Saturday July 4 - Relaxing in Beijing

Today was real relax day as we transitioned from our hotel Huguosi Hotel on Huguosi Jie to the Tian Tian Jia Ri Hotel on Wanshou Road in Wanshoulu District. We had breakfast and on the way back to the old hotel stopped into a store, Semir, or something like that. We had a great time spending about $35.00 on four t-shirts and two pairs of pants. The shop assistants and the patrons all had a great laugh - especially as the assistants were obviously telling us they had a two/for/one sale. The delightful young woman who was assisting us was "running" around the store getting us other colours, other styles, and other sizes. When did you last see an assistant in a Canadian shop with such energy? At one stage she was yelling to a couple of the other assistants with such glee, it seemed more than even double our purchase was worth. In fact, all the assistants were in on it, and the men took as active a part in checking out the clothes I was trying on as did the girls, and I think vice versa with Ray. It was quite an experience!! The shoppping is so fantastic here! So much choice. You would just love it!! The only downer, I needed an "XL"...shhhhh!! We are now settled in our new hotel. Its a little more luxurious than the previous one, but the area is really dull and boring. Its a beautiful residential area with high rises and flats, lots of trees, and every second shop sells only cigarettes and bottles of booze, I know, some might say: "That's not boring!!"; a few fruit stalls, and one or two shops selling water, soft drinks, ice-cream and snacks. Sort of reminds me of the Eglinton/Mount Pleasant area in Toronto without the eclectic shops on Mnt. Pleasant or Yonge St. We met our Sundowners guid, an Aussie called Chris and the one other passenger, an English guy currently living in Australia called Jon! Both young - it seems a really nice group, so we are hoping to have fun. Dinner in the hotel was a very civilized and expensive affair. Y70 each. We are used to half that! The food was good though: Peking Duck. After dinner, Ray and I took a quiet walk around the block, then back to the hotel about 10:15 p.m.