So Many "Must-Dos," So Little Time!

It's just a few days away from March, and I'm filled with a sense of urgency. I feel like I have so much left to do both in the Beijing office and in Beijing itself, and I can't believe how little time I have to do it all. This quarter has flew by, and now I'm wondering where the time has gone! In January, it took a few weeks to get adjusted and then it was off to Sanya, the South of China, for a company conference. Then, at the beginning of February, I had nearly two weeks off thanks to Chinese New Year! Then, in just about a week from now, I'm off to Hong Kong for a few days. The weekend after I come back from Hong Kong, I fly to Sydney, Australia for another company conference, where I'll stay for about a week. I'll arrive back to Beijing on the 23rd of March, and then six days later, I leave China for the U.S. What a crazy quarter...

Due to this crazy upcoming schedule of mine, where I'll be flying every weekend in March starting on the 8th, I'm starting to try to plan out my few remaining weekends in China. This upcoming weekend is my last full weekend in Beijing. I think I may go to the famous English Corner at Renmin Da Xue (People's University) tomorrow night, where historically Chinese students have gone to practice their English. Now, it's evolved into a meeting place where strangers go to discuss all topics -- everything from pop culture to cultural differences and religious views. It's also gotten notorious for being a place where men try to meet female students. I'm curious and excited to see and experience this all in person. I've not had the chance to really interact with Chinese non-Googlers, and so I think this will be an excellent and substantial opportunity to do so. I would love to learn about these students' take on the US, their own country, and their opinions on everything from the Olympics to China's recent rapid rise.

Besides the English Corner, other "musts" in Beijing before I leave include:

-a few more trips to Long Island Spa for a full-body massage. I can't get enough of this place. For less than $20 USD, I get a soothing, healing 1-hour massage in a serene, beautiful, classy environment. The environs and design of this spa are on par with one of the best spas in San Francisco, Burke Williams. Too bad B.W. charges $100 more for the same service. And, at Beijing's Long Island Spa, I get my choice of limitless free drinks and snacks before and after my massage -- this totally puts B.W. to shame...
-trips to the Silk Market, Panjiayuan Market, or Wangfujing for souvenirs
-another trip to the enormous Forbidden City, as once is not enough. And I definitely wouldn't mind going back to other touristy sites such as the Summer Palace.
-a few more trips to Din Tai Fung -- a.k.a. Food Heaven, and the place that puts all other xiao long bao (soup dumpling) restaurants to shame
-gorging on the delicious bubble milk tea and egg tarts
-picking up CDs of Chinese pop singers
-checking out Bed Bar, which is located in a hutong (historic Beijing alleyway) and decorated with imperial-like beds
-eating, eating, and more eating

And that's just the short list -- there's a bunch that I haven't mentioned. Sigh, so much to do...so little time!

Partying in Beijing!

Tonight after dinner (that consisted of literally flaming carp and pig intestine), we headed off to go clubbing. First, we headed to Banana, which turned out to be way too crowded with lame music. So off we went to Vic's, apparently a mainstay club for Beijingers and expats alike. It's well-known for its hip hop music, which is hard to come by in Beijing. And now, they should be famous for their strong drinks!! It's 4 am and I'm not sleepy at all -- way too tipsy. I just had 3 drinks but they were quite strong: brandy, Jagermeister shot (seriously, tastes like cough medicine, BLECH), and a very potent lychee martini (that was stronger than the pure Jagermeister shot....hmmm). Think I'll probably watch loads of crap TV before heading to bed, and drink a lot of water! I usually hate to dance, but even at Vic's, I had quite a lot of fun. It really helped too that they had good music! Kanye, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Timbaland, MIM, Dr. Dre, etc. -- I feel like w/ the alcohol in me, I could have kept on dancing til 6 am! I quite like the nightlife in Beijing. Had tons of fun last week at Face Bar, and tonight with Vic's. Cannot wait to check out other bars and clubs in Beijing -- especially Bed Bar, which has (you guessed it) traditional Chinese beds, amongst an imperial setting. And it's also located in a hutong, which is a historic, traditional Beijing alley.

Pics from the night...(the first two are of the flaming carp and of pig intestine. The pig intestine was interestingly wrapped up just like a sushi roll. Hmm. Definitely not as good though ;)

Midnight massages and Ukrainian food...what a delightful weekend!

Got back from Sanya last Thursday, and was so happy to be back -- even though Beijing has been freezing lately. Sanya is nice, however it is no Hawaii, that's for sure! It was also a strange experience to see such expensive hotels existing in an extremely poor, blue-collar city. A few highlights of the Sanya trip:
-Day tripped to the famous Hot Springs, where I sat in coffee, coconut milk, Chinese herbs, and wine pools enriched with mineral substances...apparently good for the health. Also sat in their most famous pool for awhile -- the 'doctor fish' pool -- where fish nibble off dead skin and 'remove toxins,' but it was so ticklish and rather gross to me that I promptly left.
-Won a huge bear at the evening dinner party! First thing that I've ever won, really. The thing is gigantic though...I had to lug it back on the plane to Beijing and I almost regretted winning the bear b/c of how heavy it is. After I won the bear, random Googlers who I had never met before would come up to me and yell gleefully, "You won a huge bear! Huge bear!" It was kinda funny.

Pictures below, top to bottom: Jane, Phoebe, me, Nicole; Joy, Bessie, Sissi, me, Donna; Phoebe, me, with the gigantic bear (only the top of his head is showing in this pic)




And back in Beijing:

-Friday night: had an amazing Taiwanese dinner at Bellagio, this chic, see-and-be-seen restaurant in Chaoyang district. Seriously, I wish I lived in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Everything is there! Shopping, eating, bar-hopping -- you name it, it's there. It's not only the most fashionable district of Beijing, but it's very Westernized compared to my district as well. It feels like a different world when I'm in Chaoyang. Sadly, it's far from where I live -- 30 min w/o traffic, and up to 2 1/2 hours w/really bad traffic.
-Also Friday night: got a legitimate massage at a very posh, sleek spa at midnight!! The one hour massage was only $20 USD. Very cheap considering the chic atmosphere. After the awesome experience, I vow to try to get a massage in Beijing at least once a week. Below: pic of Long Island Spa, Chaoyang district.



Saturday: made my way to the famous Summer Palace -- probably the most famous well-preserved imperial retreat in the world --with a friend from Beijing University. As it had snowed in Beijing for days before, the Summer Palace was covered with snow and ice. The lake, which makes up a substantial portion of the 10 sq miles park, had frozen over and was covered by a layer of snow. It was so surreal to see this Summer Palace completely transformed by the snow -- usually all the pictures you see are taken in the summer. I walked on the lake -- which was quite cool! Pics below: Summer Palace; me standing on the frozen Kunming Lake.



Saturday night: Went to Kiev, a Ukrainian restaurant in Beijing, for a coworkers' birthday. It was quite a fun experience to eat Ukrainian food for the first time, let alone in Beijing. The Ukrainian beer was also delicious...very sweet and tastes non-alcoholic. Loved the entertainment...Ukrainian guys dressed in military garb performing Russian songs and Italian arias.


-After Kiev, went to Sanlitun in Chaoyang district to go bar hopping. Made a stop at Face Bar -- which will probably be my favorite bar in Beijing. Loved the atmosphere -- warm lighting and candles, beautiful hardwood floors, classy patrons, invitingly plush red couches, and artifacts from all throughout Asia. Didn't hurt that their drinks were fabulous as well! (One of the cocktails I had was made up of Japanese sake, lots of kiwi, and honey. Yum.) It was so stylish and classy that I feel like this bar could thrive in any cosmopolitan city in the world.

Will write a separate post about my bargaining experiences on Sunday as it's quite long!