Tragedy almost struck at the end of our China Experience today, Friday, May 16, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. But that is getting ahead of the story. Let's start from the beginning.
Ces and I woke up excited at the prospect of taking leisurely walks to wind up our seven-night and eight-day China Experience. We are schedled to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. As always, we started the day with a hearty complimentary breakfast at Made in China.
Ces opted for a cab ride to the Lama Temple right after breakfast. The huge Buddha statues and the pilgrims were the main attractions at the Temple. The pilgrims burned incense and prayed. Ces joined them in burning incense.
Another cab trip through heavy downtown traffic took us to the Pearl Market where Ces bought designer jeans and shirts, mostly True Religion and Ed Hardy, for friends and our two daughters who ordered them. What is truly challenging and enjoyable at the shopping sprees here is the bargaining. It's like playing poker!
For myself, I bought a lime-colored silk Chinese dinner jacket and a blue Chinese dress shirt. Ces bought herself a beige Chinese dress shirt. We would have wanted to buy many more things. However, funds are now getting meager. Our advice? Bring a lot of money for shopping when you visit China!
We ventured in to a local restaurant for lunch. It was easy to order my favorite Pai Gu, a pork rib dish, because I had a Made in China waiter write it for me in Chinese characters. Through hand gestures and picture pointing we managed to order the rest of the food we wanted to eat. Hearty and deiicious servings of six dishes only cost us Y114 (approximately $15)!
We deposited our left overs in the refrigerator in our room at the hotel and took a nap. At 5:00 p.m., we took a short cab ride to the Quanjude Peking Roasting Duck Restaurant, just past the Tien'anmen Square.
This Quanjude, I understand, is the oldest restaurant that serves Peking Duck in the city. Certainly, the place was clean and very elegant. Colorfully attired attendants, waiters and waitresses were continually courteous, always attending to our every dining need. If it is elegance that you enjoy, then this is the restaurant to visit. However, the Peking Duck served us paled compared to the one we had at Made in China at the Grand Hyatt Beijing. The duck here did not look shiny. The skin was not crispy, but mostly chewy. It served the skin and the meat together, instead of separating them as in Made in China. A special dip for the skin was also missing here.
Of course, the price was only one-third that of Made in China. If money is no object and taste is your joy, we recommend that you savor your Peking Duck at the Made in China. The U.S. National Public Radio review in recognizing Made in China as having the best Peking Duck appears to us, with our limited experience, to be true.
The near tragedy occurred right after we left the Quanjude. We started to take a short leisurely walk to the Tien'anmen Square after dinner. On the wide promenade, a man pedalling a tricyle offered to take us to the Square. With pre-written and rehearsed Chinese phrases that Shuping Wang, a teacher at the SB Adult School prepared for me, I asked the man how much it would cost. He spoke only Chinese but gestured for me not to worry, that it was just going to be (I interpreted) "inexpensively alright."
Wrong! Beware the pedal pushers!
So, Ces and I boarded the tricycle with the pedaller in front of us. After a few yards, I asked him to stop and take a souvenir photo for us. When he got off the tricyle, it tipped backwards and caused us to fall over on our backs, sprawled on the pavement! We laughed through our pains (bruises on elbows, hands, and thighs) and embarrassment as passersby helped us up.
We should have stopped then and there! But, NO, we stupidly continued on.
The man called for back up using his mobile phone. His handlebar was partially broken. Another tricycle appeared out of nowhere. Ces and I were now in two different tricycles as we traversed the streets. The men pedaled us through the "old" city (Hutong?). It was a circuitous route to the edge of the Tian'anmen Square. Eventually, they stopped andlet us off in an enclosed and secluded area, some 30 yards away from the street.
I pulled out my wallet to give them the equivalent of $10. A taxi ride would have cost only $1 after all. They got upset and said it was not enough. They pulled out a laminated paper that indicated the service was going to cost about $50!
With an emphatic voice and the best body language I could muster, I protested emphasizing highway robbery! The driver of my tricycle grabbed me by the arms. I moved sideways (remembering my verbal judo training at SBCUSD) which effectively caused him to release my arm. I raised my walking cane in a defensive stance and authoritatively spoke an emphatic "NO," handed him Y100 bill (about $15), and with gestures emphasized I had no more money to give them! I asked Ces to start walking ahead and I followed her with the confidence of a Mr. Miyagi! They continued with their verbal barrage but did not make any moves that I could perceive to be dangerous, so we kept on walking unhesitatingly purposefully, saying emphatic "NOs" with dismissive hand gestures at the same time.
WHEW! That was a critical event in this China Experience. For a moment there, I thought it was going to turn ugly. All through the episode, I was mentally praying for sanity to prevail through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and imploring Him to send our guardian angels to protect us!
He heard my prayers and showered us with His grace!
Advice: Beware the pedal pushers! Remain calm, confident and believe in and call on the protection of our Lord God.
We are blessed. Vivat Jesus.
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