After an interesting customs ordeal at the Newark airport on Saturday, I headed for Beijing. All of my liquid goodies were checked in with my bag so I zipped through the security checkpoints with no hassle but had a time with our business equipment. The flight from Newark was quite pleasant and I slept a decent portion (almost 8 hours) which made the 13.5 hour trip so much better.

I arrived Sunday afternoon, and after meeting with my work buddies we headed for the Pearl Market. It’s an indoor market near the hotel where they carry all sorts of pearls, electronics, clothing, bags, and shoes. Most of the goods are knockoffs and it was fun to haggle. They’re aggressive towards foreigners and would literally drag me over to their booth trying to sell their wares. What’s really funny is that their neighbors sold the exact same items so you can always get a better price. To give you a perspective on the haggling I took a pair of shoes from about 2000 yuan ($250 US) to 50 yuan ($6 US). It’s hilarious to hear each vendor give the same story and they all sound so convincing… but they’re all lying.

Yesterday, we setup the room for our event and had a successful test of everything. Then we headed to the Forbidden City where the famous picture of Mao Zedong guards the entrance. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are both grandiose and more than enough space for the 24 emperors who lived there (and their concubines). It’s a long walk from one end of the walled city to the other. You pass through beautiful gardens with trees and rock structures as well as numerous buildings that hosted everything from the day-to-day governmental duties to weddings and enthronements. It was nice to never have to wait in line to see inside these buildings - I could see over everyone’s head. The Forbidden City is worth a visit and I’d like to do it once more with a guide.

After an early breakfast this morning I’m heading to the Great Wall with my colleague. Really looking forward to this one! I almost forgot, tonight the event starts and we have to work… booo.