beijing exhibition centre, day 2 (lomosite, 13 sept '04)

more frustration...

one of those times when i think to myself i really should have listened to rizal.

i am as hapless as nakajima-san. he's japanese and speaks a wee bit of mandarin. i'm malaysian and speak a wee bit of mandarin.

almost all chinese exhibitors here speak no english.

live and learn...

short round today. the chinese government sent out a last minute cicrcular stating that all guests must leave the hall by 3pm. Some Chinese VIP will be visiting the fair.

only in china.

tomorrow will be a full day. walk, talk (if i can find someone who speaks english).

that leaves me with...TWO FULL DAYS of sightseeing!!!

Day 1: Great wall
Day 2: Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City

Dinner:
beijing chinese food. our motley group of 6 (two thais, two indonesians, me, and nakajima-san) were unceremoniously ushered from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor due to the arrival of a large group of tourists.

ordering was, let's see, a pretty drawn out affair. Nakajima-san held the menu (he can read the characters), i put in my two cents when he asked for opinions, and mr. vanchai did most of the talking. too many cooks... it took us close to 40 mins to order.

i stick by malaysian chinese food. we make THE BEST!!

here's where beijing is also different from malaysia: m;sians start walking in to a restaurant between 8-9pm. Beijingers start leaving the restaurant by 8-9pm. We were one of two tables left at the restaurant by 9pm.

Bumped into the rest of the Japs at the lobby of my hotel on my way back. Poor them, they'd just got done with the VIP (who arrived at 8pm) and were just going out for dinner.

I like them better in t-shirt and jeans.