I started to have an itchy and running nose on Friday morning. It was getting a bit worse after I got to the airport. I was praying to God that it was just allergy so much so that I called my hu*****and to tell him my plan of hitting a pharmacy to get some allergy medication once I was in Beijing. It's as if the very fact of talking about allergy medication would make my wishful thinking of an allergy a fact :-).
My nose was not getting any better on the airplane.. I touched down at Beijing International Airport on Saturday afternoon, more than slightly dazed for which a John Grisham novel was to blame..
This was my second time to visit the city in the last couple of months, and I stayed at a different hotel this time but on the same street..I had become quite familiar with the street and even give direction to the taxi driver to find the hotel :-).
There was an interesting episode at my checking-in. The lady at the front desk could not find my reservation. I told her to use my frequent quest account number, and aha, it turned out that I would not be expected until the next day.. Apparently I had mixed up my day of arrival while making the reservation. Luckily, they were not fully booked..I think too much traveling was finally getting to me:-)..
The decor of the room was more on the contemporary side compared to most of the Marriott's I had stayed with..
One could see the skyline from the window, despite of the smog..I felt the slight irritation in my nose and throat the minute I stepped out of the airport, not an assuring sign for good air quality at all. Amazingly though, my allergy or whatever that was was gone!
There was a bronze sculpture likely in the shape of a flame with nice curvature in the room along the entry way. I wanted to take a picture of it, and only then I realized that I would have to be in the picture because it's placed in front of a mirror.. So this was the bronze flame with a very fatigued me in a not-so-fashionable attire after almost 12 hours on a flight..Only afterwards did I notice that the curve in my T-shirt print seemed to echo the curve of the sculpture :-).
This would turn out to be a good spot for me to keep a photo journal of what I was wearing everyday in Beijing..
While I was taking care of some emails and preparing for business meetings, someone knocked on my door. It was a set of nice little snacks, courtesy of Marriott..
What's in the cute glass was not orange juice, as I originally had assumed. It was instead a very thick and rich mango jelly. Yumm..
Rather than having dinner at the hotel, I decided to venture out on the street. It's much more fun to blend in :-). This was just outside the hotel. The bamboo reminded me of the hotel I stayed just a week ago in Suzhou..
Quite a variety of vendors lining the street - food, fruits, clothes, jewelry..I did not summon enough courage to try out the street food, though.
I decided to try my luck at 山东刀削面馆。The lady in the foreground may not have the best figure but certainly have a good sense of color coordination, head to toe:-).
A very good choice, as it turned out..
茄皮尖椒
A green vegetable
Now, drum roll please, 香辣刀削面。。
The whole meal only cost RMB 37..
Sunday morning saw me taking this picture before heading out for breakfast..
Here was my breakfast - 油条豆浆，现作的面条馄饨，紫米粥就凉菜，紫米粥就热菜 - consumed in that order.
Please excuse my humongous appetite:-).
After breakfast, I decided to check out the Temple Of Heaven. For details, please see my blog "再访北京-第一次经历天坛＂。
It was about 4pm by the time I got back to my hotel. Good that I was not expected at a business dinner until in a couple of hours. All the walking had made me very tired, and that couple of hours really helped!
Here was what I wore to the dinner.
And here was my Monday attire.
Tuesday...
All my meetings and calls concluded around noon time. I changed into this and left for lunch and the 798 Art Zone..
The visit to 798 would be a stand alone subject in a separate blog..
For lunch, I picked a restaurant just across the street with the hotel that specializes in Chongqing cuisine. Here is the inside look of the place..
I wanted to order the whole menu, but how much can one stomach stuff? Well in my case, apparently a lot! - 尖椒皮蛋, 豆角红烧肉 and 凉拌牛舌.
For dinner, I went to another restaurant just across the street from the hotel, and this time it was one that claimed Beijing cuisine - 双仁菠菜, 酱尖椒, 京东肉饼 and 驴打滚.
It was another big meal. Fortunately, I left to catch a fairly early flight to Seoul on Wed. morning. Otherwise, I may have to ditch my entire wardrobe!:-).
I would leave you with a few art works I found throughout the hotel..
Thank you for reading.
- 儿子学中文的笑话
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