Bartering in Beijing

Without any scheduled plans today Fi and I took the opportunity to sleep in, get a good breakfast, and explore on our own.

We headed back to Tiananmen Square with the intention of visiting the Chairman Mao mausoleum. The lines were ridiculous and we had much more fun people watching in the square.

Split pants!

After people watching we took a trip to the pearl market which was absolutely insane! It is basically a ladies market on steroids. There was everything you could imagine from phone cases, watches, scarves, etc. We had a lot of fun bartering and buying presents. Its always interesting to see how low the vendors will really go, and my time in Asia has definitely improved my bartering. One lady initially asked 380 for a picture and as we walked away slashed her price to 80. ridiculous.While trying to get a taxi after shopping (which is always a struggle in Beijing), a man tried to rip us off and charge 400 Yuan for a 20 Yuan ride.

We took a short rest and then explored close to the hotel as we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Da Dong Peking duck restaurant. We spent some time walking around the local grocery store which was entertaining. None of the products were anything too different to what i'd seen in my other travels, but seeing all of the food I know (oreos, pringles, lays) with Mandarin characters over the packaging was very different and cool to see. 

One of the best meals I've had in a long time was tonight at Da Dong. Beijing is famous for its roast duck aka  Peking duck. Our concierge had helped us make reservations in the morning and we ended up getting one of the best seats in the house! We sat right next to the chefs and the duck ovens and ate until we were completely stuffed. Not only did we have a fabulous meal we also enjoyed a little food entertainment. We got to watch the chef carve the duck in front of us, had an almond jelly dessert with some form of pop-rocks inside, and had strawberries served on dry ice. Overall the meal was fantastic and I have not seen Fi eat more Asian food in one sitting than at Da Dong. Leo our tour guide from Monday offered some great insight into Asian cuisine and the quote explains why I've been struggling with food over here: "The only thing Asians don't eat with legs is a table, and the only thing they don't eat with wings is an airplane". Pretty much sums up my food experience here. 

The menu was a short novel of 160 pages