New Friends, Dinner, A Little Luck, & Culture

Alright gang, this posting is a little long, but it tries to capture the details of the day. I was pretty lucky all day long.


Background
Today is my last full day in China, Alec left this morning and I have no real plans for the day. I checked out of the hotel around 1PM and checked into the Park Plaza at 2PM. The Park Plaza is really nice and is priced at 1/2 the cost of our original hotel.

I am hoping to catch up with Billy and Kate later on today. They are staying an extra day and are pretty cool to be around.


Lucky Story # 1

I happened to be checking out of the hotel at the exact same time as Billy and Kate. Guess what, they will be checking into the same hotel that I am checking into. This was not planned. They reserved their room months ago, and my room was booked this week without any knowledge of their booking. In addition, the bell hop was pressuring me to check out of the hotel. Yes, I was late checking out, but did he have to wait outside my room ? Nevertheless, Billy, Kate, and I share a cab to the Plaza Hotel in Beijing China ( I give this hotel a big thumbs up). Meeting up with Billy and Kate made the rest of the day easy. We didn't have to coordinate schedules or anything like that.

Picture Below: Picture of the bellhop waiting outside my room and creating a sense of urgency for me to checkout.




Lucky Story # 2
Billy is still alive after eating starfish. Read the next post to understand this one a little better.

From Food Market

Lucky Story # 3
I am always lucky to have classmates from Harvard Business School around. Having Kate around assured me that the rest of the day was going to go smooth. Having type A personalities around assures me that every detail will be taken care of.

I had only one goal for the day, which was to be at Beijing's Famous Silk Market at 7PM. I needed to pick up some dress shirts that I had made. Kate planned our entire day (museum, shopping, dinner, night water cube visit) down to the last minute. It worked out so that everyone was able to accomplish their goals for the day.

Picture Below: I survived another tough negotiation at the Silk Markets. This negotiation was tough. These girls would not take no for an answer. I worked my magic while Billy took photos of the harassment.




Picture Below: Picture of the art museum that we toured on our last day in China.


Picture Below: Ron (me) imitating the Buddha.


Lucky Story # 4
We are all still alive. Our classmate, Tian Tian, recommended that we eat at Xi Lou Hutong, Courtyard 28. It sounds like a great recommendation. Key word, "sounds" like a great recommendation. I forgot that Tian Tian is hardcore. She is originally from China and is one of the most hardcore personalities that I've met.

I was thinking nice western food, but I should have known better when the taxi driver didn't know how to get there. Xi Lou Hutong, Courtyard 28 is "Authentic Chinese Food" and is located in the bowels of a poor, run down Chinese neighborhood. This neighborhood has a shared bathroom and shower complex because the area is too poor for people to have running water.

We venture down a dark alleyway, through run down homes, and find a very nice looking restaurant in the back of the area that I described. By the way, Kate is fearless, she is walking through this area alone and ahead of both Billy and myself. No American female in their right mind would do such a thing. The restaurant and the neighborhood do not seem to fit one another.


Billy and I are a little nervous about eating at Courtyard 28. They had to show us a business card in order for us to know that we were at the right location. The menus are written in Chinese; no english, no pictures. I don't know about you, but it is hard to order when you don't know the language and can't see what you are eating.


Billy and I need pictures. Hell, we even needed pictures to order from the menu at McDonald's earlier today.


Billy and I decide that we will have drinks and get out of dodge. Kate on the other hand is a little more adventurous. We see other people in the restaurant that appear to speak both English and Chinese. They were shocked to see us there! The ring leader of the group immediately asked us, "How did you guys hear about this restaurant?" We explain and he is like, "Wow, tourist never come here. The food is good and if you need help ordering, let us know."


Those weren't the words that I was hoping to hear. I was ready to order drinks and leave, but as you can see, it didn't turn out that way. You can see the pain on Billy's face (picture below).



Lucky Story # 5

From Friends met a...

We met up with David, from the Pentathlon event (picture above: Ron, David, and Kent). This story shows that our day was meant for a blog. I received an email from David earlier in the day. I responded and told him that our group was eating dinner around 8PM at Xi Lou Hutong, Courtyard 28.

Around 7PM, we realized that we were going to be late. I emailed David to let him know that we probably wouldn't get there until 9:15.

We get to Xi Lou Hutong, Courtyard 28 at 9:15 and there is no David. I figured that he already left or never showed up. Around 10:30, we leave Xi Lou Hutong, Courtyard 28 and plan to go to the WaterCube. Unsuccessfully, we stand on the corner for a few minutes trying to flag a taxi. Then a taxi pulls to the corner to drop off a passenger and we attempt to get the taxi as the passenger steps out of the cab. I realize that the person stepping out of the cab is David!!!!

Wow! Pretty freaky! If we were one minute sooner or later, we would not have seen David. Had we decided to eat elsewhere, we would have missed David.

I introduce David to Billy and Kate. We decide to go for drinks. We walk to the next neighborhood over and chat for a while. To my surprise, David brought both Alec and myself a gift. He brought us a very nice chopstick set. Man, I am floored by David's generosity and thoughtfulness.


We talk with David and he tells us about his life, family, ambitions, friends, and culture. Kate, Billy, and myself are in complete shock and awe about the evening. I am grateful that David persevered our late arrival to dinner and decided to comeback to meet us once he received my email about dinner. David also accompanied, Kate, Billy, and myself to take one last look at the WaterCube (remind me to get some pictures from Kate and Billy -- this is when my camera's battery died).

Creepy Crawlers Equal Comfort Food

Below: Mark & Daniella eating a scorpion at the Food Market in Beijing.



Above: Mark Vela getting his daily dose of nutrients.





This market is famous in Beijing for the various foods that have become part of the Chinese cuisine. Take a look at some of the various pictures. While scrumptious to some, I believe that I'll pass this time.

The history of how certain foods became part of Chinese Culture and for any culture is interesting. Foods often become part of a societies culture as a result of necessity and remain in the culture because of legacy.

Picture Below: Picture of Billy eating a starfish at the food markets. Billy's original goal was to eat a Scorpion, but he decided against it after getting sick from eating the Starfish.



Pictures of Tasty Cuisine



List of Foods Available at the Market

1. Scorpions (Mark Vela and Daniella ate these things. They have pictures and a video of the event. I am trying to get a digital copy of it from Mark.)
   
2. Starfish (Billy ate this)
   
3. Stomach of a Cow
4. Snake
5. Eel
6. Intestines of Every Type of Animal
7. Pig Ears

Good bye, Beijing

Ron and Alec part ways to their respective lives. This was taken in
the lobby of the Central Garden Hotel, where we spent the last few
nights in Beijing. Ron has one more day left in Beijing! Alec is flying home!

Thought
The past two weeks have been awesome. The best part of the trip is that I had a chance to spend time with one of the my section mates. Before the trip, Alec and I were classmates that were cool with one another. Now we are a FAMILY that happened to go to school with one another. No Jokie, Jokie.

Although Alec and I were brought up in different homes, it feels as if we could have been brothers. His parents definitely raised him to have solid values, a passion for life, and a commitment to service.

Tear drop
I can't believe that this is over! The trip! My Harvard | Business | School experience! The past two years of my life have been wonderful. Words really can't describe how I am feeling right now. I feel like I've been "Living The Dream." God has definitely blessed me. I don't know why God picked me to experience such great things, but I am truly thankful. I hope that I can be instrumental in helping someone have some of the same experiences that I have had.

Who would have guessed it? No one except my MOM, my FAMILY, and true supporters like YOU.

LOL, I can't believe that I am actually crying right now. I thought about sharing the picture, but it looks really bad.

Below: Don't we look like brothers ?



Theme Song
Bon Jovi, "Living on a Prayer" is representative of how I am feeling right now.

Creating A Comedy Skit

Wow !!!! I am a little sad that this trip is coming to an end, but boy do I have some laughs and funny stories to share with you!!!! Out of respect for Bernie Mac (bless his soul), I am going to put together a comedy skit.


Stand Up Comedy Act
I am a big fan of stand up comedy, even acts that aren't all that funny. On GP (i.e. General Principle), I give the comedian props for having enough courage and heart to stand up in front of people.

Over the past few months, I have been watching tons of stand up. For example, I've watched Katt Williams, Martin, Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and even some local acts.

I believe that my trip to China has created several moments worth retelling on stage via a comedy skit and I plan to deliver. In order to do it properly, I will put together a 5-10 minute act centered on a few topics. If you have any ideas or critiques of my topics (content too), then feel free to let me know. For the most part, I won't post any details of my content until after I perform. Just let me know if you want to dig deep on one area in order to help me hone my skit. Trust me, I won't try to do too much in one skit, but I won't have a lack of material either. I am keeping it a little vague right now for a reason.

If you have any crazy travel stories or anything interesting that took place on one of your trips to China or any trips anywhere, feel free to reach out to me as well.

This should be fun. Between writing, practicing, and actually delivering a skit, I will have a ball. I will keep you up to date on my progress.


MAJOR COMEDIC THEMES

1. Difficulties of not being able to speak the local language.
   
2. Alternative methods of communicating when a common language is spoken
   
3. Negotiating the price of goods at various markets.
4. My personal flight from the US to China (hilarious, you should read my blog about this episode of the trip).
5. Going to the bathroom in a foreign country, especially China (I have a few good ones about this).
6. Eating. Food. Pets. Not being able to recognize half the food that one eats in a foreign country.
7. Can you believe the hype? Fact or Fiction !!!
   
8. Chinese don't believe in personal space at all (taking pictures, bathroom incident).
   
9. Going beyond your comfort zone.
10. Tour guides.
    
11. Different customs and the difficulty of translating idioms from one country to another.
12. Watermelon & Chicken in China.
13. Americans being nicer to other Americans in foreign countries than they normally would in America.
14. How African Americans meet other African Americans when visiting foreign lands.
15. Haters !!
16. Homeless !!
    

Golden Jaguar

At the Golden Jaguar, enjoying the best meal of the trek!

I am trying to figure out why are we just finding out about this place. No offense, but the food on this trek has been sub-par. If there is one area that our organizers have been slow to adjust according to this interests of the group, it would be in the area of dining.

I plan to do a separate blog just for food. Stay tuned for more!

Forbidden City

Currently at the Forbidden City beside Tian'anmen Square

Great Wall of China

Today we scaled the Great Wall, climbing around 1000 feet of steps.
It was a little foggy, but we had great views of the hillsides and
valley below.

Made Up For Lost Time

We were supposed to tour Beijing on a bicycle ride this morning, but partying last night caused us to wake up very late. We have from 12:30PM to 3:30PM to make the best of the day, because at 4PM, we have to meet the rest of the group for meeting with China Investment Corporation.

So we decided to take a cab from our hotel to view the CCTV Building and the Summer Palace



CCTV Building



The CCTV Building is an architectural tourist attraction. Even after seeing the building, it amazes me how the building supports itself and does not topple over with a strong wind.

The security guards kept us from getting too close to the building, because the building is still under construction (i.e. like many other buildings that we saw in China). China has done a great job at masking the incomplete projects from the public eye.


Summer Palace




Alec and I made it to the Summer Palace with very little time to spare. We need to be headed back to our hotel within 45 minutes or we will miss our meeting with the China Investment Corporation.

The gallery above highlights the pictures that we were able to take during our speed tour of the Summer Palace.



Who Do You Think I Am? I'm a Tourist, but not a Sucker !!!

When we were trying to find a taxi from Summer Palace to our hotel, none of the drivers would agree to take us home unless we agreed to pay 120 RMB for the ride. Now, 120 RMB isn't that expensive (approx. $18 USD), but Alec and I preferred to pay the metered price rather than a negotiated amount. We figured that the metered price would be less than the metered price.

Apparently, the taxi drivers at this location work in a ring together and try to take advantage of the tourists. Neither Alec nor myself would agree to the terms being offered and they wouldn't agree with ours. After a while, I didn't trust them. They could have taken us to a remote location and demanded more money than what was agreed upon. They tried to take advantage of us once, what would prevent them from trying to do it again.

Fortunately, we saw a taxi driving through the area and we hopped into the car and the driver agreed to the metered price. The cab ride home ended up being 30 RMB.

Moral of the Story: Never negotiate or do business with a crooked individual. Never! Don't compromise your values for no one.

Not My Best Day in Beijing

Glad to see that you are still following the blog. Unfortunately, I don't have any news worth sharing about yesterday. From the lyrics of Lauren Hill's song, "Lost Ones," I just lost one day from my trip to Beijing.

Don't feel compelled to read about the rest of my day. It is filled with me moaning and groining about how my day didn't go as expected, but how it ended up working out in the end. However, when I put things into perspective, my day was still spectacular. Things could be worse. Also, if you are a part of the group and are reading this blog, don't feel bad. Nothing personal. Writing about the experience is a way for me to relieve stress.

Sorry about not having any pictures from the day, but I may be able to get you some shortly.

Recollection of the Day
6AM
The Holland House wore me out. I ended up going to bed after 6AM in the morning.

1PM
Woke up from a deep sleep and prepared for the final day of Olympic Games.

2PM
Decided to watch the basketball finals from the lounge in the hotel . Felt like American food was in order and decided to order a pizza from Pizza Hut . Pizza and Basketball go together like Love and Forever right ?! This way, I can relax, and after the game I can go shopping in one of the fabric districts before a group dinner at 7:30PM.

3PM
Watching the game. Waiting for the pizza to arrive.


4PM
Still watching the game and still waiting for the pizza to arrive. Though about calling Pizza Hut!

5PM
No longer watching the game, yet still waiting for the pizza to arrive. Decided to call Pizza Hut. Doesn't look like I am going to go shopping before dinner anymore.

6PM
By now, I am a little frustrated. I don't even want the pizza anymore because dinner is at 7:30, but I am still hungry. If I eat now, my dinner will be spoiled.

7PM
No longer hungry because the pizza arrived at 6:30, but I am looking forward to a nice sit down dinner with the travel group. We are supposed to eat at a nice restaurant and watch the closing ceremony (boy was I wrong about the closing ceremony).


8PM
At a nice Chinese dinner, but no TV in sight. I am a little anxious to leave, but we are enjoying each other's company. I am comforted by the fact that we are in the area where the fireworks are going to be on display.

9PM
For the first time on this trip, I become disappointed in the planners. I am upset because we missed watching the closing ceremony on TV and we are missing the the fireworks even though we are in the district where the fireworks are being displayed (long story).

Our group is in complete disarray. No one knows where we are going, or what is going on. The streets are crowded. Bars are crowed. I can't speak the language, therefore, I am dependent upon the group for direction and safety.

I am getting the feeling that my day was wrecked right from the beginning. So now, I plot on how I can get away from the group and actually get to a place where I can relax and have some fun.

10 PM

After deciding to remain with the group, I completely missed the fireworks show! Picture that !!! I am in Beijing during the Olympics and I missed everything associated with the closing ceremony! I didn't even get a chance to watch the closing events on television.

Now, I am ready to part from the group. I don't know the language, but I am so frustrated, that I feel that I don't need the group. My day couldn't get any worse, so why not venture off on my own!!!!!

I decide to leave and catch a cab. My friend Amy decided to roll with me too. I don't know the language, but the partying is universal. I don't need the language to find my way, all I need is a few primitive gestures and we are off.

11 PM
Finally feeling good about my decision to leave the group. Why didn't I do this earlier? We are at a local bar called "Angel" where a lot of locals hang out. Pretty cool place. Although I am having a great time, I am trying to find my exit.

Also, the locals are loving my gear! I bought a nice piece of Chinese clothing at a "very special price" and I decided to wear it out. Everyone keeps gesturing at me in the club with signs of approval.

Midnight
In the line at Club China Doll. This is the place where several of the Olympic Athletes hang out at night ( check out this article about the Olympic Athletes ). Amy and I have heard great things about this club, so we decided to go here.

1AM
Still happy about my decision to leave the group. Glad that Amy rolled along as well. I learned a lot about her career interests and passion for investing. We had a great conversation. Interesting how you spend an entire year at school with someone, and don't get a chance to really know them. However, when you spend 20 minutes seriously focused on learning more about the person's interests and ideas about life, you feel moved and like you are fortunate to have them as a friend.


2AM
We decided to leave China Doll and check out Angel once again. We are looking for a few of our classmates, but none of them are there. Amy gets in the cab to head home. I decided to walk around the club scene for a little while longer.

I don't come to China often, and it is too early for me to go home.

3AM
I see a few of our classmates on the street. We decide to go back to China Doll. This was a great call. We ended up dancing the night away and having a ball. Everyone in the group was wondering where I jetted off to from earlier in the night.

4AM
Still in the club.


5AM
Still in the club, but walking out the door!


6AM
Sleep, but I am suppose to wake up at 8AM. We have a bike riding tour of Beijing that starts at 9AM.

7AM
Still sleep.

8AM
Still sleeping.

9AM
Still sleeping. Missed the tour.


10AM
Still sleeping. Dreaming !!!

11AM
Still sleeping. No way we can find the group no even if we decided to meet up with the group.


Noon
Wiping the sleep out of my eyes! Looking for a clock and trying to figure out the time. Feeling robbed from the day before, I am determined to make the best of a botched day. Alec and I put a game plan together in order to salvage the day.

The game plan is to check out 2 major attractions in Beijing before 3PM. Wait for the next blog entry to determine whether we salvage the day. I think we do, but I'll leave it for you to decide.

Where the Buck Stops ($)

Hey Everyone,

I have some good news and bad news for you. Let me give you the bad news first.

Bad News

I wanted to see the Beijing Water Cube up close and personal during my trip to the Olympics, but was unable to based upon security and based upon me being re$ourceful (i.e. broke) and not spending a grip on tickets to the water events. I had to draw the line somewhere. It felt as if the scalpers were not trying to budge on the price at all.

Good News

Although I couldn't see it up close and personal, I was able to see the venue from a distance. Also, most importantly, my buddy, Alec went to the diving finals and was able to take a few unbelievable pictures and videos of the water cube. And just for you my friend, Alec, is allowing me to show you these pictures at "A Very Special Price. No jokie jokie!" Maybe one day I'll get to the other side (i.e. anything is possible, even in China).

Note: When you watch the diving finals, you might just see Alec sitting behind a guy in a loud green jacket.

Pictures of the Water Cube



Video of the Water Cube