Thursday
Went to find my school again
today, but still no luck.
Okay, let’s start at the
beginning. I woke up with the intention of finding a hostel so I could use the
internet there, meet some other foreigners, etc. Then I realised that I needed
internet to find a hostel. I haven’t got any lonely planet book or anything
like that – definitely should have come more prepared.
Looked for an internet room in
this hotel but couldn’t find one. No restaurant either. Asked at reception but
nobody seems to understand anything I’m talking about. I have a phrase book but
it’s all stuff like, I need some condoms
please, and Have you got something
for diarrhoea? and Where can I buy
some suntan lotion?
They understood when I paid
for another night however. Three hundred yuan, which converts to about thirty
quid. Not bad for the size and quality of the room.
Had breakfast in McDonalds
again. There’s one near the hotel, you can’t miss it as the only recognisable
anything in this entire city. Everything looks like a Chinese restaurant.
Then I caught a taxi and went
back to the address of where my school should be. Just to double check if I’d
be taken to the same building as I was yesterday. Could’ve walked there from
here but needed to confirm the address was right.
No luck again. Same story as
yesterday.
There were a bunch of people
selling stuff in the street nearby. Saw some baby ducks – who’s gonna buy a
baby duck and what for? The rest of it was the usual stuff you get in
Chinatown. Ornaments and fancy little boxes for keeping the ornaments in. Nothing
especially exciting.
While I was there a sudden
panic ensued, which I later realised was because someone had spotted the police
nearby. All the sellers hurriedly packed up all their stuff and legged it round
the corner out of sight. Quite funny to watch.
Friday
Need to get myself a winter
coat at some point. The weather outside is pretty cold. Found an internet café
at least. There’s an email from my school:
Hi Adam.
Looking forward to our meeting you. You first class on January 11. Did
you arrive at Beijing yet?
Please reply soon.
Happy.
Not sure how to react to
this. I mean, I was supposed to be
picked up at the airport on the 5th of January. No mention of that.
But if my first class is on the eleventh then at least I’m not in any trouble.
I replied with:
Hi, Happy.
In Beijing now but can’t find the school. What is the address? I’m
staying at the Grace Hotel on Fujing Street, Chaoyangmen district.
Looking forward to your reply,
Kevin.
Bought cigarettes that taste
of flowers. It was the cheapest pack. Got some beer too and went back to my
room. I know I should explore Beijing, make the most of this free time I have,
but not in the mood. It’s cold and I don’t really know what I’m doing.
Saturday
No entry.
Sunday
There’s a writing desk in my
hotel room. That’s where I’ve been jotting this diary stuff down. The carpet is
dark brown, the bed is huge, high and soft, covered in brown and cream blankets
with duvet to match. There’s a coffee table with two wicker chairs, a modern TV;
the double windows cover one whole wall of the room which leads to a narrow
balcony overlooking the metropolis. There’s about twenty lights in the room
which are all turned on using a control panel by the bed.
The bathroom is gold; the bath
itself is more like a spa pool than anything else; bubbles can be turned on;
there are round neon lights on the bottom of the bath and the thing lights up like
Christmas while you’re in there.
Most of the last few days have
been spent reading my book, drinking green tea and smoking far too much: on the
bed, sat in one of the wicker chairs, out on the balcony, in the bath … I had a
few beers in here last night – flicked through the TV channels looking for
anything interesting. Mostly watched Chinese cartoons and music videos.
I’m on the fifteenth floor. I
take the lift down in the mornings. As far as I know there’s nothing else in
this hotel apart from rooms. Gotta stop eating McDonalds.
Handing my keys in for the
last time today. Going to a hostel I found on the internet. It’s been nice here
in a weird way, but also rather lonely. Time for a new start.
