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Dudes, this hostel is nuts. As are most of the girls working here and the girls staying here. I have one French roommate who is never here, and my Chinese roommate who is always here. She thinks I speak better Chinese than I do and asks me all kinds of questions and just blabbers away. Which is good for me. But it also makes me feel like an ass when I can't respond. She knows some English and I speak fluent Chinglish with her.
I want yang rou chuan'r sooooo badly but haven't found any yet. Actually, I haven't had any meat since my flight from Chicago to Korea. I bought a load of fruit and some fruitmilk for dinner tonight. I've been walking around the blocks a lot today, looking to see what's in the area. Since I plan on staying in this hostel for all of June. I also need to figure out how to buy a padlock so I can lock up some of my stuff in the lockers while I'm out for the day.
Oh, and buy minutes for my phone so I can USE it.
There are two middle aged Chinese guys in here who are very angry. Like yelling at the receptionist. I think they are yelling that they have reservations or something thereabouts, but they all can't get a room together? Or there's another person in their room? Or they're charging them too much? Something along those lines. It's hard to understand when they're yelling too fast.
The main entry of the hotel is being redone. So there's construction everywhere. You'd never guess that through the half blocked up door and the rubble and around the construction workers is a youth hostel.
And for that matter, I'd forgotten just how much construction happens in Beijing. Seriously the stats are like that China uses 1/3 of all the world's cement and a 1/5 of the world's steel. Well, they've been pouring it 24/7 since I arrived at the massive shopping mall that they're building next to the hostel. From my bedroom window I can watch them pour the foundations. The rate of construction is just freaking amazing.
Tomorrow I think I will go to Houhai lakes for the afternoon, perhaps. Or maybe just Tiananmen. Hopefully I'll be having lunch and/or dinner with Moya.
I bought the 2008 Beijing Bible, also officially known as the Insider's Guide to Beijing, put on by That's Beijing. It is the single most useful wealth of information about Beijing. There's also one for Shanghai and probably Guangzhou, too. But you really do have to buy it every year, as the only constant in this city is change. Bars that I expected to find have been torn down and the shopping center has either had a facelift or is no longer there. It's written BY expats FOR expats and it rocks my world. I also picked up two of the expat magazines today. It's really amazing how international this city is and how many foreigners have made this city their home.
Okay it's 9:30 and I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a nice long, hot shower, and read in bed until I fall asleep.
Yup, I'm livin' it up on a Saturday night in Beijing. City of 15 million and some of the best clubs in the world and I'm going to bed.
Over and out.
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Sydney
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Hostel
As promised, babes, I am reading this blog religiously! Are you staying at the hostel right next to that fabulous Belgian pizza place (name escapes me right now)? Behind that random hospital? Have you HAD the pizza yet? Yummm... The mall that's going up... is that the one that was basically in the beginning stages when we left? At the north west corner of Sanlitun and Gongti Beilu? I'm interested in knowing how much of it is done.... we all know that building are literally THROWN up over there lol. Answer that in your next blog xoxox