From the Bay to Beijing

I arrived here in Beijing on Monday night at about 7pm. Since then I've just checked into the hotel, caught up on email, and chilled.

I did go on a short walk though. The hotel, St. Regis, is located near the embassies so there is a ton of shopping and Western chains nearby including Sizzler and TGI Friday's. Nothing says Chinese food better than curly fries and mudslides. I doubt I'll try it.

The bright side of being close to the embassies is that the street vendors are nearby and dudes selling DVD's are always easily found. I picked up Spider-Man 3, Ratatouile, Shrek the Third, Letters of Iwo Jima, and Fantastic Four. All movies I would see for about $1, which is what they cost.

This is my third time here in the last 22 months, so I feel pretty comfortable rolling around, but the one thing I can never get used to is the absence of the term "personal space" or cordially waiting in line. This time the first intrusion began before I even got off the plane. I had a aisle seat, but somehow the 60-something couple sitting in the middle and window seats were able to get past me and off the plane before I did. It was like some shaolin magic trick or something. I gotta learn that one.