Beijing Pt 2

As I talk more about my trip to Beijing, my only reference point will be Busan, since this is where I spend my days. The first noticeable difference is the scale of Beijing. Its a giant city! Literally. The scale of the buildings is enormous. Coming from Busan, where buildings are barely 1-ft from each other, most of the buildings in Beijing are a huge project, generally 20 stories or more. A lot of this may be due to the upcoming Olympics, and also because its the Capital City. Whereas in Busan you can still see remnants of the old city (shanty-like houses), Beijing has destroyed most of those areas for big apartment buildings, hotels, businesses and shopping. While the buildings are grandiose, most are unremarkable in their design.

Generally the roads are 4 lanes each side, with a partition of trees, and another lane for parking and bicycles. All the roads are very wide like this, and big sidewalks. It almost seemed luxurious after being in Busan, where sidewalks are whats left over after everything else is considered (i.e. inefficient, many obstacles). Even with the extra lanes, there are still many traffic jams. One foreigner magazine I read while there made mention of this problem, and the push to make more subway lines to alleviate the congestion. Mind you, all these projects are expected to be done in time for the Olympics next year.

People in Beijing drive like they walk. I though traffic was bad in Busan, but in Beijing they don't really stop; everyone drives really slow (Busan they drive fast as possible and shove their way through, but everyone drives the same so its okay). No one waits for the crosswalk signal, bikes are mixed in with cars (even though there is a designated lane for bikes) and you cross when you can, always making sure the driver coming at you sees you. Its much more chaotic then anything in the States, but again, they all drive the same so its usually okay. There's just so many people that's its hard to enforce any of these rules.

Another note on the cars: many of the cars look new, but they are actually factory models from 10 years back, with a few fascia modifications. There were many Volkswagen for taxis, and overall a good mixture of cars from all over the world (contrast with Korea, where 80% of the cars are Hyundai or Kia or Samsung). Overall there was a certain bleakness about this big city; many of the buildings were actually painted grey (with red accents). However, don't be persuaded by my opinion, I still enjoyed visiting there. Food is cheap and tasty, clothes are cheap (once you learn how to bargain the prices down). But its definitely a place to visit at least once, also due to its proximity to The Great Wall...

Beijing Pt 1

Well, after my 8 days in Beijing, I come back to Busan feeling ready to go, refreshed and renewed. The next day I catch fever :-( and spent all day in bed (Saturday). Today (Monday) I went to get a checkup and some medication to take for one day. Price: $15. Is that cheap or what??

Luckily Beijing is only 1-hr time difference, so my friend John and I didn't suffer from jet lag. On the 2nd day I went to an aquarium nearby the hotel. I just figured I go and check it out, get it out of the way. I'm glad I went, there was lots to see in there. It was very dark, but fun. The shark exhibit was mesmerizing. Their tank was kind of big, and the sharks were no longer than 5-ft. But I could see why they instill fear into so many. They slowly pace around the tank, pale grey eyes and always baring their teeth. I stood by that tank for several minutes trying to get a good pic, but its tough when they never stop moving.

The sea turtles looked almost cartoonish in their colors, very impressive. The place reminded me of the movie 'Finding Nemo' - clown fish, whatever that blue fish was, and the sea turtles. There was also a gigantic tank where you could pass underneath, a glass tunnel so you could be right next to the fish! It was fun to be that close, and a little creepy, but difficult to take a good picture because of the glass curvature. I spent about 1-hr in the aquarium, cost about $10.

Overdue blog

Yes, thanks to Jason to remind me I'm overdue to post a blog, so here it is! I was waiting for a while to get my camera back from the repair shop; got it back and posted some pics here for ya. You can see both the motorbikes I have right now. The red and black is technically my 3rd bike, cause the first one was a lemon. The charcoal Magma was my 2nd bike, which I am currently leasing to my friend for 2 months, until he leaves. At that point I'll sell one of these bikes. I enjoy the increased power and top speed of the red and black bike (Kawasaki Vulcan 500) but its a bit older and Japanese, so costs more to fix. Also, my Magma is much lighter and fuel efficient, so we'll see what kind of offers pop up.

Also, this week I'm taking my first vacation from Korea; I'm going to Beijing for 8 days! Should be a good adventure, new culture. As you know most of the non-perishables we use come from China, so I will be doing some shopping for clothes that fit me :-) Also negotiating seems to be integral to the shopping process in China, so I hope to learn more about that, and also sharpen my negotiating skills in general. If time permits maybe I'll make it to the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. And of course I'll have my camera along, so I'll try to remember to take some interesting pictures and post them when I get back!