The fast train from Jinan to Beijing took less than 2 hours. I cam to Beijing to submit my application to renew my Irish passport and had been going back and forth in my mind about whether I should stay the night in the city or if I should pull a fast one and leave on the same day. Since I didn't have anywhere to stay I decided to leave on the same day.
When I arrived in Beijing the first thing to shock me was how many more foreigners there were here than in Jinan. I was a little overwhelmed. When you're not used to seeing more than one other foreigner, at most, a day, seeing so many can make you reel a little.
After a little confusion, I finally found the embassy area. I took a wrong turn and ended up gracing the entrances of the Egyptian, Albanian, Romanian and many other embassies, before I finally found the Irish embassy. I went in, they took the application and it was all over in a matter of seconds. The best part was, they let me keep my passport, so I would not have to worry about getting into trouble with the police, since they could ask me to show them my passport at any time. It also means that I can continue to travel until my new passport arrives which is something I am definitely hoping of doing, since I caught the bitter sweet travel bug in Beijing.
Whilst in the embassy I got a message from someone I had contacted on couchsurfing, a potential host. I had received replies from 2 people on the couchsurfing website, so I was unsure who was replying to me. One was an older, retired American who did charity work in the some village schools, the other was a Tunisian man. The American man charged 38RMB for a night's stay. Couchsurfing is supposed to be strictly free. The Tunisian man sent me a strange email saying that he couldn't host me in his house because his room was too small, but he knew a nearby park where I could sleep and he could sleep there with me. What??? Ummm, no! But I was still intrigued by this park and if I had time I decided I would meet this man and let him show me which park he deemed appropriate to send couchsurfers to sleep.
I was pretty sure I was getting messages from the older American man as his grammar was perfect. I decided to accept, and stay in Beijing for one night after all. (To be honest when I got to the train station I knew that I couldn't leave on the same day. The big city had cast its net over me and I needed to stay there at least a night.)
But then, after he had sent me directions to his house he sent me a message that read 'Meishi'. 'Crap!' I thought, have I been talking to the Tunisian-park man? You see, meishi in Arabic means OK. I decided to send a message to check which one I was talking to. 'What's the name of the park again?' I sent.
'Which park are you referring to?' was the reply. Thank God, I thought. I wouldn't be sleeping in a park today.
OK, now imagine me, skipping (metaphorically) away from the Irish embassy, passport in hand, application in, sun is shining, the embassy area is wonderfully serene, tree leaves of every autumnal colour dancing in the air. Nice picture isn't it? Let's see what happened next.
I got on the subway and went to Tiananmen Square. Well actually, I never made it to the square.
There are two subway stations either side of the square - Tiananmen East and Tiananmen West. I got out on Tiananmen East. To get to the actual square you have to go through an underground tunnel and a security check. The square itself is littered with armed guards and millions of security cameras. But I was on a road opposite the square and opposite the Forbidden City (note to self next time I go to Beijing, probably when I pick up my passport, I need to go inside the City). I took a few pictures then made a phone call to my boss to ask her where I should go to eat. I was zigzagging through the trees that lined the boulevard when a friendly girl came up to me and said, 'hello'. My gut instinct told me, 'Don't talk to this girl'.
At the time I was trying out a 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities'. I had left the cautious isolationist period that I had been in for a number of years and was ready to try something new. The girl (she looked older than me, maybe in her early thirties. She had bags under her eyes) told me she was an English teacher. Her English was excellent. I asked her about where I could get something to eat, I was starving! She said she could show me some place we could get coffee. I hesitated at first. Again my instincts were telling me, no, but I pushed them aside remembering my 'yes' policy. Looking back on the things that took place I can't help thinking how perfect it was all for her.
Our conversation flowed so well, I was beginning to thank the heavens for sending me this friendly Chinese girl. We could be great friends and go out for meals together, and plait each other's hair.... The possibilities were endless, and all because I had said yes! I had come to the decision that I would say yes to everything (2 hours later when it finally dawned on me what happened, I would take back all that I had thought about saying 'yes' to everything).
On the way to the Coffee shop I stopped to get water. '3 kuai!' I exclaimed, 'That's expensive!'
'You can get it cheaper at the supermarket', she offered. Oh, I loved my new friend, so firendly and full of good advice. Yes, I thought, I had surely landed the jackpot. We saw a pig eating rubbish outside a restaurant - mmm so when people end up eating this pig they'll end up eating the rubbish he ate as well, tempting!
'Here it is', she said. We were directed into a room with green wall paper and pop songs coming out from the speaker. I didn't like the atmosphere if the room. I ordered fried rice (which incidentally was really good).
'I'll order tea instead of coffee so that you can try', she said helpfully. I had just told her that I don't drink alot of coffee because too much caffeine gives me a headache.
'This tea is really good she kept saying' (by the way re-living this is really painful. I can't believe how well she got me, how completely I trusted her, and how utterly she shattered my trust in most of humanity. I went from a 'everyone is probably trustworthy' attitude of life to a 'never trust anyone' attitude. I just couldn't believe it). She showed me how we can top up the green tea with hot water from a pot. The waitress brought in two bowls of crisps that could not have cost more than 5RMB all together. The tea could not have cost more than 20RMB at a stretch. My rice dish cost 26RMB.
We chatted and chatted about friendship, travels, she gave me a map of the Beijing subway system and pointed out things of interest. She told me about her travels around China and she recommended that I do to Qingdao for the beautiful beaches. We talked siblings, she had two older brothers, one used to study at Jinan University.
Something that bothered me however, was how whenever I spoke she kept looking over my shoulder, out of the window. I felt like saying, 'Hello! I respect you when you talk, could you at least do the same?' But that was a minor point in a beautiful friendship that I envisaged blossoming before my very eyes. 'Let's exchange numbers', I said. She hesitated. This was really my first feeling that something was quite odd. In the end she gave me her number and called her phone from my phone. Her phone rang, and then she wanted to save her name 'Lin Sie' into my phone but I beat her to it.
Her phone rang a couple of times, her friend wanted to meet her after she finished work. 'Shall we get the bill', she said.
Then the bill came. 340 RMB. What the FUCK? How the hell? I was stunned into silence. I had my purse out but I didn't know what to do. She got her purse out. 'Shall we split it?' she said quickly. 'Ummm OK', I said. Quick as a flash the 'waitress' split the bill to 163RMB. How did she split it so fast I thought? My head was racing with thoughts. I didn't want the fucking tea and crisps in the first place! Why did I take them? I should have just eaten my rice. The woman put 2x100RMB notes on the table, I put 163RMB out (to the penny). I caught a glimpse of the bill. 50RMB for each bowl of crisps, 40RMB for the tea... I felt something wasn't right but my brain didn't add it all u until much later.
I was confused why my friend Lin Sie didn't say anything about the outrageous price except that really good tea is expensive and we were in the centre of Beijing. She had to leave pretty soon but I said I would stay here to make the most of the money I'd spent and eat the remainder of the crisps. How the fuck could I have been so stupid?
After finishing as much of the poor quality chips as I could and drinking as much of the tea as I could take, I felt like I couldn't stay any longer in that room. I asked for the toilet and I was directed to an outdoor 'open-air' toilet where I could see a woman squatting down peeing. No thanks, I said to myself, I'm not that desperate.
At this point I still had not fit the puzzle together and was for the most part enjoying what Beijing had to offer. I turned left out of the street I was in to the 'Champs Elysees' or Beijing - Lin Sie's words.
I walked down this brightly coloured road, went into a narrow alleyway and saw insects on a stick and lots of mooncakes (it seems like the seasonal rule for mooncakes does not apply in the capital). I pulled my trusty rucksack round my front as I felt someone could try to help themselves to my wallet.
Walking, walking, walking. Stop. OH MY GOD. Everything finally made sense. The walk up to the coffee shop, I was groomed by LinSie. 'Do you speak Chinese?', 'No!' I laughed. Purpose: ascertain whether I would understand what she was saying to the waitress in the coffee shop about fixing the extortionate price on me. She didn't talk a lot about her English teaching job, I didn't get enough details to be completely convinced by it. When I said I would go to the Great Wall, instead of the usual place (BaDaLing) she said I should go to the less touristy, more expensive place.
But, it was the bill that was the obvious clue. How the fuck did I end up paying the full amount when she said we would split it? The full amount on the bill cam to 163RMB - the exact amount I paid! I couldn't believe it. The waitress had doubled the bill then halved it back down to what she had totalled the food to cost. Then how the hell did one bowl of sub-par crisps cost 50RMB?
I sat down on a bench and smacked my head. Oh the stupidity! But a part of me didn't want to believe that the friendliest girl I'd ever met could have broken my trust like that. The whole thing was so beautifully orchestrated. In fact, I felt like it had been me who had made the suggestions - I was the one who nudged her and asked if she knew someplace to eat (she had jumped back a little when I nudged her, which startled me). I was the one who said to her 'I always wanted to go to a tea house!'
Luckily she went a little light on me, as far as cons go. I read in the Lonely Planet that was at my couchsurfer's house, that some Tiananmen Square tea house cons (apparently they're World famous!) can get up to 2000RMB! I remembered the seemingly innocent question of 'You look young, so you have just graduated from University?', that was designed to gauge how much money she could realistically squeeze out of me. Also maybe she felt a little sorry for me, but then again, I don't think so, I just think that she knew that if she asked me for anymore I may not have been able to give it to her.
She also never gave out the feeling of being needy or pushy. She was always so relaxed and so natural. She'd obviously been in the business for a long time.
I sent a message to the number that was recorded in my phone for her about how she should find a way to earn a living that doesn't hurt other people and I thanked her for teaching me never to trust strangers again.
So this is my new philosophy - you can never trust anyone 100%. Even people you think you know quite well, it s better to reserve a certain percentage of trust. Life may throw up all kinds of things that mean people break your trust and if you have not given them 100% of your trust then you will not be as badly burnt by their betrayal. My 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities' philosophy has segued into a 'say yes to the social interaction opportunities that your instinct says yes to as well'. When she asked me to go for a coffee my instinct said no. I should have listened to that wise guy.
 |
| My first taste of how busy Beijing would be - the train station |
When I arrived in Beijing the first thing to shock me was how many more foreigners there were here than in Jinan. I was a little overwhelmed. When you're not used to seeing more than one other foreigner, at most, a day, seeing so many can make you reel a little.
After a little confusion, I finally found the embassy area. I took a wrong turn and ended up gracing the entrances of the Egyptian, Albanian, Romanian and many other embassies, before I finally found the Irish embassy. I went in, they took the application and it was all over in a matter of seconds. The best part was, they let me keep my passport, so I would not have to worry about getting into trouble with the police, since they could ask me to show them my passport at any time. It also means that I can continue to travel until my new passport arrives which is something I am definitely hoping of doing, since I caught the bitter sweet travel bug in Beijing.
 |
| The American embassy - looked a bit like a prison |
Whilst in the embassy I got a message from someone I had contacted on couchsurfing, a potential host. I had received replies from 2 people on the couchsurfing website, so I was unsure who was replying to me. One was an older, retired American who did charity work in the some village schools, the other was a Tunisian man. The American man charged 38RMB for a night's stay. Couchsurfing is supposed to be strictly free. The Tunisian man sent me a strange email saying that he couldn't host me in his house because his room was too small, but he knew a nearby park where I could sleep and he could sleep there with me. What??? Ummm, no! But I was still intrigued by this park and if I had time I decided I would meet this man and let him show me which park he deemed appropriate to send couchsurfers to sleep.
I was pretty sure I was getting messages from the older American man as his grammar was perfect. I decided to accept, and stay in Beijing for one night after all. (To be honest when I got to the train station I knew that I couldn't leave on the same day. The big city had cast its net over me and I needed to stay there at least a night.)
But then, after he had sent me directions to his house he sent me a message that read 'Meishi'. 'Crap!' I thought, have I been talking to the Tunisian-park man? You see, meishi in Arabic means OK. I decided to send a message to check which one I was talking to. 'What's the name of the park again?' I sent.
'Which park are you referring to?' was the reply. Thank God, I thought. I wouldn't be sleeping in a park today.
OK, now imagine me, skipping (metaphorically) away from the Irish embassy, passport in hand, application in, sun is shining, the embassy area is wonderfully serene, tree leaves of every autumnal colour dancing in the air. Nice picture isn't it? Let's see what happened next.
I got on the subway and went to Tiananmen Square. Well actually, I never made it to the square.
 |
| Before the incident, when the world was still rosy in my eyes |
 |
| The Forbidden City |
There are two subway stations either side of the square - Tiananmen East and Tiananmen West. I got out on Tiananmen East. To get to the actual square you have to go through an underground tunnel and a security check. The square itself is littered with armed guards and millions of security cameras. But I was on a road opposite the square and opposite the Forbidden City (note to self next time I go to Beijing, probably when I pick up my passport, I need to go inside the City). I took a few pictures then made a phone call to my boss to ask her where I should go to eat. I was zigzagging through the trees that lined the boulevard when a friendly girl came up to me and said, 'hello'. My gut instinct told me, 'Don't talk to this girl'.
At the time I was trying out a 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities'. I had left the cautious isolationist period that I had been in for a number of years and was ready to try something new. The girl (she looked older than me, maybe in her early thirties. She had bags under her eyes) told me she was an English teacher. Her English was excellent. I asked her about where I could get something to eat, I was starving! She said she could show me some place we could get coffee. I hesitated at first. Again my instincts were telling me, no, but I pushed them aside remembering my 'yes' policy. Looking back on the things that took place I can't help thinking how perfect it was all for her.
Our conversation flowed so well, I was beginning to thank the heavens for sending me this friendly Chinese girl. We could be great friends and go out for meals together, and plait each other's hair.... The possibilities were endless, and all because I had said yes! I had come to the decision that I would say yes to everything (2 hours later when it finally dawned on me what happened, I would take back all that I had thought about saying 'yes' to everything).
On the way to the Coffee shop I stopped to get water. '3 kuai!' I exclaimed, 'That's expensive!'
'You can get it cheaper at the supermarket', she offered. Oh, I loved my new friend, so firendly and full of good advice. Yes, I thought, I had surely landed the jackpot. We saw a pig eating rubbish outside a restaurant - mmm so when people end up eating this pig they'll end up eating the rubbish he ate as well, tempting!
 |
| Munch, munch, munch |
 |
| Mmm, how about some pork made from the finest Beijing trash around! |
'Here it is', she said. We were directed into a room with green wall paper and pop songs coming out from the speaker. I didn't like the atmosphere if the room. I ordered fried rice (which incidentally was really good).
'I'll order tea instead of coffee so that you can try', she said helpfully. I had just told her that I don't drink alot of coffee because too much caffeine gives me a headache.
 |
| The 'great' tea |
 |
| I can't believe I actually got a picture of her! |
'This tea is really good she kept saying' (by the way re-living this is really painful. I can't believe how well she got me, how completely I trusted her, and how utterly she shattered my trust in most of humanity. I went from a 'everyone is probably trustworthy' attitude of life to a 'never trust anyone' attitude. I just couldn't believe it). She showed me how we can top up the green tea with hot water from a pot. The waitress brought in two bowls of crisps that could not have cost more than 5RMB all together. The tea could not have cost more than 20RMB at a stretch. My rice dish cost 26RMB.
We chatted and chatted about friendship, travels, she gave me a map of the Beijing subway system and pointed out things of interest. She told me about her travels around China and she recommended that I do to Qingdao for the beautiful beaches. We talked siblings, she had two older brothers, one used to study at Jinan University.
Something that bothered me however, was how whenever I spoke she kept looking over my shoulder, out of the window. I felt like saying, 'Hello! I respect you when you talk, could you at least do the same?' But that was a minor point in a beautiful friendship that I envisaged blossoming before my very eyes. 'Let's exchange numbers', I said. She hesitated. This was really my first feeling that something was quite odd. In the end she gave me her number and called her phone from my phone. Her phone rang, and then she wanted to save her name 'Lin Sie' into my phone but I beat her to it.
Her phone rang a couple of times, her friend wanted to meet her after she finished work. 'Shall we get the bill', she said.
Then the bill came. 340 RMB. What the FUCK? How the hell? I was stunned into silence. I had my purse out but I didn't know what to do. She got her purse out. 'Shall we split it?' she said quickly. 'Ummm OK', I said. Quick as a flash the 'waitress' split the bill to 163RMB. How did she split it so fast I thought? My head was racing with thoughts. I didn't want the fucking tea and crisps in the first place! Why did I take them? I should have just eaten my rice. The woman put 2x100RMB notes on the table, I put 163RMB out (to the penny). I caught a glimpse of the bill. 50RMB for each bowl of crisps, 40RMB for the tea... I felt something wasn't right but my brain didn't add it all u until much later.
I was confused why my friend Lin Sie didn't say anything about the outrageous price except that really good tea is expensive and we were in the centre of Beijing. She had to leave pretty soon but I said I would stay here to make the most of the money I'd spent and eat the remainder of the crisps. How the fuck could I have been so stupid?
After finishing as much of the poor quality chips as I could and drinking as much of the tea as I could take, I felt like I couldn't stay any longer in that room. I asked for the toilet and I was directed to an outdoor 'open-air' toilet where I could see a woman squatting down peeing. No thanks, I said to myself, I'm not that desperate.
At this point I still had not fit the puzzle together and was for the most part enjoying what Beijing had to offer. I turned left out of the street I was in to the 'Champs Elysees' or Beijing - Lin Sie's words.
I walked down this brightly coloured road, went into a narrow alleyway and saw insects on a stick and lots of mooncakes (it seems like the seasonal rule for mooncakes does not apply in the capital). I pulled my trusty rucksack round my front as I felt someone could try to help themselves to my wallet.
 |
| These insects were still alive |
 |
| The rest of China stops making mooncakes in October but Beijing thinks its above all that |
Walking, walking, walking. Stop. OH MY GOD. Everything finally made sense. The walk up to the coffee shop, I was groomed by LinSie. 'Do you speak Chinese?', 'No!' I laughed. Purpose: ascertain whether I would understand what she was saying to the waitress in the coffee shop about fixing the extortionate price on me. She didn't talk a lot about her English teaching job, I didn't get enough details to be completely convinced by it. When I said I would go to the Great Wall, instead of the usual place (BaDaLing) she said I should go to the less touristy, more expensive place.
But, it was the bill that was the obvious clue. How the fuck did I end up paying the full amount when she said we would split it? The full amount on the bill cam to 163RMB - the exact amount I paid! I couldn't believe it. The waitress had doubled the bill then halved it back down to what she had totalled the food to cost. Then how the hell did one bowl of sub-par crisps cost 50RMB?
I sat down on a bench and smacked my head. Oh the stupidity! But a part of me didn't want to believe that the friendliest girl I'd ever met could have broken my trust like that. The whole thing was so beautifully orchestrated. In fact, I felt like it had been me who had made the suggestions - I was the one who nudged her and asked if she knew someplace to eat (she had jumped back a little when I nudged her, which startled me). I was the one who said to her 'I always wanted to go to a tea house!'
Luckily she went a little light on me, as far as cons go. I read in the Lonely Planet that was at my couchsurfer's house, that some Tiananmen Square tea house cons (apparently they're World famous!) can get up to 2000RMB! I remembered the seemingly innocent question of 'You look young, so you have just graduated from University?', that was designed to gauge how much money she could realistically squeeze out of me. Also maybe she felt a little sorry for me, but then again, I don't think so, I just think that she knew that if she asked me for anymore I may not have been able to give it to her.
She also never gave out the feeling of being needy or pushy. She was always so relaxed and so natural. She'd obviously been in the business for a long time.
I sent a message to the number that was recorded in my phone for her about how she should find a way to earn a living that doesn't hurt other people and I thanked her for teaching me never to trust strangers again.
So this is my new philosophy - you can never trust anyone 100%. Even people you think you know quite well, it s better to reserve a certain percentage of trust. Life may throw up all kinds of things that mean people break your trust and if you have not given them 100% of your trust then you will not be as badly burnt by their betrayal. My 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities' philosophy has segued into a 'say yes to the social interaction opportunities that your instinct says yes to as well'. When she asked me to go for a coffee my instinct said no. I should have listened to that wise guy.
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