Back in Belgium

After an express week-end home in Brittany, I'm back in Belgium. Gosh it's cold! I'm going to have to dig up my winter coat before I get sick.
Don't know why but I miss the nice weather from Beijing :)

Cocktails almost for free !!!!

Last night, Aaaron took me out as I quote "there was no way I would get back to Belgium without a drink before". So we met in a new bar located in one of the shopping centers. It is really strange as you enter a empty shopping center where all the shops are closed, get to level -1 and access the bar. It was a really nice place, with a French DJ :) Good music always helps. On Wednesdays, the cocktails are half price before midnight, i.e. a bit less than 3 euros each.
Lot's of expats were there and once again, everyone was extremely welcoming, suggesting places to go to and what to do in Beijing and Asia. Since my first day in Beijing everyone has really been super welcoming. There is always someone to inquire if you need help.
Good music, good cocktails, good company, a place I will definitely go back to!

Summer is over

Finally, fall arrived in Beijing. Temperatures have dropped (only 20C :( ). It's raining almost every day. I had to give up on the summer clothes. But I'm not complaining, I had 2 full weeks of great weather.
I guess the weather is helping me prepare to get back to Belgium :)

Voicemail

When I came back to Somerset I found out I had a message on the voicemail. It was the dentist. She called at 9am to check how was doing and if the pain was gone. None of my previous dentists ever called me the next day to check on how I was doing! Despite the sleepless night I had on Sunday it made me feel that I am in good hands.

Root canal - 1

After having had really bad tooth pain last week-end I made an appointment by the dentist on the ground floor of Somerset. Although I was reluctant to going to a dentist in China, the pain was such that I had to go. This dental cabinet was recommended in the Insider's guide so I assume it would be ok. To be honest, the place was clean, everything was sterilized, they speak English and really take care of you. Although I'm not sure how much efficient it is to tell people to relax. If there is a place I cannot relax, it's at the dentist.
What a better way is there to spend your Sunday afternoon than going to the dentist? I spent 2 hours there going though the painful process of a root canal. I am now back in the apartment, in pain, waiting for painkillers to act, wondering if this was actually a good idea to go to the dentist in the first place. Because I feel I'm back to square 1 now: tooth pain :(
Next round when Im back from Belgium...

Bicycle

Following the saying "when in Rome do like the Roman" I went to Carrefour and bought a bicycle. I now proudly can ride a pink bicycle (price was more important than color in my selection) with a bell (very useful to let pedestrian know you're coming) and a front basket (where I can put my shopping or bag). After the shaky 1st few minutes where I realized the last time I rode a bike was last Christmas in Paris when we tried Velib, I managed to get back to Somerset safe and sound. It's pretty easy to bike in Beijing as there are lanes for bikes almost everywhere and the city is pretty flat. However I still need to figure out how to go across when I need to make a left turn. Unfortunately today the thunderstorms prevent me from enjoying further my new bike :(

Joanna's wedding

I was lucky to be invited to Joanna's wedding on Saturday. My first Chinese wedding, for sure I didn't want to miss that opportunity.
At 10am, Abby met me at Somerset and we took a taxi to the venue. Next to the entrance of the venue was a huge poster of Joanna and her husband. Both of them were dressed in wedding outfits. Prior to the wedding they had a photo shot of both of them in different wedding outfit in a park and on the beach. I have to say that I didn't like so much these pictures as they made the couple look like cheap advertising... but what can I say, it's fashionable in China to do such pictures.
We were welcome by the couple. Joanna was wearing a beautiful red Chinese dress in silk. Right after the door we entered a room where posters of the couple were displayed. On a table there was a book where you could write your name and a red box in which you could place your red envelop. In China you don't give gift but money in a red envelop. So I learned.
The theme of the wedding was sleepy beauty. In the main room there was a pink castle decorating the wall (like the one at Disneyland) and everything was white and pink (table clothes, flowers, balloons, cake...).
The ceremony took place in the main room. Basically all guests seat at their table and watch the ceremony. Sleeping beauty being the theme, the bride arrived asleep on a bed carried by friends. The groom woke her up by a kiss, just like in the fairy tale :) After that they exchanged their vows and rings. Pretty similar to what we do in Western Europe. The next part is very different : the tea ceremony. Before they are married, in-laws are called "uncle and aunt". After the wedding, they become "mother and father". For this to happen, the bride will offer tea to her in-laws. If they drink the tea it means they accept her as their new daughter. The groom does the same with his in-laws. After that happy couple exchange a glass of wine and cut the cake. The bride brings a piece of the cake to his parents. The bigger the piece the more respect to them she shows. That's the end of the ceremony. As different it was from the wedding I am used to, it was a beautiful ceremony. After that the waiters bring the food on the table, all of it. There is no 3-courses lunch as we are used to. Cold and warm dishes are brought together and dessert follows shortly. During the meal the bride and groom go to each table. She offers cigarettes to the men (which she lights on) and chocolate to the women and children. Another tradition. He on the other hand drinks a glass of liquor at each table as we toast them. I'm assuming he gets pretty drunk by the end of the meal.
Once you are done with your food you can leave. On your way out you stop to have a picture with the happy couple. All in all this took 2 hours. That was the shortest wedding ever for me. I'm very happy Joanna invited me and gave me the chance to be part of her wedding. Congratulations Joanna!

Quintessence...

... pedicure.
Today I went to Lilly's nails to have my nails done. Honnestly it costs 3 times cheaper here than in Belgium :)
While I was seating there having my nails done I couldn't help noticing all the people having a pedicure or a foot massage (3 euros for 30min, who would say no). Given that this week has been tough on my feet, I decided to give them a treat and went for the Quintessence pedicure. It a nutshell they make your feet back to new! First they scrub and peal all that dead skin, then massage your feet and leg for 30min, and finish by applying some cream and nail polish. I can tell you that after that 1 hour 30 min treatment, I feel much better, relaxed, lighter even :)) And I don't know why but something tells me I will go back and enjoy pampering myself for only 16 euros!

The new Mini made in China

Anyone interested?

PS: Driver not included

Temple of Heaven

On a bright sunny Monday, I went to visit the temple of Heaven. It's actually a park with 2 temples. It is one of the largest parks in Beijing and probably the most peaceful part of the city. As soon as you get into the park, you forget about the noise of the city. Some meditating / relaxing music is played via loudspeakers through the whole park and somehow everyone is quiet. I walked through the park, visited the temples, and spent most of the afternoon reading in the shadow of centuries old pine trees. Zen...

For sure a place where I will return.

Beijing's bibles for foreigners

Upon the advice of all the foreigners here I have bought the 3 indispensable books for living in Beijing:

- Insider's guide to Beijing written by foreigners living in Beijing which contains all possible addresses you may need during your stay

- Beijing taxi guide which contains addresses and directions both in English and Chinese to most places you might have to go. The idea is that you show it to the taxi driver so he knows where you want to go and how to get there as most drivers are nor from the city

- Mandarin phrasebook which contains a list of words and sentences you might need for every occasion. Worse case scenario if you cannot read it you can show it :)

Boomtown Beijing

Later on Saturday we went to watch Boomtown Beijing in San Li Tun. Boomtown Beijing is a documentary movie on how a few inhabitants of Beijing got rady for the Olympics. It is really amazing how the Chinese have been living for the Olympics in the last couple of year. It seems every effort was worth as long as the city would be ready for the games. Even kids at schools have been acting the origins of the Olympics and rehearsing songs. Policemen were having colective lessons to learn English, well to learn standard sentences of English which doesn't mean they would understand you.

Dazhalan street

Right next to Tian'an men square is Dazhalan street. This street is in the middle of the Hutongs, the old neighbourhood of the center with tons of tiny little shops, restaurants and further away houses. You can buy everything you might want (cups, tea, hair, clothing, phones, books, dishes, food, etc.) in that street but you have to be ready to bargain as the is rule #1 when you buy in China. Hutongs are former houses of wealthy people with a square central courtyard now property from the state and where several families live.

1st time in the center of Beijing

Today I joined Aaron and Victor to have a walk in the center. Aaron has been living in Beijing for 3 years and Victor, like me, just arrived. We went to the Forbidden City. The 3 of us were a bit lost in the huge crowd of tourists visiting the place. As we are in China, things are well organized and crowd is easily managed by having an entry line and an exit one. No unorganized crowd in the plan. Obvisouly the place is huge and we have been only in the 1st 2 courtyards as we didn't want to queue 3 hours to get into the other parts. No much to see in these courtyards but you already get a feeling of how big and massive the City is. Waiting for one of you to come over so we can go visit the Forbidden City :)

Straight across from the Forbidden City lies the Tian'an men square. It's one of the largest square in the world and it is huge. It takes 10min to go from 1 side to the other. On that Saturday afternoon the place was covered with people, mostly Chinese tourists but also a few visitors for the Olympics.

Enjoying the view from the balcony

As you can see so far I have been lucky as the weather is absolutely beautiful. Finally I can wear my summer clothes !

Goose & Duck

On Friday night, I met with other P&G from Somerset. We went to a Korean restaurant next to Somerset where we had a Korean BBQ. Basically at the center of the table there is a gas BBQ on which one of the waiters will cook the meat and vegetables for you. Simple and very good :)
After that we headed to Goose & Duck a sports bar. To be honnest it's not my kind of place. Although the live music was good, the show from the cheerleaders was not impressive (maybe because I'm girl and was not sensitive to their "beauty"). Anyhow, should I ever want to watch a game in the future, that's the place to go.

South Beauty

On Thursday evening, Fiona took me out for dinner. We went to South Beauty in San Li Tun. South Beauty is the perfect place to go for sophisticated Sichuan. While abroad Chinese food is just Chinese food, here you need to decide whether you want to eat specialties from the north, the south, or the east of China. Each region is very different. In the Sichuan food is spicier than in the rest of the country. So we went for the following dishes: pork with ginger, aubergines with garlic and shrimps with hot pepper and nuts. All of it excellent! A place I recommend (although a bit expensive compare for Beijing standards).
If you're curious, you can check out this link on YouTube. Someone made a video of their dinner at South Beauty.

Getting to work

2 options to get to work: taxi or subway
Taxi is easy to get from Somerset as there is always one waiting there. Now when there is no traffic it takes 20min to get to work. When there is traffic it usually takes 40-60 min or more. When it rains, like it Belgium, Chinese can't drive anymore and it's worse. From P&G, it's more complicated as not all drivers know where Somerset is so very often you have to try 3-5 taxis before you can find one.
So after waiting 30min under the rain to find a taxi and 1 hour drive on Tuesday night, the next morning I decided to go for the subway. I looked on the map and started off. The 2min walk until the Liangmaqiao station are actually a bit more than 5 but still not far away. I was ready for a bit of a challenge into finding my way in the subway in Chinese but was happy to discover that everything was also written in English, at least the names of stations. I believe I owe a big thank you to the Olympics for getting Beijing in such a good state and easy going for foreigners. 45 min later I arrived at Wudaokou station. In total it takes 1 hour to get to work :) I think, as long as the weather is nice, I will take the subway. Tomorrow I'll take a book with me...

Moon cakes

On Tuesday night I found on my table a bag with a letter. Inside the bag a box. Inside the box, little boxes. For the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, Somerset offered a box of moon cakes. More than the cake itself I am actually amazed by such a packaging effort. Looks really fantastic. Almost like jewelery.

I discovered that on Monday it's a national holiday because of the festival. For sure I will ask if there are any celebration organized and go take a look at it eating my moon cakes.

Over sudsing

3 years now that I work in laundry and it never happened to me to see suds (foam) coming out of the washing machine. It took me all the way to China to do it. So I decide to have the washing mahcine run one time empty with soap to clean it (yes it's good to do that once a month). Luckily on top of the machine is a bag of laundry detergent (Omo... can't believe they give us competition).
1st question: is this product ok to use in machine? afterall I'm in a country where they mostly wash by hand...hard to find it's written all in Chinese. Naively I assumed that Somerset would not be that stupid as to give us hand wash product. So I start the wash... and I could have had a party in my kitchen with all the foam it generated... Next time I'll use only product from Western Europe!

Somerset

After 30min of taxi I arrived at Somerset. That's the place where I am going to live for the next 10 months or so. If you check out the website it looks very fancy, reality is different. Other expats call it "Chinese luxury": it looks premium but is actually of low quality.

I have a 1 berdoom appartment, roughly 60 sqm I would say. 2 TVs with 50 Chinese channels at least, 2 balconies, 2 chairs, little dishes (I still haven't figuerd out why I have a dishwasher if I only have 2 plates, 2 forks, 2 spoons, etc.). As you can see it's pretty empty. There is a lot of emptiness in the place. For sure I will have to find a way to personnalize it a bit.

Beijing Capital Airport

10 hours later we arrived in Beijing. 1st impression it's modern, clean and with someone every 5 steps to check that you find your way towards the customs or your transfer.
I went through the customs in less than 10min! So efficient those Chinese. You could even give a rating on the performance of the policeman (from very satisfied to very disastified). Can't imagine such a thing in Europe. 30min after landing I was sitting in the taxi that had booked.
Beijing here I am! and it's hot and humid. I thought I would melt until the airco started.

Air France Business Class

After checking in all my luggage and having had a drink with Joy, Sev et Yann (by the way if you haven't seen them yet, Sev's wedding pictures are worth your time), I passed the security check and headed to the Air France lounge. Cosy armchairs, free newspapers, food and drinks, a space to relax while waiting for your flight.

It was the 1st time I travelled with Air France in business class (I'm usually somewhere at the back in economy) and I loved it. Lots of space for your legs, a seat that can be adjusted in every possible direction (and also has a vibrate function), your own TV screen with a selection of movies / TV programs / games, a little travel bag with Clarins products, excellent food... Even service was impeccable. For starter I had picked the foie gras but unfortunately there was none left when they got to me. But there was no way I would eat the Parmiggiano pie... so she went to find me something else and came back with... lobster!!! asking if this was ok. No wonder I'm looking forward to the next flight.

Leaving for Beijing

Sunday morning, I finished packing everything, closed the house and got on my way to Beijing. First step get all my luggage to fit in Wolfram's car. As you can see I did not travel light. Actually Air France can tell you that in total I checked in 67 kg of luggage (37 of them for which I had to 30euros / kg as over weight...Luckily P&G pays).

As I had decided to travel with Air Fance, I left Brussels from gare du Midi. The chek in counter there is to be honnest crap and the staff all but nice. They barely explain what you have to and where to go. Somehow we managed and after quite some time waiting on the platform, finally 5 min before departure, the man in charge of luggage showed up.

2 hours later or so, thanks to the SNCF for being 25 min late, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport. There someone put all the luggage on the platform and you're supposed to pick it up. Problem is cannot carry them so I'm standing there with all my 4 suitcases wondering what to do and the hostess there said "crap someone forgot his luggage" I smiled and admitted they were all mine. With an even bigger smile I asked her to get me a trolley which she did.