Archive for February 8th, 2009

We’re off!

Well, we’ve had enough of Beijing.

Just kidding. We like it here, but we have another few weeks before our classes begin (you know, because we came here to learn and everything), so we decided to embark on a little adventure before the learning commences.

We leave tomorrow morning for Chengdu, China, where we are stopping en route to Kathmandu, Nepal. We’ll stay in Nepal for ten days amidst the glorious company of Ms. Rosie Hughes and (as luck would have it) Ms. Liz Yepsen, who is visiting from her new home in Singapore. Then we will be off again to Lhasa, Tibet, where we will be seeing the sights for a few days before departing on a three day train ride across China and back to Beijing.

We can’t wait to see more of this country (and others) and to visit great friends in foreign places. We’re not sure how much internet access we’ll have along the way but we’ll be sure to update whenever we can so stay tuned for stories and photos and more!

Panjiayuan Flea Market

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We took a long subway ride to the Panjiayuan Flea Market in the southeast of the city yesterday to look for a Go board and see what other oddities of Chinese pseudo-antiquity we could find. The market is huge with hundreds of vendors all avidly hocking their wares. Jade bracelets, soapstone stamps, paper fans, calligraphy sets, and weaponry of all manner can be found for cheap prices.

The key to haggling is knowing when to walk away. A well-timed turning of your back can quickly cut the asking price in half. When there’s a language barrier the second most important thing is the four function calculator, so you can punch in your counter offer.

We picked up a Go board and a matching Xiangqi (Chinese chess) set. We also got a rice bucket, pictured in my hand at the top. I will take on any challengers in Go or chess. Steph will help anyone that has a rice paddy during harvest.

When we left the market we were accosted by a fleet of pedicabs. With nothing else to do, and our ability to rebuff business offers thoroughly drained from haggling in the market, we gave in and hopped into a velvety chariot. We weren’t really sure where our driver was taking us, but we figured if our kidneys looked to be in danger we could jump from the open carriage. Things only got really hairy when we headed into oncoming traffic at the very end.

More photos after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Panjiayuan Flea Market’



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