Travel in Beijing:

The bus: There is just one bus that goes from next to my apartment (just discovered recently that the bus stop is right opposite my apartment – this saves me 10 mins of exercise) to next to office – No. “628”. It happens to be the oldest looking bus with terribly hard seats and its frequency of arrival is supposed to be once in every half hour (there are times when I have waited for 45 minutes and its not come and then one feels terrible in taking a mode of transport 20 times more expensive. It’s called the Beijing taxi!). My face lights up when I see the bus raising its ugly head in the horizon! On the other hand, there have been 3 occassions on which I have missed the bus by a fraction of a minute, helplessly staring at it pass by.

Normally buses are full to the brim and people just pop out as doors are opened. But the unique business which I ride on goes relatively empty as compared to the others. So, I guess there is a direct positive relationship between frequency and the number of passengers.

On my second day of traveling by bus (an AIESEC member had accompanied me on the first day of work) and fifth day of coming to China, I had the misfortune of traveling alone. To top that, I didn’t know Chinese well enough to communicate with the bus conductor (not that I know much now – at least I can count from 1-10 and pronounce the name of the destination correctly!). So, in all earnestness, I handed over a currency note to her (by the way, most bus conductors are women) and told her that I wanted a 1 kuai ticket. She started laughing and tried to communicate something to me in Chinese, which I couldn’t figure a word of. Soon, all the fellow-passengers started laughing as well. I don’t know how, may be I got a message from above, but by some actions that she did to me, I realized that it was a 0.5 kuai note that I had paid her instead of a 5 kuai (and I was wondering all the while whether she will return my 4 kuai change or not)!

The subway: Most convenient and the fastest. The problem is not the subway, but getting to it coz the Beijing traffic is insane! There are 3 lines that connect the city. Line 1 runs across the city from east to west cutting across the commercial district, main shopping areas and Tiananmen Square. Line 2 is a loop, of which 2 stations are on Line 1. Line 13 connects 2 Line 2 stops to the north of the city. I wonder where Lines 3 to 12 have disappeared! Last I heard from some one that the Government is planning to make a Line 8 or some such thing! Do they just pick random numbers?
Once you get onto the train, announcements are made in Chinese as well as English.
Chinese version: jnksnvnmgeopbvl lvmdvsdv.. hachun se.. ngknvk sddbj jeingksv .. sihui . .. sihui zhan .. .hfinskgvmasnviqweihghskbmod . …..skjnasvnsaiubnginkmb .. … jbnvnvjnsdvjndnsdbkmsdlmsd….
English version: The next station is Sihui

I wonder what they blabber so much???

The cab: They have cabs ranging from 10-year old Chinese local makes to Volkswagen Jettas and Hyundai Sonatas and Elantras .. and believe it or not, they are all the same cost! Most of the cabs charge 1.6 kuai / km, the flat charge being 10 kuai. You also find some 1.2 cabs, but they are rare now. So you have to really be on the look out and pray that it is not occupied (not worth the hassle for short distances). They are now phasing out the 1.2 ones I believe and introducing 2 kuai/km ones. Cab drivers have this habit of keeping the radio on – seems like there is only 1 channel: 103.9 – and nothing seems to be aired except for advertisements. Never heard any music till now. Lot of women cab drivers. Wonder whether their cars have automated reverse and parallel parking facilities!!

Food in Beijing:

Breakfast: I normally have one or all of the following -

1. Fruits - Mainly bananas, apples, grapes and plums .. You get lots more in the supermarket, such as peaches and pears .. I love those fruits but to be truthful, I am too lazy to peel them!
2. Fried eggs (with or without toast with frozen butter) - It is the simplest and quickest to make - takes approximately 3-4 mins
3. Toast - With sliced (if i am in a hurry) or spread cheese (if I am not) or strawberry jam (awesome)

Lunch: Have started getting lunch in Justin's apartment, where we have got a cook in, but before that I used to normally have the following (in the restaurant right across office):

1. Rice ("mi fan" in Chinese)
2. Free chinese tea ("mien fei chha")
3. Vegetables - Mixed vegetables, egg plant (never liked it so much before), some green leafy vege, string beans (cooked in Sichuan style, this is my favourite - Have taken over the leftover home a couple of times for dinner)

But...now I get a wide variety of vegetables with rice and since Aude (a Swiss Trainee at Lowes) and I are vegetarians, we get 3 vegetarian and 1 non-veg dish (as a consolation to the others - some times they dont even get the priviledge of that one!). Some of the veges are:

1. That green leafy vege (again) with tofu
2. Celery
3. Onion with tomato gravy (I love this one)
4. Cauliflower with tomato gravy
5. Beans
6. Egg plant (I like the way they make it here)
7. Some vege like "toru" / cucumber
8. Pumpkin

Dinner: It just happens to be out most of the time. Recently, I have been to Subway (twice, coz you get a Veggie Delite which is a pretty filling and cheap option), Souk (you get lebanese food like pita, hummus, falafel and also pizzas and pastas) and Grandma's Kitchen (western food - english breakfasts, pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, burgers, gingerale, lemonade, etc.). Justin and his wife treated us at the Grandma's since me and 2 colleagues of mine had to stay in for overtime. So.. you know what follows ...... .... I hogged!! I had half a 12" pizza, sizzled vegetables with egg and toast, tomato with vege soup and a lemonade!!

But in the event that I have to have something at home, I normally have what Sumit and I cook on Sunday (if there is still some left) like egg curry, aloo ka sabji (Sumit cooks these and it turns out just right!), gajar matar and gobhi (these turn out just about edible as I cook them) with rice (the pressure cooker got spoilt as I tried cooking the rice once, forgetting to put the water in, I haven't got it repaired as yet and therefore, I haven't been cooking rice for the past one week!) or roti / paratha (something I discovered in the nearby convenience store). The rotis are like a boon. They are 1 kuai each and enough for 1 meal.

Fillers: All the junk you can possibly think of -

Biscuits - I like the Ritz strawberry ones
Rice / Millet chips
Muffins - These are my favourite, but the most expensive as well

Conclusion: I am always hungry and I am a hog!