China Update
DAY FOUR
Day four in China was a day filled mostly of relaxation. One of the goals for this China trip was to get some suits made...and this was the day. We hopped in a cab and headed to the Ya Show (well, close enough) market. This was quite an experience. I mean, aside from the guards with AK-47s at the ATMs, it was pretty wild. Essentially, the market is a multi-level flea market. The first two floors are all of the folks that sell everything from Nike and Billabong t-shirts to Spyder and The North Face gear... some of which is real and some is blatantly not. The third flood is where all of the tailors and fabric salesmen are. You walk up and get off the escalator to a ton of tailors trying to get you suits. These guys sell everything from Cashmere for overcoats to cord for casual sport coats to all of the suit material you could ever want. We were on a mission to find the tailor that all of the Embassy folks use, Sunny. Well, we found that Sunny was a twenty-something flamboyantly living gay dude. Think the bartender in "Good Morning Vietnam." He was actually pretty hilarious. I chose two suits to be made, along with two shirts. Without going into too much detail, he took great interest in the measurements of my pants. There was an awkward moment -- for everyone around -- that I reminded Sunny that I was, in fact, married. After a good laugh, we moved on to other measurements... thankfully.
This is an interesting country in that there is seriously no price structure. It is strictly barter or negotiation. The prices to begin are outrageous. They will start at something like thousands of Yuan (the local currency) and end up in the the hundreds. My custom tailored suits were an experience in bargaining- I started around $135 U.S. We had gone on the recommendation of this guy at the embassy and dropped his name at the tailor. With that, we didn't want to be overly aggressive in negotiations and get this guy in trouble. The funny thing was, Sunny said I was close to the price and then told me it was $125- I was too high! When does that ever happen? The shirts are 10o Yuan, which is $12 U.S. dollars. I'm pretty excited to see the outcome.
After the fitting, we bounced around Beijing a little, did a little work and then ended up at Embassy Beijing for our countdown meeting. This is where we present to all the embassy officials, etc., our plans and how things are coming along. I always like heading to the embassy because it literally is U.S. soil. If you purchase anything, it's in U.S. Dollars. U.S. Marines guard the facility. In short, it's a little piece of home. Nothing makes me smile more, when traveling in a foreign country, to see the U.S. flag atop a pole.
DAY FIVE
Yesterday was major tourist day. We set out at 9:3o to see the great wall of China. It is simply amazing- one of the only man-made things that can be seen from space. It was truly awe inspiring. I'll make sure to post pictures, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be there walking along the great wall and checking out everything. I has just hung up with Brenda when we arrived, but it was fun to call my mom and dad and tell them that we were talking from atop the Great Wall. To get from the vendors area to the wall is an experience in an of itself. You actually have to ride up this rickety old ski lift that makes the old Mary Lift at Brighton look cutting edge. One word to sum this up: SKETCHY. The way down was pretty great, though... you actually ride a toboggan that's very similar to the Alpine Slide at Park City Ski Resort. The only thing that was tough was how cold the wall was, so the ride down the toboggan was crazy cold.
When you arrive at the wall, there are crazy vendors everywhere trying to sell you anything and everything. I was pretty close to buying a wristwatch that has Chairman Mao arms waving back and forth. Many of the folks in the group bought these Chinese Red Army hats that have fur that comes down over the ears because it was so cold. I, my self, was immediately skeptical of The North Face hats and gloves that were for sale.
Our ride home took 2.5 hours due to traffic. That was the major downer. We all were so beat that most folks went their own way. I found myself hanging out at the pool reading a book, listening to Christmas music and chillin in the hot tub. They say that this is the nicest resort area in Beijing... I tend to agree.
DAY SIX
Woke up this morning and rode 10 miles on the bike, ran a 5 k and found myself in the hot tub. More to come...
Day four in China was a day filled mostly of relaxation. One of the goals for this China trip was to get some suits made...and this was the day. We hopped in a cab and headed to the Ya Show (well, close enough) market. This was quite an experience. I mean, aside from the guards with AK-47s at the ATMs, it was pretty wild. Essentially, the market is a multi-level flea market. The first two floors are all of the folks that sell everything from Nike and Billabong t-shirts to Spyder and The North Face gear... some of which is real and some is blatantly not. The third flood is where all of the tailors and fabric salesmen are. You walk up and get off the escalator to a ton of tailors trying to get you suits. These guys sell everything from Cashmere for overcoats to cord for casual sport coats to all of the suit material you could ever want. We were on a mission to find the tailor that all of the Embassy folks use, Sunny. Well, we found that Sunny was a twenty-something flamboyantly living gay dude. Think the bartender in "Good Morning Vietnam." He was actually pretty hilarious. I chose two suits to be made, along with two shirts. Without going into too much detail, he took great interest in the measurements of my pants. There was an awkward moment -- for everyone around -- that I reminded Sunny that I was, in fact, married. After a good laugh, we moved on to other measurements... thankfully.
This is an interesting country in that there is seriously no price structure. It is strictly barter or negotiation. The prices to begin are outrageous. They will start at something like thousands of Yuan (the local currency) and end up in the the hundreds. My custom tailored suits were an experience in bargaining- I started around $135 U.S. We had gone on the recommendation of this guy at the embassy and dropped his name at the tailor. With that, we didn't want to be overly aggressive in negotiations and get this guy in trouble. The funny thing was, Sunny said I was close to the price and then told me it was $125- I was too high! When does that ever happen? The shirts are 10o Yuan, which is $12 U.S. dollars. I'm pretty excited to see the outcome.
After the fitting, we bounced around Beijing a little, did a little work and then ended up at Embassy Beijing for our countdown meeting. This is where we present to all the embassy officials, etc., our plans and how things are coming along. I always like heading to the embassy because it literally is U.S. soil. If you purchase anything, it's in U.S. Dollars. U.S. Marines guard the facility. In short, it's a little piece of home. Nothing makes me smile more, when traveling in a foreign country, to see the U.S. flag atop a pole.
DAY FIVE
Yesterday was major tourist day. We set out at 9:3o to see the great wall of China. It is simply amazing- one of the only man-made things that can be seen from space. It was truly awe inspiring. I'll make sure to post pictures, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be there walking along the great wall and checking out everything. I has just hung up with Brenda when we arrived, but it was fun to call my mom and dad and tell them that we were talking from atop the Great Wall. To get from the vendors area to the wall is an experience in an of itself. You actually have to ride up this rickety old ski lift that makes the old Mary Lift at Brighton look cutting edge. One word to sum this up: SKETCHY. The way down was pretty great, though... you actually ride a toboggan that's very similar to the Alpine Slide at Park City Ski Resort. The only thing that was tough was how cold the wall was, so the ride down the toboggan was crazy cold.
When you arrive at the wall, there are crazy vendors everywhere trying to sell you anything and everything. I was pretty close to buying a wristwatch that has Chairman Mao arms waving back and forth. Many of the folks in the group bought these Chinese Red Army hats that have fur that comes down over the ears because it was so cold. I, my self, was immediately skeptical of The North Face hats and gloves that were for sale.
Our ride home took 2.5 hours due to traffic. That was the major downer. We all were so beat that most folks went their own way. I found myself hanging out at the pool reading a book, listening to Christmas music and chillin in the hot tub. They say that this is the nicest resort area in Beijing... I tend to agree.
DAY SIX
Woke up this morning and rode 10 miles on the bike, ran a 5 k and found myself in the hot tub. More to come...
posted by Aaron Walker at
Saturday, December 09, 2006
1 Comments:
It has been great to read the China update- I love it! Way to go Aaron! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get home.
Love, Momma Bean
By
Sister Bean, at 11:41 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home