My Crazy China Trip
Day 1
Beijing
[Rated M]
Dear Diary,
China!
At last! Finally the day has come, and I’m flying to China for two weeks.
I’ve
wanted to visit ever since I saw an exhibition of terracotta warriors in the museum
years ago. I was amazed at what they did, all those soldiers with different
faces. ‘I’ve got to see that.’ I said to myself then. Especially since I couldn’t
even make a simple pot in art class at school.
To get ready I did my research on
places an things to do and I even learned some Chinese from my sister’s
neighbour for 6 months before I left. He even taught me some naughty words too.
He said if I met some bad people I should say them and then run away as fast as
I could. The neighbour is a nice guy, even with the dragon tattoos on his arms.
My sister said he had tattoos all over his body. I don’t know how she found that
out. I’ve never seen them. He said he can’t go home for a while because he had
a big argument with his uncle.
He suggested my sister get a tattoo
of a phoenix. I could tell she was kind of tempted but scared at the same time.
My
sister is great. She helps me out a lot. When I lost my job, I couldn’t pay the
rent on my place so she let me come and sleep on her sofa bed. It’s one of
those fold-out ones and if I sleep diagonally it’s long enough to fit me.
It was hard finding another job. I’m
not good at much I have to admit. I am good at sports though, and taking
photos. That’s how I got a part time job as a sports photographer at the local news
paper. And that’s how I saved up the money for the trip. The editor even said
she might publish an article or two if I have some good photos and stories to
tell.
I really want to get something
special for my sister in China too. She said not to bother. She just wants me to
buy some shirts there. She wrote down her size. Shirts are very cheap apparently.
But I’m going to find something nice as well.
She put a packet of condoms in a pocket
of my backpack. ‘If you can’t be good be careful.’ she said. You don’t have to bring
back a full packet she said and gave me a strange wink. She patted my stomach
and said I bet you put on weight with all that great food.
The
flight was long. It’s hard to say which was the longest thing, the crying baby,
the puking baby, or the big grumpy guy behind me who wouldn’t let me put my
seat back and sleep.
The
flight attendant was pretty and helpful too. But she said the flight was full
and she couldn’t move me. Surely it wasn’t all full of big grumpy guys and
babies? She gave me extra food instead.
In
the morning she gave me extra breakfast too.
When
I got to Beijing I was so excited. And tired. And full.
I
checked in to the hotel and had a shower. Then I decided to go Tian’anmen Square.
Wow it’s big. The queue at one end was even bigger. I wasn’t sure what we were
queuing for but everyone seemed excited. I waited and waited. Eventually I was
able to buy a ticket and go inside. It turns out it was the body of Chairman
Mao. Or maybe a wax copy. It was hard to tell. It looked kind of like wax.
Afterwards
I bought a copy of Mao’s little red book. You never know when you might learn
something, that’s my motto. I thought it might have some interesting ideas in
it since he’s such a big man in China. At least the picture of him on
Tian’anmen square was really big. The book was very little though, and very
red.
I
bought some steamed buns for lunch. They were white with little red dots
painted on the top and inside was yummy sweet red bean paste. I could have more
of those.
I
sat down for a rest and read some of the little red book. I found a good quote:
‘Be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every
difficulty to win victory.’ Useful advice when dealing with long queues I
reckon.
After
that I wandered up Wangfujing Street looking at the shops. A girl, I mean a young
woman about my age came up and said hello.
My
sister always says I should say women, not girls. Then she calls me silly boy.
I just don’t’ understand women, or girls.
I
said hello and we started chatting. She was a student and wanted to practice
her English. She asked me if I wanted to have a cup of tea and talk. She seemed
friendly and my sister had told me about Chinese hospitality so I said yes.
She
took me down a side street to a tea house upstairs above some small shops. She
ordered tea and snacks. We chatted for a long time and then the waitress
brought the bill – 1000 yuan. ‘You pay ok?’ she said. ‘Me? I said, ‘but you
invited me, shouldn’t you pay?’ ‘I am a student’ she said, ‘no money.’ She
didn’t seem so friendly and hospitable then. The 1000 yuan was my money for my
sister’s present. I wasn’t going to spend it all that on some very expensive tea.
I
thought hard. I told her to have some more tea. I got out my phone and fiddled
with it. I rang the ring tone and said ‘I have to take this.’ I got up and
picked up my bag and went into the corridor. When the woman wasn’t looking I
ran down the corridor looking for another way out. I went past the toilets onto
a balcony at the back. I could see balconies to the left and right belonging to
other shops, separated by walls. This is for you Sis’, I thought. ‘Be resolute,
fear no sacrifice.’ Maybe this was the kind of situation Mao was talking about.
I put my bag over my shoulder, put the phone in my pocket, and climbed up. I
carefully swung my leg around the wall. Someone shouted behind me. I jumped
down onto the next balcony and went through a door and into a room.
It
looked like a massage place. There were two people on a massage table. The
masseuse was sitting on a guy stroking his chest, bouncing up and down very
vigorously and noisily. The man looked surprised to see me but he didn’t say
anything. He seemed to be in pain. He must have had a very sore chest. The lady
seemed to have even less clothes on than the customer. I could see her, well
her you know what’s, bouncing up and down through her lingerie. They looked
like the steamed buns I had for breakfast.
I
said “Sorry” and raced out of the room, down the stairs, past a row of people
soaking their feet in round wooden tubs and out onto the street. I ran into the
crowd and didn’t stop for a breather until I was several blocks away.
I
needed another cup of tea after that.
Quiz
Which
event(s) in this story was true?
a)
The
large grumpy man who wouldn’t let me recline my airplane seat
b)
Eating
yummy steamed buns
c)
Escaping
a tea house scam via a massage parlour
d)
All
of the above
e)
None
of the above.
Leave
your guess in the comments section. :-)
Answer
supplied next week.
********
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 2, The Great Wall, here.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
********
There are plenty more stories on this site:
Beijing Private Eyes - Drama, Romance, Karaoke, Kidnap! A foreign teacher in Beijing meets an attractive stranger and offers to help, then things get complicated. (A long story in 8 parts)
Tell him he's dreaming - An engineer has an environmental epiphany but things don't work out as planned.
Trial by Fire - When a woman in Tibet self-immolates two witnesses face a dangerous dilemma. (4 parts)
Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]
Love at First Flight - A foreign teacher arrives in China and falls in love with a local, but the path of true love is anything but smooth. (5 parts)
Entries in the post-industrial / peak oil short story competition:
NEWSFLASH - My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis". You can read the other entries here.
A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).
Stories set in China:
Winds of Change – In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.
Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.
Seeds of Time – (Sequel to Outside In). In 2055 rural China prospers again after a period of dramatic changes, then things are complicated by a strange visitor and a hidden object.
Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy
Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery. (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)
Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?
Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
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