Beijing Airport

Beijing is hot and foggy.  It's like standing in a closed room with several cars running their engines.  You can almost taste the air.  I imagine if I licked a clean white cloth it would leave a black mark from my tongue.  Anyhow, onwards through the maze of securities.
Fingerprints x 2, photo x 1, bag scan x 2, and one full metal detector and full pat down search by a young female security officer...I'm not complaining! And now I'm waiting with six others in an underground bunker with strange musicplaying....Surreal. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back to the earlier job and WeChat

After today's interview, one of my earlier contacts got in touch with me as I had sent him a request on Sunday.  We cleared up a few questions and he promised to put me in touch with a contact at the proposed school and send me a contract.  Meanwhile two other job agents/companies have been in touch and I need to start logging what is happening or I will lose track!  As for WeChat, I wish it would sync between my PC and my phone, like it used to.  Apparently the messages are not now kept on a server...for my privacy.  It is a real nuisance having half the messages on my phone and half on my PC.
Read more

Breakfast with Sherrie and the half marathon.

Image
Last night on my way home from the park, I got a text from Sherrie, Star's wife.  She invited me to breakfast the following day after exercise, or at least that was what I thought she had done, it turns out she invited me TO exercise as well as to breakfast. I knew there was some sort of run planned as the park had been transformed, but I did not know when the race was.  As luck would have it as I arrived the race was due to start.  I hung around near the exit tunnel and got ready to take photos.  I hate watching stuff like this because I so wish I could still run.  I am actually having trouble walking at the moment and that aggravates me even more.  Anyway, they were off.... but not as I expected, after all, this is China!  First came the keen ones in the proper gear, but shortly afterwards came a raggle taggle bunch of all sorts, most of them carrying umbrellas!  It was a big event for Jiangkou, policve, media, etc, and the main rod closed to ...
Read more

First time payment with WeChat!

Image
...just a short one here! The WeChat logo WeChat is the go-to social media platform in China. I've used it for a couple of years in the UK, but in China it has a host more features and every vendor of anything has a payment QR code which you scan with your phone and then enter the amount required, push pay, and job done. This is a QR code.  If you scanned it it would take you to this website. So,  after finally getting my Chinese phone number and bank account sorted out, well nearly sorted out, and having undergone numerous passport and ID checks and real time identification processes, I was ready to go!  I bought an ice cream and payed with WeChat.  Scan, enter amount, press pay, the shop console bings and its done!  A small but significant achievement!  Its only taken six weeks!
Read more