Beijing You Are A Friend Of Mine

After the problems I had with my flight heading to Shanghai out of Hong Kong, leaving Shanghai without trouble was certainly on m mind.  After help from the guys back in the States, all went OK and we made it to Beijing in good shape.

After getting my boarding pass and clearing security, I told Raylene Davis I could face anything moving forward the rest of the day.  Well, during the flight on this humanity packed China Eastern Airbus 330, I knocked a Pepsi off my tray and into my lap.  Not only was that annoying, but it was a full blooded sugar laced version.  The type that sticks to your hands and everything else that I will not mention here.  Diet drinks and sugar substitutes are not prevalent in Asia in general.  You almost always have to ask for some and still the wait staff does not know what you are talking about.  Like Shanghai's, Beijing's airport is huge.  It is hard to comprehend how large these airports are.  Yet they do not always have gate space for all the flights at these two ports, our flight deplaned away from a terminal gate somewhere out on the tarmac.  They had us all get off  this huge plane to be bused into the terminal.  It was not easy for those older folks to climb down some serious stairs from the plane.  

What a pleasant sight to see Sam Wang’s mom, Hong Zhen, waiting for us waving a Brewster Academy banner.  It was worth a few laughs.  Thanks to Sam’s folks for picking us up at the airport.  The evening was a pure delight when they insisted on taking us for a foot massage and a pedicure.  This was a first for me.  Ann, my wife, has often tried to get me to sit still for one.  Then we were whisked off to dinner at a very famous Chinese ethnic restaurant - A Fun Ti.  What was interesting was the fact the food and folks running the restaurant where from Xinjiang Province which is an autonomous region located in China's northwest.   It borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.  How about that folks.  It was a learning experience watching their dances and eating their food.  Such a departure from what you expect in Beijing.  

I guess this next little story related to the evening at A Fun Ti was my enjoying one of the food selections offered.  I thought i was eating a beef, green pepper, and onion dish with a very nice spice.  It really complemented the local beer we were drinking.  To my surprise, I found out that what I was eating was not even close to what I thought.  I will leave the description unmentioned here.  SURPRISE! Just look at the photo to the right to see what Jimbo came upon.