Bald in Beijing (Part III)

On my first day in Beijing, I slept well into the afternoon. My three roommates were already drifting in and out of the city’s gridlock maze, their beds made by the cleaning staff. I must have slept through much movement and activity.

I showered, aware of the bathroom’s awkward design. A curtain separated the bathroom in two, but the drain wasn’t on the right side. Water flowed and flooded the floor. Was there some trick to this? At least the toilet wasn’t a squatter.

Finishing up, I layered on the suntan lotion, fearful of burning my smooth head. Recently, there had been brief surges of assertiveness which I attributed to my new look. However, even with my roommates away, I felt the confidence recede. Why didn’t I spend the extra money for a private room in a nice hotel? Hadn’t I learned yet that hostels weren’t for me? I started to scold these thoughts. There would come a day when I could travel the world and stay in hotels, but now, it was time to meet new people! Maybe another day though... Everyone else was gone now anyway.

So, I allowed one day for myself. I visited three parks, spending most of my time in the second: Jingshan Park. Here, I tried to kill time by reading. Long ago, during a walk in a hometown park, I remember my sister asking who would go to a park just to read. Even before I had ever done it, I knew that it was something I would probably do. Since the start of my trip, I had read in many parks around the world. They were often my favourite attraction and Beijing had some very beautiful parks.

The weather was perfect. A rain shower prior to my arrival drove away any smog there might have been. And so, the greyness which had so depressed me a few months earlier in Shanghai, remained an unconfirmed myth in Beijing. I sat on a large rock under the shade of many trees and took out my book. That was when the first picture of me was taken (that I noticed). I brushed it off without looking up at my photographer. I argued that the picture would have been worth taking regardless of my race; it was simply a nice moment worth capturing.

As the sun began to slip lower into the horizon, I found myself in a small market street. I didn’t enter any shops, but looked on at the bustle of merchants and patrons. For a time, I felt separate from the scene, distracted and overcome by the realization that these seemingly insignificant, daily transactions, summed across the country, amounted to a burgeoning force labelled “Chinese Economy.” I was a ghost, semi-oblivious to the quick looks directed my way. The actors, feeling a slight disturbance in the air, looked up and then away, returning to whatever it was they were doing.

***

Tuckered out by the irregular amount of walking, I again woke up alone. This time though, in a haze of half-sleep, I had picked up on partial conversations which could have just as easily been dreamt. After my shower, the guy from the lower bunk of my bed returned.

I remembered his Spanish accent and his plans to go to the Summer Palace. Incidentally, that is where I had decided to go that afternoon. I fought with myself to strike up a conversation, battling a few moments in my head before lighting the match. Gradually building rapport, we started off on the day’s trip together.

His name was Santiago, an Ecuadorian studying a Masters of Chemical Engineering in Singapore. He was making his way to Germany, where he planned to write out his thesis. Beyond that, he admitted to not being well-travelled and had decided to leave his country almost on a spur decision.

Santiago showed me how to take the Beijing metro. Regardless of where you wanted to go, it cost 2 yuan. Pretty simple! At the entrance to the Summer Palace, we bought full access passes and proceeded to make our way haphazardly around the park. We made sure not to miss any side attraction that we had paid extra for, though it made for a lot of walking. Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake made for a spectacular set. It was also nice to get a few pictures of me without having to take them myself. I didn’t miss the fact that this wouldn’t have happened had I reserved a room in a hotel.

From the North Gate, we took the metro back down to the East Gate entrance where we had seen a Pizza Hut. After several months of eating exclusively Asian cuisine, Santiago missed having Western dishes. I couldn’t object to that. Pizza it was! We shared a large pizza with a bunch of toppings – the only preset selection that wasn’t some Eastern mix.

Instead of finishing up at the Beijing Zoo as planned (which we figured was already closed), we visited the site of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. I didn’t really see the appeal in looking at an old Olympic site. It just wasn’t on my list of things to see. But, I stuck with Santiago because otherwise I would have just gone back to the hostel. The Bird’s Nest made for a nice picture, but otherwise, it was nothing more than an extra stop to kill daylight.

After two days of excessive walking, a third night’s sleep fell easily upon me.