Ryan really only wanted to see the elephants and dolphins.  They have an aquarium at the zoo so we made our way to that end which also happened to be where our driver was going to meet us.  Some of the sights along the way:

I had to pay extra to get into the aquarium but it worked out well since we arrived five minutes before the dolphin show was to start.  It still isn't Sea World but was better than the Shenyang show, mainly because the guy talking into the mic wasn't deafening to us.  Also, they had a short sea lion bit at the end.  It was cute.

Once the show was over we made our way to the exit and called our driver.  I had told him that I wanted to have some Peking Duck while I was in Beijing so he took us too a "famous" restaurant.  Ryan and I went in and I had duck while he had rice and a horrible glass of expensive apple juice that I ended up drinking for him.  The duck was tasty but actually not as good as the one I had here in Shenyang at Traders Hotel.  Although, it may have been the wine and atmosphere that made it so good that time.

After lunch I wanted to go to a toy store to get Nick something since he didn't get to go on the airplane like he wanted to.  We had passed a Parkson department store on the way to the restaurant and I wanted to go back but the driver said it was a long way and that there was a big shopping mall right beside our hotel that would have lots of toys.  He said he would show us on the way back to the hotel.  Along the way we drove by Tianamen Square.  It was huge and very beautiful.  

Raymond - Pretty laid back (literally)

I would like to go back some day and check it out when I have the time and energy to walk around and soak it all in.  Ryan just wanted to go home and to be honest, at this point I was sort of wishing that we had only stayed for one night.  Travelling with a two-year-old who is missing his brother and no other adult is not easy.  You can't just run out and grab stuff when you need to and you always have to be alert which is tiring.  Anyway, as we approached our hotel the driver pointed out the shopping mall he had been talking about.  I had been in it on the bottom floor briefly the night before and it wasn't big.  I thought maybe I had misunderstood so I asked him to drop us off at the shopping instead of the hotel.  As it was he was leaving us two hours earlier than he was supposed to.  He said that there was too much traffic there and that it was just a short walk from the hotel.  As he left us at the hotel he told me I should go and have a rest.  Humph.  That ticked me off.  He was supposed to drive us to the airport the following day but shortly after that I sent him a text and told him not to bother, that we would get a taxi.

Instead of going for a rest like the driver suggested I pulled out the stroller, sat Ryan in it and we went for a walk.  Just down and across the street from our hotel was a place called the Silk Market.  I assumed it would be a fabric market but went in anyway to have a look.  It wasn't that kind of market but was more like Wu'ai Market here in Shenyang.  They had loads of stuff including brand name clothing that may or may not have been knock-offs.  I ended up getting an Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt after I bargained the woman down to what she called a ridiculous price.  I was more than prepared to walk away without it and actually had until she called after and said okay.  I hadn't intended on buying anything but thought I should have something from Beijing.  We had also gone to the fifth floor where Ryan found a toy that he liked - a bulldozer that had a button and made an awful noise. Once it was in his hand the guy from the booth started trying to get me to buy it.  He said 120 yuan - $18 for this crappy little toy.  I said no and offered him 30 yuan.  He came back at me several times with different amounts and I just kept say 30.  He made it down to 40 and I still said no so he gave up.  Thank you very much!  I really hated the thing and didn't want it around.  I'm not sure why I even bothered trying to bargain except that it's fun and I get a kick out of walking away without giving in to them.  There are very few things I can't leave behind because I want them too badly.

Silk Market

I wanted to look around the market some more but it was a little overwhelming for poor Ryan.  He was in the stroller and all kinds of people who worked at the market were fascinated.  One girl grabbed the stroller as we walked by and pulled him over to her.  At the same time a young guy reached down from the other side and touched his arm.  I pushed them away and the guy apologized but you would think they would realize how overwhelming all of it can be.  Ryan just tried to ignore them and kept watching his iPod while I quickly moved on.  Instead we went for a walk down the street and saw a few other places.

"Beauty Hair Nails Massage Golf" - Golf?

It was pretty warm that day so we decided to go for a swim at the hotel pool.  It turned out to be a great idea since we were the only ones there and it was clean and warm.  Ryan played on the steps while I swam around and finally got to really relax.  We stayed for over an hour then went to the room, got dressed, and ventured back to the Silk Market where there was a Subway outside.  Ryan had a sub and a cookie, I ate a salad and we shared a bottle of water and all that cost less than what we paid for his glass of yogurt the night before.  After supper we returned to the hotel.  Ryan went to bed as he was very tired then I had a shower, played cribbage on the iPod while listened to podcasts of the Vinyl Cafe and Age of Persuasion.  I missed the last little bit of the Vinyl Cafe when I fell asleep with the iPod in my hand.  I guess I was pretty tired too.

The next morning we were awake early again.  We got dressed and went to Imitation Starbucks for orange juice and a cookie then walked the streets for a little while.  Finally it was time to pack up our stuff and get a cab to the airport.  On this drive I came to the conclusion that traffic jams aren't always a bad thing.  Since this was a Saturday morning and there was very little traffic our cabbie was able to drive as fast as he thought necessary and do so on the shoulder of the road.  It was a little scary and I was quite relieved when we arrived at the airport.  We checked in and found a very nice Thai restaurant to have brunch at.  I had a spicy dish of chicken, eggplant and basil along with an order of crab fried rice.  It was delicious!  The only bad thing about that meal was the bratty little girl whose silly mother brought her to our table to say hello.  We spoke for a moment and when my food arrived I thought they would leave.  They didn't right away but instead chose to stand and stare at us since we had run out of stuff to talk about with the language barrier.  Plus I was hungry and didn't feel like chatting.  The mother finally got the hint and sat back down but the daughter kept coming over and saying "Hello" over and over.  I replied a few times and thought the mother would stop her but she didn't so I just ignored her.  When I wouldn't respond anymore she started kicking the booth that I was sitting in.  Still the mother wouldn't do anything so I glared at the girl and said, "No.  Don't do that."  Apparently she understood that much English because she stopped.  They still came back again to talk while I was eating but quickly gave up when I ignored them.  Aside from that it was a nice meal.

After making our way past security we went to our gate and found a nice little indoor playground.  Ryan started playing and was soon joined by some other kids.  The grandfather of one toddler sat the kid down next to Ryan and tried to get him to hold his grandson's hand so the mother could get a picture.  Ryan pulled his hand away but the guy continued to grab at it so I told him to just come down the slide and stay away from him.  Another little boy that Ryan was having fun with tried holding his hand while Ryan was at the top of the slide.  Ryan let him and the boy's mother jumped in to get a picture but after she did the boy wouldn't let go.  He held on tight with two hands to Ryan's wrist and just as I was going to stop him the mother slapped the kid and she and his father had to pry his hands away.  His father gave him a swat and they yelled at the boy for trying to pull Ryan down the slide.  Afterward his mother gave him a little boot in the ass too.  Oh, the excitement.

After that Ryan had enough of the playground so we went to sit down and wait to board the airplane.  Just as we did three older women came by and surrounded us.  One knelt down in front of Ryan and another sat beside him.  One of them touched a bug bite he had that had swollen up and was sore and I had to push her hand away.  Why would she do that?  I just don't get it.  He snuggled over closer to me and I wrapped my arm around him so they would back off.  Finally it was time to board and we were on our way home.  Happily.

Tim and Nicholas were at the airport to pick us up and Nick was very excited to see us, but especially his little brother.  They missed each other terribly and Ryan even said while we were away that "Maybe Nitty wants me".  He was right.  Of course after an hour together they were fighting again.  I asked Nicholas why they couldn't get along since they missed each other so much while Ryan was gone.  His response, "But he's back now."

So, it was a successful trip in that the passport application is done and now I just have to send the current passport back to the office so they can cancel it.  I will do that tomorrow.  Once we receive the old and new passports we have to submit them to an office here so the visa and residency permit can be transferred then everyone will be ready for our trip home in November.  Aside from that I learned that it's more fun to travel as a family, in theory anyway.

Today I spent a good part of the day searching for epsom salts.  The bug bite on Ryan's leg is quite swollen and red so I was hoping to soak it to help get rid of the infection.  After a frustrating search I didn't find any so we ended up using just regular salt.  If it doesn't look better by tomorrow I will take him to the doctor.  I think it's okay but better safe than sorry.

I guess that's it for now.  It's way past midnight and I must get to bed.  Nicholas is finally able to go to school again and he was a little upset about that tonight.  Tomorrow is likely going to be a repeat of last Monday.  Goody.  I can't wait.

Chinesey!