Beijing Bound - Part 2

I get up early Sunday morning so I can at least see a small part of Beijing. My flight will depart just after 1 pm. I head to the hotel restaurant for the complimentary breakfast… yum, more bread. And real coffee!

After breakfast, I take a short walk to the Silk Street Market. Calvin had pointed this out on Friday night. I walk in and of course, they’re all over me: “Lady, would you like to buy a shirt?” I wasn’t intending to buy anything, but ended up finding something that would make a perfect souvenir.

And then came my first experience with haggling in China. There are no price tags on anything in the market. The saleswoman takes out her calculator and punches in a number that she claims would be the regular price for the item. Not a chance, I think! “But I give you special price because it is a gift,” she says. She reduces it immediately by about 40%. I realize I don’t even have that kind of money on me, even if I didn’t want to haggle further. Still too expensive. I tell her I only have a certain amount of money and she asks how much. Of course I don’t tell her quite how much. I give her a price that’s about 70% less than her original. We eventually settle on a price that’s 60% lower than her original. I feel good about my transaction, though she’s so friendly in saying good-bye that I can’t help but wonder whether I still got ripped off! Oh well – I’m happy with my purchase and I hope the recipient will be too :)

Beijing's Silk Street Market

Entering the Market - rows and rows of stalls

My trip to Beijing was brief, but it looks like I’ll return in April. I certainly won’t be staying at the China World Hotel again, though it was nice to feel like a jetsetting international business executive – and I hope that one day that becomes reality.

Lobby - China World Hotel

You know you're staying at a classy hotel when this is next door - and it's not knock-off