Broke in China

I was in China for 5 days for another Subcon audit.
It was my first time to stay in Beijing.
I first set foot in Beijing in 2008 during the olympics but only in transit.

As my little boy is still so young, I planned a very short trip. No weekend.
So I did not bother looking up of what I can do and see in Beijing, except to see the Olympic Stadium or the Bird's Nest.


When my subcon asked me if I wished to have a tour, I quickly said "To the Bird's Nest :-) ".



It's a great feeling to see such marvelous structure

nice string of kite
I wanted to buy for audrey but mommy has no money
hindi pa kumakagat ang lamig diyan
We went there at dusk, man! it was so cold!!! I felt like I had anesthesia for my tooth, the feeling of your lips bulging. I could not talk straight. I had runny nose, my nose was red. But the two people with me were just fine, to think that I was wearing the thickest jacket. I asked what was the temperature and my pal said it must be below zero.


The Water Cube was a sight at night when the lights were turned on
Hinitay naming ilawan kayat kumagat na ang lamig

ayan na, pula at maga na ang ilong
hindi ko na macontrol ang lips ko pag nagsasalita parang hindi ko mai-full close


It's a lot better living in the tropics. Now I understand Luigi why he reasons winter season for not migrating to Canada or New Zealand.


China has to up their service sector. They build nice buildings but fail to maintain them. My Beijing hotel looked grand but it needs repainting and more lighting. At the reception area, you could smell the stench of the W.C. (toilet is called WC in china, it is british for water closet). When I got to my room, I could not get the lights to turn on. After some root cause analysis hehe, i found out the lamps were unplugged DUH! Big trouble is that my credit card was not accepted. I gave all my RMB, just right for 2 nights. I'm broke! Foreign Exchange opens the next day. So no dinner for me? Ah poor me...poor me. My Tangshan Hotel was so much better as it was a 5 star hotel. But the price is really sky rocket. With that, they should ensure that their room service operator must be able to converse in English. We were like, hello, hello, hello for one minute. Lumaki na ang mga mata ko! Until an english speaking guy rescued. He came to my room and asked me to turo-turo what I want in the menu. Chinika pa niya ako, gulat siya nung buksan ko ang door. "Huh, you are Chinese right?" sabi niya. Excuse me, naliligo ako araw araw ano hahaha! I enjoyed the night view from my room and I slept well there knowing that my credit card was working :-)
ZZzzzzzzZZZZ

cold, very dry view
the sunset was nice but it is actually due to air pollution