It all began when we were in Tian'namen Square, one of the world's largest city squares. Mistake #1: we stopped to look at a map. Mistake #2: we let ourselves be dragged into a conversation by three girls, all Chinese 'English' students. They seemed very sweet, so when they asked if we wanted to go for a coffee, I thought 'why not?'. Mistake #3: we let them decide where we were going for coffee. They took us to a cute, authentic-looking little tea-house, and then into a box-like room with no windows, and tea laid out on a table. The tea ceremony then began; we tried six different tea types in thimble-sized cups, before enjoying a small (emphasis on the 'small') pot of our favourite at the end. I actually really enjoyed the whole experience; it was interesting to learn about the different teas, and additionally to chat to the three girls and learn more about how strictly the Chinese 'one-child' policy is enforced. When I tried to take photos, we were told we were not allowed; the tea-house owner was a Buddhist who believed photos brought bad spirits. Warning bells should've started ringing at this point...and then the bill came. So, the grand total for our share was...800 Yuan! That's right, 800 Yuan! £80, or $130 CAD! For ONE POT OF TEA! I thought this was an obscene amount at the time, but for fear of offending, I stupidly did not dispute it and paid up without questioning. As soon as we'd left the girls, we realized that we'd been well and truly SCAMMED! When we looked it up on the internet the next day and read very similar stories from many other travelers, we realized that it happened pretty regularly around these parts- and that there was a chance we could get our money back. Feeling that lethal combination of humiliation and anger, we stomped back to the tea-house the next day to DEMAND a refund! 'We know this is a scam', we said, 'give us our money or we'll go to the police!' Trouble was, finding a police officer that spoke English was going to be tricky. In the end, we went back and demanded 500 Yuan, which the tea-house staff humbly gave us. They kept trying to give me less, citing 'poor profit, poor profit'...yeah RIGHT you get a poor profit! You still got £30 from me for one pot of tea! It's OK, we're at the stage when we can joke about it now...just...hence the title of the blog...
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| Girls that scammed us. |
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| Tea shop that scammed us. |
ANYWAY! That's the bad part over with...now I can tell you about the fun parts of Beijing! First off: the Forbidden City. We went there straight after our tea-house refund, feeling giddy with relief and jubilation, and to top-it-all-off, it was beautifully sunny! Once we'd managed to resist the many panda-hat vendors, we wandered through the monumental gate (sandwiched between two Chinese tour groups in fetching colourful caps, and the odd panda-hat), and were greeted by the impressive Hall of Supreme Harmony, sparkling in front of us. For some reason, I was expecting humble, crumbling alleyways and a sense of grandeur lost, but as we walked across the vast courtyards, and peered into the former living quarters of past Chinese emperors, the city still felt very much vibrant and alive. We chose to visit at sunset too, with the silhouettes of the characteristic Chinese roofs making me feel like I was truly in the presence of a history and majesty greater than my humble self.
Now to one of my personal highlights- the PEKING DUCK! Beijing is famous for its cuisine, especially its duck pancakes, and when I heard that Patrick had never tried these amazing treats, I had to rectify the situation immediately! We went to a unintentionally plush restaurant, where the chef actually rolls the duck (on a rolling table, not on the floor! Don't want a duck with carpet hairs!) to your table and carves it in front of you. First, you try a bit (with sugar, surprisingly!), then you tuck in until you finish every last piece!
After this incredible meal, we decided to walk down the famous Wangfunjing Snack Street just down the road- and you probably couldn't get a more contrasting experience! The delicacies ranged from tiny wriggling scorpions and starfish on kebab sticks, to huge steaming pots of delicious-looking dim sum. It was a feast for the eyes as well as potentially for the stomach, with zealous vendors vying for your attention ('scorpion?' 'squid?') and fairy lights strewn over the narrow alleyway. I know what you want to know, and no, we didn't try scorpion- we would've, it's just that we were too full of duck. Maybe next time?
Quick note about the dumplings I tried here, too- the BEST dumplings I've ever had! You can't really go wrong with fillings of roast duck and lamb-and-onion; seeing the dumplings being made in the tiny, see-through kitchen, and not being able to understand a word of the Mandarin-only menu just added to the experience!
After spending five days in Beijing and not having seen the Great Wall yet, we decided it was about bloody time to see one of the seven wonders of the world, seeing as it was only down the road. Or so we thought. We took the cost-effective route of traveling to the wall by ourselves, and we thought it was going to be relatively simple: bus to Miyun, then mini-bus to the wall itself. So, the first part was pretty easy- except for us acting skeptical of a woman who was trying to help us at Beijing bus station (needless to say, we're pretty mistrusting now). Then, when we were approaching our intended middle destination, Miyun, we were told by a chubby Chinese guy in a leather jacket that we had to get off at a certain stop, in the middle of the busy street. We quickly got off, and were surprised to see that he held a 'Jinshunling Great Wall' brochure in his hand, and seemed to know how we wanted to get there. 'Minibus?' he said. 'Yes!' we said eagerly, looking around but only seeing a car, 'do you know where the minibus is?'. 'Here,' he replied, sweeping his hand towards the car as though unveiling it, 'mini-mini bus.' Patrick and I looked at each other, not sure if he was joking, then at the Chinese guy, who'd never looked more serious. 'But we were expecting a bus, not a car...' we tried to explain, but the language barrier struck again, and we ended up debating both the price and legitimacy of the whole thing for about 45 minutes. Unable to stand the cold anymore, and trusting our gut instincts that these guys were OK, we haggled down the price and got into the car, hoping that we would get to the Great Wall in one piece. It turns out that our driver was actually a really decent guy; he dropped us right at the wall, gave us 3 hours for a walk, then picked us up and dropped us right at the bus stop for Beijing afterwards. In hindsight, they actually made the whole process much easier; the whole thing was initially just a bit...strange.
So! Enough of the transport...the Wall itself. I'm not going to lie, it was bloody cold up there, but I was actually glad for it. For the most part, it was just the two of us walking along the wall, with the odd hawker making an appearance claiming to be a Mongolian farmer then trying to sell us souvenirs. If neither of us talked or walked, there was complete and utter silence. The views from the wall were breathtaking, with the mist surrounding the undulating hills adding to the intimate, eerie atmosphere. As you stood for a second and looked into the distance at the silhouettes of continuing wall, it honestly felt like it was going on forever and ever. They have certainly managed to restore the wall well, but our favourite parts were the older, crumbling tower that have been untouched. By one tower, there was a striking image of a man just sitting in front of it, as still and full of mystery as the tower itself, looking out onto the mountains. I wonder what he was thinking?...
So, Beijing...a city with as many ups-and-downs as the Chinese acrobatics show we went to see (show in summary: flexible Chinese performers flinging themselves in the air and getting into unnatural positions!) We've certainly learned a lot, that's for sure...about traveler scams, forbidden cities, the fact that its legal to eat scorpions on sticks...or maybe it isn't, who knows? We're in Xi'an right now, after sharing a train with the loudest snorer in China, if not the planet...Terracotta Warriors tomorrow! Until then- and remember, if three Chinese girls want to take you to a tea-house,. just say no...
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