Hutong Clan

I love Beijing. Not as much as I love Tokyo, but it has some similar qualities. Our first night here, we went to an area near Beihai Lake that was very happening. There were about 150 people (of all ages) doing a synchronized Macarena/Line dance in a somewhat listless manner. It was one of the best things I have ever seen.

We climbed the Great Wall today and managed to avoid the organized tours that take you to the "museums" that are actually stores. We took the local 919 bus instead. We decided to go early into our trip "to get it over with" (as Aman, Jaspal, and I agreed).

Before we arrived, Aman emailed us about a scam he'd been approached with several times his first day here, involving young Asian ladies, foreign male tourists, and a $400 tea ceremony (long story -- just Google it if you want to know the details. Apparently it's quite common here in Beijing). Once we got here, he became fixated on showing us how it happens. In a mall, he wandered off a bit away from us and, sure enough, a girl approached him within minutes. He shooed her away after 30 seconds (don't worry, Vicki), and then I watched as the same girl approached another young desi guy -- and totally scammed him. As I followed them, eavesdropping, I heard him saying, "It's so hard to get to know people here because my Chinese is very bad. Where do you want to go to lunch? Anywhere you want." In the name of desi solidarity I almost ran up and told him he was being scammed, but if he's dumb enough to think a hot Chinese girl wants to go with him to a tea ceremony two minutes after meeting him, he's pretty much a chump.

The word for "alleyway" or "sidestreet" is hutong, which Aman and Jaspal are obsessed with. I think they have substituted the word hutong for every possible (and impossible) situation, as in, "Let's get some hutong ice cream," or "Let's get a hutong taxi." Their comedy antics have hit a low point.

Many, many more Beijing stories and pictures to come!