I'm back from Beijing. Aside from the pollution, which is substantial, I can't imagine anyone having much negative to say about it. It's beautiful, it's cultured and cosmopolitan, the history is palpable. The shopping is amazing. The touristy sites are incredible. We were able to go to the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and - a highlight- Tianamen Square on October 1st; the Chinese equivalent of being on the Mall in Washington on July 4th. Life is all about perspective, though, isn't it? As much as I hate to admit it, the history was far less important to me than the creature comforts :
1) the hotel beds were soft. Really soft. Chinese television advertisements show tanks rolling over mattresses. I'm not sure why this is a draw, but I'm pretty sure the one I have could hold it's own against an entire fleet.
2) people spoke English. Beijing is still China and most people speak Chinese, but there was still enough English knowledge that we were able to figure out where we wanted to go, get from place A to place B, order meals, shop, buy tickets, etc. I cannot describe how incredible this is. In Shenyang, I rarely go anywhere that I do not know of specifically. Want to buy some cds? Don't know where a good music shop is? Well, then, you're out of luck unless you're fluent in Mandarin. Want to go somewhere you've already been? Say, a bank? Better make sure you have their business card with the address written in Chinese characters. Otherwise, good luck getting a cab to go there 'cause your whole month of Mandarin isn't going to cut it. Want to order food? Forget what their menu says...you're not that good at reading the characters yet. Better make sure you have a book with translations. That way, you can point at dishes that sound good until you and the waiter agree on something that you want, and they can make.
3) they still drive like crazy people in Beijing, but only crazy like your embarrassing Aunt May. In Shenyang, they're certifiable. Here, I keep my eyes closed and sit in the back...in Beijing, I ride with my eyes open. It was a nice experience.
4) the highlight, though, was the food. Since I've gotten here, I've eaten Chinese food. Almost exclusively. Shenyang has a Pizza Hut, a few McDonald's and KFC's and one Subway (that I've seen). I've eaten at all of these, but, as I may have mentioned, I don't get into the city very often. I shop for vegetables and tofu at the local market, what is sold there is grown locally. I have two propane burners. Consequently, even at home, I cook Chinese food. The two local restaurants that we've scoped out as being hygienic are a hot pot place, and a traditional Chinese food place. The big 'Western' store in town carries a few things (hello coffee grinds!) but the range of Western foods isn't extensive and, really, Ritz crackers only go so far.
There were 8 of us from Shenyang in Beijing this week, staying at 3 different hotels. And there were two differing camps in terms of eating. One camp thought that it would be a waste to go to Beijing and not sample the Peking duck, the various street foods, the excellent Cantonese and Szechuan foods available. The other camp thought it would be a waste to not take advantage of the cosmopolitan nature of the city and eat anything other than Chinese food. If you've met me, you can probably guess which camp I was in...
Yup. I've had Chinese food for a month. I only seem to cook Chinese food for myself. I will eat Chinese food until my next break which is in January(!). Honestly, that's a whole lot of Chinese food. Think about your own eating habits for a second. Have you had Italian food lately? Chinese food? Maybe gone out for Vietnamese? Or Cajun? Or Mexican? Bet you haven't eaten the exact same flavours, textures, vegetables for three months straight. So...damn right I took the opportunity to have Mexican food. The opportunity to have Indian food. The opportunity to have Thai food. The opportunity to have Greek food. The opportunity to have brie cheese. Or cheese of any kind. Or bread that doesn't taste like sponge cake. Or a Caesar salad (and, seriously, if you're ever in Beijing, check out Paul's Steak and Eggs!)
It was extremely hard to come home. I'm a city girl, and the bigger the better. The rural life doesn't suit me, and never will. Beijing is much more my style. But, again, it's all about perspective. On our last night in Beijing, I and some of my traveling companions went out for coffee and dessert. We started talking to the waitress; in conversation, we mentioned that we were from Shenyang and how much different and wonderful Beijing was. None of us were looking forward to returning home. But, the waitress had a very different viewpoint. She was very impressed with us. She said she finds it very annoying that people come to China, settle in Beijing, get comfortable and never leave; yet they feel that they 'know' China. And, she's right. I didn't choose it; to be honest, I'm not sure, given full disclosure, that I would choose it, but I'm getting an experience that is priceless.
No comments:
Post a Comment