killing time at the beijing airport...

So I couldn't wait to get out of the perfect hotel this morning...after breakfast I headed to reception and asked to get on the shuttle bus at 8am...even though my flight wasn't until 515. The hotel was just so dark and dreary and smokey...even in the daylight hours it was kind of creepy. So I boarded the shuttle as the only American and they crammed 5 extra people on who stood in the aisle. It was about a 10 minute drive to the airport...We drove past the China Post and some other businesses. There were a lot of people riding bikes to work with full length winter coats and no helmets! They were even riding bikes through auto tunnels and on what appeared to be a highway! I was dropped off at Beijing int'l airport around 8:30 am..only 8 plus hours to kill!

I was immediately drawn to this tea house on the upper level...I lugged my bags up there and was seated at a comfortable wooden table with wooden chair and red cushions. Above the table was a red paper lantern and in front of and behind me were carefully potted trees. My server, wearinga red and gold traditional Chinese dress presented me with a menu. They must have seen me from a mile away. I don't want to think about it but I'm sure that what I paid for "fancy green tea" there this morning was approaching what I spent on the hotel last night!

I ordered and she quickly returned with a tray that was more like a flat wooden box. On it was a small white porcelin teapot, glass tea pitcher, cup and tea filter. Also, a cylindrical paper box that contained dried green tea. She filled the teapot with boiling water from a kettle and proceeded to pour it all around the rim of the teacup, presumably to sterilize it. The water drained through the floral carvings on the box/tray. Then she added the green tea leaves and water to the pot, swirled it around for a few minutes, then poured me a cup of freshly brewed green tea...a perfect pale green.

Then she gave me a plate of sunflower seeds and a leaf-shaped plate with cookies...the cookie wrappers were in Chinese but I could tell by the symbol that they were nabisco, haha...kind of like fig newtons but peach and apple flavored...

Anyway, I definitely paid a small fortune for green tea this morning. But I'd like to think the whole experience of it made it worthwhile :) It seemed like as soon as I would take a sip of tea they would be over filling the pot with more boiling water and peforming the whole ritual over and over again.

I sat there for a couple hours reading "Eat, Pray, Love"...but you can only drink so much tea without needing to visit a restroom...which leads me to my first experience with the infamous squat toilets. The toilets here in the airport are basically a porcelin bowl set a bit lower than the floor with a white oval shaped porcelin thing in front of it...there is a toilet bowl set about 5 feet above and behind the toilet itself with a string attached...it's definitely a challenge, but at least will keep my legs in shape while I'm traveling ;)

Then I moved onto a much cheaper cafe downstairs...called "Lei cafe". I ordered a mochachinno for only 27 yuan which seemed pennies compared to the other place...I sat in a small golden sinking loveseat in the corner of the cafe...embroidered with an elaborate floral pattern. The waitress served me my mochachinno which was a beautifully layered drink...chocolate on the very bottom, topped with a layer of espresso, then steamed milk and of course whipped cream...the glass was so pretty I had to take a picture. Behind me were decorative shelves with bowls filled with round fruits. The fruit looked like oranges or tangerines but definitely wasn't...as a decoration they also threw in some glass Christmas balls. Was a very bizarre interior decorating tactic if you ask me...

I meandered through the airport for a little while and eventually made my way back up to the 2nd floor where I am now...at the "Sunbird Digital Relaxation Harbor" which is basicaly a room with glass desks each topped with laptops. For $13 USD you can sit in here and use internet for an unlimited amount of time and drink free coffee or tea...why didn't I find this place earlier??

I'll be arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam tonight around 10 pm. An agent from my hotel will be picking me up and bringing me to the empty room as the girls will have left for SaPa around 7pm. Tomorrow morning they've booked me on an overnight excursion to Halong Bay where I'll be able to hike and kayak around the bay, visit the nearby village and sleep on a boat...should be an interesting experience for sure! I'll be heading back to Hanoi on Saturday night and will meet up with them on Sunday morning...where our next plan is to head south to Hue, Vietnam...

I'm excited to move on to Vietnam mostly for the change in weather. It is far too cold here! Especially since all I brought was a light jacket with a broken zipper, haha. It's supposedly in the 80s there right now and should be around that for the rest of the trip. We'll be returning to Beijing for the last 4 days of the trip and I plan to invest in a coat then, but I don't want to be carrying that around with me the whole time...I'm sipping a cup of hot oolong tea with a thick layer of tea leaves resting in the bottom. It's pretty good...I figure tea is my safest bet while in China (thanks Antonio!)...my cough is still there, but I'm feeling better today after getting some rest and I'm hoping that all the antioxidants in the excessive amount of tea I'm drinking will help cure me faster! Will write more once I get to Vietnam...