– Wild street-crossing: strength in numbers, and preferably place numbers between yourself and oncoming traffic, not the other way round.
– A ‘second-and-first-world’; the Chinese capital’s city center glimmers poshly, remnants of shanties continue to surround the city.
– People here look and sound more cheerful than they were in Korea (guess I can’t really help these comparisons with the last place visited).
– Couchsurf with a couple, the husband’s who’s a “foreign expert” for a news agency not named here. Self-admittedly, he’s not required to have much expertise, just to do a bit of everything and some rational thinking.
– According to them, many locals are unhappy but have no other choice / option so they wheel on courageously; as a whole the society doesn’t tend to be taught or inspired to question authority and the status quo…
– Metal detectors in subway, though actual supervision lax.
– Scrolling advertising screens in subway tunnels.
– Visit the Mutianyu part of the Great Wall and ascend the steep stretch, which rewarded us with a peaceful, warm afternoon.
– Meet some Westerners three who share their philosophy, getting worthwhile interviews with locals has often proved difficult because of the language barrier (more on this and interviews in the previous post).
– To and back from the Wall, a wee-bit of adventure, hitchhiking black cabs and local buses along the rural roads.
– ‘Come have a coffee’: scam by well-learned English-speaking women
– Summer Palace, highlight of intra-Beijing, could well imagine spending a warm sunny day strolling through the park.
– Shanties remain well out of sight, hidden by lines of trees.
– Book-sized restaurant menus, and customers are the kings’ buffoons.
