BEIJING 798 VISIT#2

DAY ONE

I decide to visit Beijing again and find a suitable time toward the end of November, so I arrange to meet my friend Phantom whilst there. I have recently had a number of stressful experiences so this is a welcome break. I suppose however, because I am emotionally somewhat tired, I feel apprehensive about this. Travel in China (or anywhere for that matter,) tends to have this effect on me, it's mostly anticipatory. I am travelling right after teaching my class in the morning on Friday, so I pack the day before. Unfortunately my old suitcase is nearly worn out from all my travelling so far and will soon need to be replaced. So I finish work, grab some lunch at Jack's, then catch a cab to the railway station, feeling my customary anxiety despite the fact that I've never made an unsuccessful journey to date. The ride on the bullet train passes as normal and I use the subway to get to my hotel which is one I've visited before. On arriving I shower and change. The weather is not as cold as it was in Baoding, something I'm surprised at since its further north. I put this down to its being more of a built up area.

I walk out to Great Leap Brewhouse, one of my favourite pubs in the area, and soon get chatting to an American guy named Jimmy who sometimes works there organising events whilst teaching at college. We send a bit of time exchanging views on Brexit and the recent presidential election, particularly since he declares he is waiting out the coming Trump presidency in China, and we have a good laugh. It turns out that the next day they are having a Turkey roast for Thanksgiving day, I may drop by but have a busy day tomorrow. I then go to my favourite curry house in the area, and have vindaloo with crackers and bread. Delicious! I head back to the hotel afterwards as I'm too tired to go out drinking.

Sadly enough I'm shocked to find that the entire area around Nanloguxiang, once vibrant and full of life, has been boarded up and emptied. I ask Jimmy what's going on, and he tells me that there is some sort of redevelopment programme taking place, many businesses seem to have closed down or moved away. Phantom says later that this is due to taxes but also may be owing to protection rackets.

The room is too warm so I turn off the radiator and turn on the air-conditioning to cool it down. I can't sleep in a hot room!

DAY TWO:

I get up, pleased that I didn't overdo it last night and wake up with a hangover as I've done in the past! It's quite late however, about 8.40. I've slept reasonably well, so I shower and dress then head off out to the Dragon King hostel on my way to 798. They do the best value breakfast I know of in Beijing, RMB 28 for a vegetarian breakfast, a full English for about Y50. It takes me about 30 minutes to get there, and I sit in the bar with a vegetarian breakfast of eggs, toast, jam and tomatoes with a small bowl of cornflakes (I could have sworn they had baked beans last time!) and a large American coffee.

I find this bamboo hat so I take a selfie! Incidentally I know that China has always been famous for tea so the domination of coffee in cities is really quite remarkable!

The Dragon King is a favourite with backpackers, so the bar is filled with American and European travellers, mostly German and Italian so I sit half -listening to the uninteresting conversations these kinds of people tend to have while writing part of my blog. Breakfast is light but just enough, and afterwards I set off on the subway to Lama Temple Road and catch the 909 bus as referred to in Lonely Planet for 798. I know that it takes about 45-50 minutes to get there as it's quite remote and I look out for subway stations on the way. There are adverts playing all the time on plasma screens and I wish I had brought some ear plugs. It is about 12 noon by the time I see the red 798 signs by the roadside and get off the bus. Among other things I've come to join the UCCA gallery as a member for access to their VIP events and private views. I follow the street maps dotted around this enormous complex of (mostly empty) former German electronics factories, until I find the gallery, walk up to the reception desk and obtain my year's membership. I could have done this last year but as I recall felt too lazy and overwhelmed with travelling back to England for summer. There is ostensibly an exhibition on but at this stage it seems to consist of some video installations and this marvellous empty space!  

Just opposite is Timezone 8, which is reputed for sushi, so I go in for lunch and have this sushi platter plus a dish of salmon sashimi both of which are utterly delicious if a bit expensive.

A charming Chinese lady whose English name is Melissa asks me if I'm enjoying the food. She speaks English well and we sit and talk about family, China and art. She asks for a photo so we get the waiter to take this one.

Later Melissa asks a young girl sitting nearby to take another one which leads to the three of us having a lively conversation over beer, gin and coffee. Sadly the poor  girl drinks a bit too much gin and nearly falls asleep. The whole session is very pleasant and I feel my former anxieties dissipating.

I leave 798 at 3pm and soon wish I had left at 2. I'm meeting Phantom in Great Leap at 5 so imagine I have plenty of time. This turns out not to be the case as the city has become completely gridlocked. I sit on the bus for about 15 minutes while it goes absolutely nowhere, so I persuade the driver to let me off and walk away in search of a subway station. Generally speaking the Chinese seem used to this kind of thing and just sit patiently waiting on the bus. I can't find a station anywhere so I hail a cab and ask for the Lama Temple. This turns out to be an even worse choice than the bus as he gets stuck in a bottleneck and can move neither forwards nor backwards. Realising I'm going to have a problem making it on time I call Phantom and explain I'm stuck. I ask if she can get the cab driver to take me to the nearest subway station, and then as he is still motionless, I get out of the car and stop the traffic, using hand signals like a traffic policeman. It works and the taxi moves off, so we wave thanks to the other drivers and set off. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the subway station where I finally begin to feel some hope of reaching my destination! It's surprising the things you find yourself doing while travelling alone abroad. It's 4pm by now so I text Phantom and send regular progress reports. I have to change at two stations and normally I don't tend to hurry whilst travelling on the subway, preferring to give myself plenty of time. However on this occasion I walk as fast as I can, getting hotter as I go as I have 5 layers of clothing on because of the outdoor cold!

Changing at some Chinese underground stations can be pretty miserable at times: I must have walked about a mile at each station between platforms, and I hurry up the stairs as the escalators are packed with commuters. I finally manage to arrive in the area of my hotel at 5pm and let my friend know I'll be late. I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Anyway she is OK about all of this being quite easy going and happy to wait with a beer. So I hurry back to the hotel where I quickly change and shower, then walk out to Great Leap where I arrive at 5.30!

There is some turkey left over from the Thanksgiving party so I have a nibble while we chat: the atmosphere is lively and I have a good time. have long wanted to try a little seafood restaurant near the subway station for my hotel in the hutong, and we arrange to walk there for dinner. It sells steamed fresh shellfish, clams, lobster, prawns, oysters, crab etc: most things that you can think of so we create this exquisite seafood platter!

You steam the fish over a fish chowder (which you eat later) and add garlic and spices. I have to say this is one of the finest meals I've had in China so far, if somewhat expensive, but I feel like having a special meal.

We enjoy ourselves immensely although the staff keep pushing some promotion deals: fortunately since I can't understand Chinese this goes over my head! The restaurant is fairly quiet so we have a table by the window, although there are lots of nice tables: in many restaurants I've been to there is at least one bad table but I can't see one here!

Following this sumptuous meal we head off to Sanlitun Embassy area which is full of bars and brewhouses so we visit a couple. These turn out to be disappointingly full of expats so we look in 3 or 4 before finding one where we can sit down, and have a beer taster of 3 different brews. I'm not too impressed as I can taste line cleaning fluid in the beer although one of them tastes OK.

We end up after this in Fanglia Hutong, known as the “Little 798” as it has a number of new art galleries in it. It is a narrow alleyway with a courtyard in one part of it where these galleries are located. We visit a new bar there, a hidden bar tucked away in a corner, a secret place (but not too secret) and it's really much more to my liking! It's very atmospheric and lively with mostly Chinese customers mixed with a few expats: it's quite edgy and much more my scene!

  

Phantom worries about her partner so cannot stay out too late: I've had a wonderful evening and a roaring weekend. I've enjoyed every minute except for the difficult trip back from 798. I feel my spirit has been restored by this! Finally we walk to a spot where I can easily find my way back to my hotel and say goodbye for the present, hoping to meet again soon.

DAY THREE: RETURN

Much the usual routine. I have breakfast in a bar near the hotel, a full English with honey ginger tea.

I can't eat it all but it's what I need. I pack and check out at 10 am, then travel to Beijing West station, arriving at 11 am have plenty of time so I sit and write these entries in note form.

The stewardess on the train actually reminds me charmingly when the train is approaching the station. I arrive back in my flat at about 1.15 pm, go for a beer and light lunch as I have stew for dinner in the fridge.