It's all in the Mix

It's all in the Mix

My second post might be a little late, but that makes it not less interesting. I will continue where I ended my first post.

The first two nights of my stay in Beijing I booked a hotel, which (when I got there) did not have a window. This seems quite common here. After checking in and some "lost in translation" I wandered around outside in one of the many "hutongs" (small alleys) surrounding the hotel. A maze of small shops/homes and genuine Beijing life, in one word: Fantastic!!! Every corner suprised me and it still
does!

However I wanted to be closer to the centre of the city and meet more people and therefore looked for a hostel. Happy Chopsticks was my destination, in the middle of a busy hutong near the Drum and the Bell tower. These were formerly used to inform people about the time of the day.

Once installed I met up with a cute Italian girl I met during the flight, who lived in Beijing for four years already. We went to Houhai, one of a couple connected  lakes in the centre of the city. This beautiful lake was surrounded by small bars and restaurants with live music and a lot of liveliness. Elderly dansing on squares, people on tandems, adults singing karaoke on the street and children playing games. So a treat for the eye was surrounding Happy Chopsticks.

But Happy Chopsticks only deserved here name for half of it. A true direct hit when it comes to atmosphere, so: Happy. The food on the other hand was served without: Chopsticks .... Good food though and a nice livingroom where I met Jaron (from Israël), Alex and Mark (professional high jumpers from Canada) and Gabriel (from London). Together we decided to go out in Sanlitun, or Sanlitur, which is the Beijing dialect that I am happy to take on, to make me look more local ...

Sanlitur is filled with bars and discotheques of seven stories high and rooftop terraces, with views over the modest skyline of Beijing. The streets are filled with small food stands, from hot pot to bbq and from kebab to dumplings (stuffed buns). Once we filled ourselves up with Chinese finest food and s substantial amount of alcohol, we went to a truly Chinese Club: Mix!!! We hardy stood out in the crowd, with our high jumpers, blond hair and Gabriel. The Chinese guys were looking questionable  from their tables with 10 liters of whiskey how we were dansing with their lady friends. After a while I noticed the Chinese cannot handle their liquor since loads of them where making floor pizza's in the bathroom.

After this club we went outside and stuffed ourselves in a small car which brought us to our hostel. A cab ride of twenty minutes, which costs four euro’s. I say:"A night to remember!!!" After this night and many more in Happy Chopsticks it was time for me to go to Peking University and I had to look for an apartment. Those stories will be in my next post of my adventures in Beijing...